 TITLE: What to Know When Applying for a Business Loan CONTENT: If you're planning to apply for a business loan, there are a few things you should know. First, if you don't have substantial credit history as a business, or if you've never applied for business credit in the past, there is a chance you'll have to use your personal credit to guarantee a new loan. Some lenders—like the Small Business Administration (SBA)—require a personal guarantee for loans, which means you'll want to have your personal credit in order.\nIn addition to your personal credit, you'll also want to monitor your business credit regularly to make sure it's in good shape. It's recommended to use business credit when applying for a business loan, as long as you have sufficient credit history as a company. Doing this can help you build your business score, and also helps protect your personal score should your company ever have a financial mishap or vice versa.\nWhen applying for new lines of business credit, make sure to verify which score will be evaluated for the application. Consider checking both your scores on your own beforehand to get an idea of what lenders will see when considering your application. To check your personal report and scores, get a free copy of your reports and scores from Experian's consumer bureau. And to check your company's score, for a limited time you can [get a free copy of your business reports](;utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=free-credit-report-smb) from Experian's commercial bureau. Remember that personal and business reports and scores are very different, so you will need to review them separately to see how each is doing.\nIf you think your personal credit may be used when applying for a business loan, make sure that your personal credit report does not have an active security freeze as this could delay the application and approval process. You can easily remove a security freeze online through Experian. If you've locked your credit file with Experian, be sure that your report is unlocked too. Remember to go back and freeze or lock your credit file again once you've applied for the loan, as this won't happen automatically. END