Pull your business credit report directly from the three business credit bureaus — Dun & Bradstreet (PAYDEX, 0-100), Experian Business (Intelliscore Plus, 1-100), and Equifax Business (Business Credit Risk Score, 101-992). D&B offers a limited free CreditSignal view; Experian and Equifax sell business reports for $20-100 each. Some banks offer free business credit monitoring as part of business banking. Business credit scores update monthly with new trade-line and payment data — unlike personal credit, which updates roughly every 30 days from all sources.
Business credit is reported separately by three bureaus — none of which share data with the consumer-credit-side Experian/Equifax/TransUnion. Each uses a distinct scoring model:
Two prerequisites: (1) the business must have a registered legal entity — sole proprietorships generally don't have a distinct business credit profile because there's no legal separation from the owner; (2) a DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet — free at dnb.com/duns-number/get-a-duns.html, typically issued within 30 days. Without a DUNS number, D&B has no way to identify your business in its system.
A typical business credit report includes: trade payment history (UCC filings, supplier payment records), public records (liens, judgments, bankruptcy filings), business demographics (revenue, employees, years in business), credit utilization on business cards and lines, and the bureau's calculated score. Unlike personal credit, business credit reports are PUBLIC by default — any business or person can pull a report on your business (and you can pull on theirs). This visibility is a feature, not a bug: it lets suppliers, lenders, and partners assess your business's credit-worthiness before extending terms.
If this fits your situation, apply with ClearValue Lending — your file routes to one matched lender.
Free options: D&B's CreditSignal alert service (monitors changes but doesn't show the full score), some business banks' included credit monitoring (Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America offer it on certain business accounts), Nav.com's free score-tracking tier (limited but usable). Paid options: full reports from each bureau ($20-100), monthly monitoring services ($30-100/month). For most SMB owners, free monitoring + a one-time paid pull at major-application moments (loan, line of credit, new vendor) is sufficient.
Business credit data updates as new information reports — typically monthly for active businesses with consistent trade-line activity. PAYDEX score updates within 30 days of new payment records. This is faster than personal credit's typical 45-60 day update lag. Per the CFPB Section 1071 rule, lenders now report demographic data on small business credit applications — adding federal-level data on top of the three private bureaus.