Yes, businesses do have credit scores, and they are tracked entirely separately from the personal credit scores of their owners. Commercial credit bureaus build a profile under the company’s federal Employer Identification Number, then produce scores that lenders, suppliers, and potential partners use to judge how reliably the business pays its bills. The models, scales, and rules are different from consumer credit, and in some important ways they offer less protection.
Business Credit Is Built Under an EIN, Not a Social Security Number
Personal credit is tied to your Social Security number. Business credit is built under an Employer Identification Number assigned by the IRS. That separation is what allows a corporation or LLC to apply for loans, lease equipment, and open trade accounts on the strength of the company’s own track record.
Sole proprietors are the exception. A sole proprietorship is not a distinct legal entity, so credit activity ties back to the owner’s personal report. To build a standalone business file, you generally need to form an LLC or corporation and get an EIN.1U.S. Small Business Administration. How to Build Business Credit Quickly: 5 Simple Steps
Privacy is another meaningful difference. Personal credit reports are protected by federal law, and only parties with a “permissible purpose” can pull one. Business reports have no such gate. Anyone willing to pay the fee can buy a report on your company, including competitors and prospective vendors, because the Fair Credit Reporting Act defines a “consumer” as an individual and does not extend those protections to commercial entities.2United States Code. 15 USC Chapter 41 Subchapter III – Credit Reporting Agencies
Who Tracks Business Credit
Three bureaus dominate commercial credit reporting, and each pulls data independently. Your company may have a different profile, and a different score, at each one.
- Dun & Bradstreet: The largest dedicated commercial bureau, with data on more than 600 million business entities worldwide. D&B assigns each company a nine-digit D-U-N-S Number that serves as its primary identifier for government contracts, lending, and supply-chain verification.3Dun & Bradstreet. Why Dun and Bradstreet
- Experian Business: A separate arm from Experian’s consumer division, gathering trade payment data, public filings, and company demographics.
- Equifax Business: Also distinct from its consumer side, compiling payment data, public records, and financial indicators.
What Goes Into a Business Credit Profile
Three categories of data feed the score.
Trade lines are the backbone. These are accounts with suppliers and vendors, often net-30 arrangements where the supplier gives you 30 days to pay. The bureaus record whether you pay within terms, how many days early or late, and the dollar amounts. Not every vendor reports to every bureau, so which accounts you open shapes which profiles get built.
Public records add legal context. Uniform Commercial Code filings show that a lender holds a secured interest in company assets, which is standard for equipment loans and lines of credit. Tax liens and civil judgments for unpaid debts also appear.
Company background fills in the rest: industry classification, employee count, years in operation, and annual revenue where available. Older companies in lower-risk industries tend to fare better in the scoring models.
The Main Scoring Models and Their Ranges
Consumer credit is dominated by FICO and VantageScore. Business credit is more fragmented, with each bureau running its own models and a separate blended score used heavily in small business lending.
D&B PAYDEX Score
PAYDEX runs from 1 to 100 and measures payment performance. It is dollar-weighted, so larger invoices carry more influence. A score of 80 means you typically pay on time. Scores from 90 to 100 mean you pay before the due date. Between 50 and 79 signals payments arriving 15 to 30 days late, and anything below 50 indicates serious delinquency.4Dun & Bradstreet. Business Credit Scores and Ratings: Understanding the D and B PAYDEX Score, SER Rating, and More
D&B also produces a Failure Score, which predicts the likelihood that a business will seek legal relief from creditors or cease operations without paying them in full over the next 12 months. It runs from 1,001 to 1,875, with lower numbers indicating higher failure risk, alongside a percentile ranking from 1 to 100 and a risk class from 1 to 5.5Dun & Bradstreet. D and B Failure Score
Experian Intelliscore Plus
Intelliscore Plus also uses a 1-to-100 scale, but it predicts the likelihood of serious delinquency in the next 12 months rather than describing past payment timing. It draws on more than 800 variables, including trade payment data, collections, public filings, credit inquiries, and financial ratios.6Experian. Intelliscore Plus Product Sheet
- 76–100: Low risk
- 51–75: Low to medium risk
- 26–50: Medium risk
- 11–25: Medium to high risk
- 1–10: High risk
A score of 76 or above generally qualifies a business for standard interest rates and favorable credit terms.7Experian Business. Risk Ranking/Recommendation
Equifax Business Scores
Equifax uses two primary models. The Payment Index runs from 1 to 100 and tracks payment behavior, with 90 to 100 indicating bills paid on time. The Credit Risk Score uses a wider range of 101 to 992 and predicts the likelihood a business will become more than 90 days delinquent in the next 24 months. Higher numbers mean lower risk. Lenders often consider both together.
