Business loan requirements: credit score, time in business and revenue (2026)
Edited by Moe Ameen · Published
Among the lenders we checked that publish one, minimum credit scores for small business funding run from 400 (Torro, for existing businesses) to 650 (Kapitus). OnDeck and Bluevine both ask for a 625 FICO and a year in business. The SBA sets no credit score minimum for 7(a) loans, which go up to $5 million, and five lenders publish no minimum score at all.
Key takeaways
- Published minimum scores run from 400 (Torro) to 650 (Kapitus).
- OnDeck and Bluevine both ask for a 625 FICO and 12 months in business.
- The SBA sets no minimum credit score for 7(a) loans; each participating lender sets its own.
- 'Not published' isn't 'no minimum'. Ask the lender before you apply.
What credit score do you need for a business loan?
Among lenders we checked that publish a minimum, it runs from 400 (Torro) to 650 (Kapitus). Most sit between 550 and 625.
| Lender and product | Published minimum score |
|---|---|
| Bluevine line of credit | 625 [3] |
| Credibly working capital | 550 [10] |
| Fora Financial | 570 [8] |
| Fundbox line of credit | 600 [9] |
| Kapitus business loan | 650 [4] |
| Lendio line of credit (marketplace) | 600 [11] |
| OnDeck term loan and line of credit | 625 [1][2] |
| Torro business capital | 400 for existing businesses [5] |
How long do you need to be in business to get a loan?
Published minimums run from 6 months (Credibly, Fora Financial, Fundbox, Lendio) to 2 years (Kapitus). OnDeck and Bluevine ask for 12 months.
Headway Capital's own pages disagree with each other: its FAQ says 6 months and its rates page says 1 year. The tool below shows the stricter figure and flags it.
How much revenue do lenders want?
Published minimums run from $30,000 a year (Fundbox, Lendio) to $250,000 (Kapitus). Several lenders state theirs as a monthly figure.
What does the SBA require for a loan?
The SBA sets no credit score minimum for 7(a) loans. It asks for an operating, for-profit US business that can show it's creditworthy.
7(a) loans go up to $5 million, and participating lenders set their own score thresholds [6]. SBA microloans go up to $50,000 through nonprofit intermediaries; the SBA says the average is about $13,000 [7], and NerdWallet's fiscal 2026 figures put it near $15,400 [12].
What if a lender doesn't publish its requirements?
Treat 'not published' as unknown, not as no minimum, and ask the lender before you apply.
Biz2Credit's term loan, Headway Capital, National Funding, Rapid Finance and SmartBiz publish no minimum credit score on the pages we read. National Funding says most of its customers have a personal FICO of 600 or higher, and SmartBiz says its applicants typically score above 660, but both describe typical customers rather than a minimum.
Glisten tool
Compare published requirements with your numbers
Glisten tool · Published lender requirements
| Lender | Min. credit score | Min. time in business | Min. revenue | Amounts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biz2Credit Revenue-based financing · Revenue-based financing | 575 | Not published | Not published | Up to $5,000,000 |
| Biz2Credit Term loan · Term loan | Not published | Not published | Not published | $25,000 to $2,000,000 |
| Bluevine Line of credit · Line of credit | 625 | 12 months | $120,000/yr ($10,000 a month) | Up to $250,000 |
| Credibly Working capital · Working capital (factor-rate pricing) | 550 | 6 months | $240,000/yr ($20,000 average monthly deposits) | $25,000 to $600,000 |
| Fora Financial Business loan or revenue advance · Term loan | 570 | 6 months | $240,000/yr | Not published |
| Fundbox Line of credit · Line of credit | 600 | 6 months | $30,000/yr | Not published |
| Headway Capital Line of credit · Line of credit | Not published | 12 months | $50,000/yr | $5,000 to $100,000 |
| Kapitus Business loan · Term loan | 650 | 24 months | $250,000/yr | Up to $5,000,000 |
| Lendio Line of credit (marketplace) · Marketplace | 600 | 6 months | $30,000/yr ($2,500 a month) | $1,000 to $750,000 |
| National Funding Small business loan · Term loan | Not published | Not published | Not published | Up to $500,000 |
| OnDeck Line of credit · Line of credit | 625 | 12 months | $100,000/yr | $6,000 to $200,000 |
| OnDeck Term loan · Term loan | 625 | 12 months | $100,000/yr | $5,000 to $400,000 |
| Rapid Finance Small business loan · Term loan | Not published | Not published | Not published | $5,001 to $1,000,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loan program rules · SBA program rules | Not published | Not published | Not published | Up to $5,000,000 |
| SBA Microloan program rules · SBA microloan | Not published | Not published | Not published | Up to $50,000 |
| SmartBiz SBA 7(a) working capital or refinance · SBA 7(a) loan | Not published | Not published | Not published | $50,000 to $350,000 |
| Torro Business capital · Marketplace | 400 | Not published | Not published | Up to $575,000 |
Each lender name links to the page we read. Checked Oct 28, 2026. Runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Lenders appear in alphabetical order, and each name links to the page we read. Enter your numbers to see which published minimums you're at or above. Lenders weigh more than these three figures.
Is this right for you?
Best for
- Owners checking which lenders' published minimums they're above before applying.
- Comparing time-in-business and revenue rules side by side.
Not ideal for
- Knowing whether a specific lender will say yes. These are published minimums, and lenders weigh more than these numbers.
- Merchant cash advances or debt relief, which Glisten doesn't cover.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a business loan with a 500 credit score?
Among the lenders we checked, only Torro publishes a minimum below 550. It says existing businesses can have scores as low as 400 [5].
Does the SBA have a minimum credit score?
No. The SBA's 7(a) page lists no credit score minimum, and participating lenders set their own [6].
What's the largest SBA 7(a) loan?
$5 million [6].
Do I need a business bank account to get a loan?
Several lenders list one: OnDeck asks for a business checking account [2], and so does Fora Financial [8].
Why do some rows say 'not published'?
Those lenders don't publish that number on the pages we read. We don't fill gaps with figures from review sites.
How we know this
On October 28, 2026 we read each lender's own requirements or product page, plus sba.gov for the SBA's program rules. We didn't use review sites as sources. Monthly revenue minimums are converted to annual figures and labelled. Where a lender's own pages disagree, the row says so.
- Line of credit, OnDeck. Checked October 28, 2026.
- FAQ, OnDeck. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Line of credit, Bluevine. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Business loan, Kapitus. Checked October 28, 2026.
- FAQs, Torro. Checked October 28, 2026.
- 7(a) loans, SBA. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Microloans, SBA. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Requirements, Fora Financial. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Lines of credit guide, Fundbox. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Working capital, Credibly. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Line of credit, Lendio. Checked October 28, 2026.
- SBA microloans, NerdWallet. Checked October 28, 2026.