How to check your business credit score for free

Whether you’re applying for a business loan or a credit card, your business credit score plays a meaningful role in the ultimate decision. It can influence everything from the loan terms you’re offered to your insurance premiums.

That’s why it’s essential to check your business credit score regularly to understand where your business stands financially. If you’re researching ways to check your business credit score, we’ll help you figure out where to start, why your business credit score matters, what affects it, and how to improve your score over time.

What is a business credit score?

A business credit score is a numerical representation of your business's creditworthiness. Lenders, suppliers, and other creditors use it to assess the risk of extending credit or financing to your business, much like your personal credit score influences your eligibility for a mortgage or credit card.

The three major business credit bureaus that issue business credit scores include Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), Experian, and Equifax. Each uses its own scoring model, but scores typically range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating lower credit risk.

A good business credit score can help you secure loans, qualify for better terms, negotiate favorable trade credit, and lower borrowing costs. It’s a key factor in your company’s financial health and long-term growth.

How are business credit scores calculated?

Business credit reporting agencies use several factors to calculate your business credit score, each helping to assess your business’s credit risk. Here are the key components:

• Payment history: Making on-time payments consistently is one of the most important factors in your score
• Credit utilization: Using a lower percentage of your available credit, ideally under 30%, shows responsible credit management
• Outstanding balances: Carrying low balances on credit accounts helps reduce perceived risk
• Trade references: Your track record of paying vendors and suppliers on time adds depth to your credit profile
• Credit mix: Having a variety of credit types (like loans, credit cards, and vendor accounts) can improve your score
• Years in business: A longer operating history helps show stability and reliability
• Business size: Larger businesses may be viewed as less risky by some scoring models

Why is it important to check my business credit score?

Proactively checking your business credit score helps you manage your financial health, take advantage of opportunities, and avoid potential roadblocks. It not only supports your business’s financial stability; it also strengthens your ability to qualify for loans, secure trade credit, and build credibility when it matters most.

Here are a few key reasons to monitor your business credit score:

• Gauges your company’s financial health: Your credit score reflects key aspects of your financial behavior, like on-time payments, credit utilization, and outstanding balances. Regular monitoring can help you spot changes early, correct any errors, and maintain a strong credit profile.
• Improves access to loans and trade credit: From time to time, you’ll need access to additional working capital to grow your business. A strong business credit score helps you qualify for loans with better terms, obtain higher credit limits, and secure favorable trade credit from suppliers.
• Builds trust and reduces financial risk: Your business credit score helps you assess the financial risk of working with other companies and ensures your own credit profile is strong. Lenders, suppliers, and partners often review this information before extending credit or signing contracts. Staying on top of it can help you build credibility.

Discover Ramp's corporate card for modern finance

Learn more

What’s in a business credit report?

A business credit report is a detailed record of a company's financial history and creditworthiness. These reports detail a company's payment history, showing how consistently it pays its bills and invoices to suppliers, lenders, and creditors.

It also lists the company's credit accounts, including loans, lines of credit, and credit cards, with information on credit limits, balances, and payment terms. Here’s a quick list of the central components of business credit reports:

• Payment history
• Credit accounts and utilization
• Public records
• Trade references
• Company profile information
• Financial statements
• UCC filings
• Collection activity

Lenders, suppliers, and other entities typically use this information, along with the business credit score itself, to assess the risk of extending credit or forming a financial relationship. Keeping your report in good standing is key to securing better loan terms, trade credit, and supplier agreements.

How do I check my business credit score?

Checking your business credit score won’t affect your score, so it’s smart to monitor it regularly. Each credit bureau may have different information on file. For that reason, check your reports with all three major agencies for the most accurate picture of your business’s credit health: Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax.

While you’ll need to pay for most full reports, there are free tools that can give you access to partial credit data or alerts. Here’s how to check your business credit score through each provider:

Dun & Bradstreet credit reports

Dun & Bradstreet differs slightly from the other major business credit bureaus. To access your D&B report, you’ll need to register for a D-U-N-S Number, which you can request for free on its website.

D&B reports include your PAYDEX Score, a key indicator of how reliably your business pays its bills, plus up to six additional scores that assess credit risk and financial stress. The two lowest plan tiers include:

1. Credit Insights Free: This plan lets you view risk range indicators for four key scores: PAYDEX, Delinquency Predictor Score, Failure Score, and Supplier Evaluation Risk (SER) Rating. You’ll also receive alerts about changes, see summary legal events, and access basic company information. However, you won’t be able to view the actual scores or detailed payment history.
2. Credit Insights Basic: For $49 per month, get full access to your actual business credit scores and ratings, including: PAYDEX Score, Delinquency Score, Failure Score, Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating, D&B Rating, and Maximum Credit Recommendation

Experian credit reports

An Experian business credit report includes public information about your business, such as ownership and registration details, as well as any past liens, judgments, bankruptcies, or collections activity.