FICO Small Business Scoring Service (SBSS)
The FICO SBSS is unusual because it blends personal and business credit data into a single score from 0 to 300, with higher scores indicating lower risk. It has been widely used in SBA 7(a) loan pre-screening, where lenders historically required a minimum score of 155 to move an application forward.8U.S. Small Business Administration. Business Loan Program Improvements Because SBSS pulls from both files, a strong personal credit history can help offset a thin business file, and the reverse holds too. Many banks and online lenders use SBSS or similar blended models when evaluating small business loan applications.
How to See Your Own Business Credit
Businesses have no legal right to a free annual report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees free yearly disclosures only to consumers, and the statute defines a consumer as an individual.2United States Code. 15 USC Chapter 41 Subchapter III – Credit Reporting Agencies Accessing your own file typically costs money.
At D&B, you first need a free D-U-N-S Number if your company doesn’t already have one. D&B offers tiered monitoring subscriptions, with a free tier showing basic score ranges and paid plans starting around $49 per month for full scores and detailed monitoring. Experian Business sells individual reports at roughly $60 each, with subscription options available.9Experian. Products and Pricing Equifax Business offers similar paid access through its online portal.
Because anyone can pull a report on your company, it is worth checking all three bureaus periodically, both to catch errors and to see what lenders and partners see.
How to Build a Business Credit Profile
Business credit does not develop automatically the way personal credit does. It only grows when creditors report your payment activity to the commercial bureaus, so you have to build it on purpose.
- Form a separate legal entity such as an LLC, LLP, or corporation so your business is legally distinct from you as an individual.1U.S. Small Business Administration. How to Build Business Credit Quickly: 5 Simple Steps
- Apply for an EIN through the IRS. This is the business equivalent of a Social Security number for credit purposes.
- Register for a D-U-N-S Number. This free registration creates your business identity in the D&B system and is often required for government contracts and lending applications.
- Open trade accounts with vendors that report. Net-30 accounts with suppliers who report to D&B, Experian, or Equifax are the foundation of your file. Common reporting vendors include office supply companies, industrial suppliers, and shipping services. Confirm reporting before opening the account.
- Apply for a business credit card. Many issuers report activity to the commercial bureaus. Cards that require a personal guarantee can still help build the business file. Secured business cards are an option for new companies that don’t yet qualify for unsecured credit, typically requiring a deposit of $500 or more that becomes the credit limit.10U.S. Small Business Administration. Is a Secured Business Credit Card Right for You
- Pay early when you can. For PAYDEX in particular, paying before the due date pushes the score above 80 and into the 90–100 range that signals the lowest risk.4Dun & Bradstreet. Business Credit Scores and Ratings: Understanding the D and B PAYDEX Score, SER Rating, and More
A solid profile generally takes at least six months to a year of consistent activity. The more trade lines reporting positive history, the stronger the score.
Why Personal Credit Still Matters
Even with strong business credit, many lenders require a personal guarantee from the owner, especially for newer or smaller companies. A personal guarantee is a promise that you will accept personal responsibility for the debt if the business cannot pay.11U.S. Small Business Administration. Unsecured Business Funding for Small Business Owners Explained
That means a default on a personally guaranteed loan can hit both your business file and your personal report, even though the two systems are otherwise separate. Personal guarantees are common on SBA loans, commercial lines of credit, and business credit cards. Some alternative lenders offer revenue-based financing without one, but those products usually require consistent revenue and several years in business.
Building strong business credit reduces lender risk and can help you negotiate smaller personal guarantees, higher credit limits, or lower interest rates over time. For most small businesses, maintaining good personal credit alongside the business file remains important, because lenders often check both.