Experian business credit reports include two scores: the Intelliscore Plus Score, which predicts the likelihood of serious credit delinquencies, and the Financial Stability Risk Score, which helps lenders assess overall financial risk.

Experian doesn’t offer free credit inquiries, but you can access your score at the lowest tier:

• CreditScore Report: This one-time report costs $49.95 and provides a comprehensive view of your business’s credit profile. It includes your Intelliscore Plus Score and Financial Stability Risk Score, along with detailed information on payment trends, UCC filings, judgments, tax liens, bankruptcies, and more.

Equifax credit reports

An Equifax business credit report includes key details about your company’s financial health, such as business structure, credit balances, trade credit activity, and public records like liens, judgments, and bankruptcies. It also evaluates your payment behavior and benchmarks it against others in your industry.

An Equifax business credit report relies on two scores: the Equifax OneScore for Commercial, which predicts the likelihood of serious delinquency, and the Business Failure Score, which estimates the risk of business closure within the next year.

Equifax sells its business credit report exclusively through eCredable:

• Business Credit Industry Report Plus 2.0: This one-time report costs $49.95 and includes the Equifax OneScore for Commercial and Business Failure Score. It also includes detailed financial and non-financial data such as payment trends, debt types, and credit risk indicators.

Additional free business credit monitoring services

If you’re not ready to pay for a full business credit report and are wondering how to check your business credit score for free, there are cost-free options. As noted above, you can get a free Dun & Bradstreet credit report with your PAYDEX Score.

Another option is Nav, a business credit monitoring platform that lets you view business credit summaries for free by creating an account. Once you sign up, you’ll gain access to summary data from Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax, plus your personal credit information, all in one dashboard. While Nav doesn’t provide full reports or scores for free, it offers valuable insights to help you track and understand your credit activity.

How to interpret your business credit score

Business credit scores differ significantly from consumer credit scores, both in scale and meaning. While personal credit scores typically range from 300 to 850, most business credit scores use a scale from 1 to 100, where 100 represents the lowest credit risk.

Only top-performing businesses achieve scores near 100, and the way your score is interpreted can vary depending on the credit bureau.

Dun & Bradstreet business credit scores

Dun & Bradstreet provides several proprietary scores to help assess a business’s credit risk, payment behavior, and likelihood of failure. Here’s a breakdown of the key score types and their risk levels:

*Scores range between 1–5

**Scores range between 1–9

Experian business credit scores

Experian uses two main scoring models to assess business credit risk: the Intelliscore Plus Score and the Financial Stability Risk Score. Each assigns risk levels based on score ranges, which help lenders and suppliers evaluate how likely your business is to pay on time or face financial stress.

Equifax business credit scores

Equifax provides two primary business credit scores: the OneScore for Commercial and the Business Failure Score. Each score helps predict a company’s credit risk or likelihood of failure, using reverse scoring, where lower numbers indicate higher risk.

How to improve your business credit score

If your business credit profile needs work, don’t worry; there are several ways to strengthen it. Start with the steps below to build and maintain strong business credit over time.

Open a business credit card

Building a solid payment history is key to strengthening your business credit. Opening a business credit card can help you start establishing credit in your company’s name. Some cards, like the Ramp Business Credit Card, use sales-based underwriting, which may make it easier for newer businesses to qualify.

Build trade lines with vendors

Establishing accounts with suppliers that report to credit bureaus can help strengthen your credit profile. Pay vendors on time and prioritize working with those that submit payment data to Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, or Equifax.

Streamline your bill payment process

Avoid missed or late payments by using a platform that allows for automated bill pay. Automatic bill payments help ensure payments are made on time, which can positively impact your credit score.

Update your information with credit reporting agencies

As is the case with your personal credit score, inaccuracies on your business credit file can harm your business credit score. Review your business credit report at least once a year and dispute any inaccuracies to help keep your credit in good standing.

Keep your credit utilization ratio low

When you use too much of your available credit, it signals to lenders that your business finances are unstable. Try to keep your credit utilization ratio below 30% to improve your credit score. For example, if you have $100,000 of available credit, you should only use up to $30,000 at any given time.

Consider debt management options

If your business is carrying high-interest debt across multiple accounts, a consolidation loan may help. It can simplify repayment with a single monthly payment and potentially lower your interest rate. Consolidating revolving credit can also lower your credit utilization ratio, which may improve your credit score.

Build your business credit with the Ramp Business Credit Card

Improving your business credit starts with responsible spending, and the Ramp Business Credit Card is built to help you do just that. There's no personal credit check or personal guarantee required. Instead, Ramp looks at factors like your business revenue and cash on hand.

The Ramp Business Credit Card offers unlimited physical and virtual cards with customizable spending limits for your team. You’ll also get real-time visibility into expenses, helping you track spending by category, vendor, or department. Plus, with smart controls like merchant and category restrictions, you can prevent out-of-policy purchases before they happen.

Businesses that use Ramp save an average of 5% a year across all spending. Try an interactive demo to learn more.