What a Business Credit Report Contains and How to Check Yours: D&B, Experian, Equifax

What is in a business credit report and how do I check mine?

A business credit report is a file on your company, not on you: identity and ownership details, trade-payment history reported by suppliers and lenders, public filings such as liens, judgments and bankruptcies, and one or more risk scores, compiled by Dun & Bradstreet, Experian and Equifax. You check yours with each bureau: a D-U-N-S Number is free to request, Experian sells a single CreditScore Report for $59.95, and Equifax sells a one-time download for $49.99 through its approved reseller (checked October 2026).

This page is built from the three bureaus' own product and education pages and from SBA's lender guidance, rather than first-hand use of any monitoring service. Prices are the bureaus' listed prices on the day they were read and can change.

How a business credit file differs from your personal one

Three differences change how you should treat the report. First, it is public. Experian's business credit score page states: "Unlike personal credit scores, your business credit score is public. This means anyone—potential lenders, partners, or even competitors—can check your company's credit profile at any time." Second, it is separate. Dun & Bradstreet describes the D-U-N-S Number as an identifier that "links to your Dun & Bradstreet business credit file and is complety separate from your personal identity" (the typo is D&B's), and Experian's FAQ says "Your business credit score has no impact on your personal credit score, and vice versa." Third, there is no single number. D&B's guide to reading its reports says: "Unlike consumer credit, there's no one single "credit score" or ranking in business credit."

That last point explains why a lender, a supplier and an insurer can each quote a different score for the same company. The report is a bundle of sections and scores, and the next two sections take them one at a time.

What each section of the report contains

The three bureaus organise their reports differently, but the same categories appear in each. The table maps them using the bureaus' own labels (checked October 2026).

Two details inside those sections matter more than they look. The trade data is not self-reported: D&B says it "collects trade data from more than 700 different lines of business, and some 99.5 percent of all trade in the Dun & Bradstreet Data Cloud comes from companies and independent third parties — no self-references or trade from inside the corporate family." And the public-filings section is researched, not scraped: D&B says it "collects business-related bankruptcy information from every bankruptcy court in the US, and each bankruptcy is investigated and confirmed by an analyst before being posted to a business credit report."

The scores you will see, bureau by bureau

Dun & Bradstreet

The PAYDEX Score is the one most suppliers quote. D&B's scores page (checked October 2026) says it "measures a business's past payment performance based on information in the Dun & Bradstreet Data Cloud", on a scale where "Dun & Bradstreet assigns scores on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the best possible PAYDEX Score." D&B divides the range into risk bands: "0 to 49 indicating a high risk of late payment, 50 to 79 indicating a moderate risk, and 80 to 100 indicating a low risk." Its reading guide adds that PAYDEX is "a unique, dollar-weighted assessment of the business's credit history and payment performance over the past two years."

Around it sit the predictive scores. The Delinquency Predictor Score runs the other way: "On a scale of 1 to 5, a DPS of 1 suggests a low chance for delinquency and a DPS of 5 suggests a high chance of delinquency." The Supplier Evaluation Risk Rating uses a nine-point scale: "On a scale of 1 to 9, a SER Rating of 1 indicates low risk and 9 indicates high risk." The D&B Rating "combines a company's size and its balance sheet information (the company's assets, liabilities, and the owners' equity) and uses this to create an overall rating for the business's creditworthiness."

One premise correction: D&B's two education pages describe the Failure Score differently. The scores page says it "also uses a 1 to 5 rating", while the reading guide says "The score (on a scale of 1 to 100) is based on a company's business history, payment habits, and industry norms." Read the legend printed on your own report rather than either page.

Experian

Experian's score is Intelliscore Plus, which "helps predict how likely a business is to make timely payments", and "business credit scores range from 1 to 100" with higher meaning lower risk. Experian is unusually specific about what feeds it. It collects "three types of information regarding your business": credit obligation information from suppliers and lenders, legal filings from local, county and state courts, and company background information from independent sources. The scoring factors it lists are "Credit: Number of trade experiences, balances outstanding, payment habits, credit utilization and trends over time", "Public Records: Recency, frequency and dollar amounts associated with liens, judgments or bankruptcies", and demographic information such as years on file and business size.

Equifax

Equifax's owner-facing product is the Business Credit Industry Report Plus 2.0, sold through a reseller. Its small-business page says the download gives you "a detailed summary of your credit score, borrowing history, public records, and financial performance", and that the report "includes some of the same credit data lenders, banks, insurers, and partners use to assess your business." The page does not state a score range, so again the legend on the report governs.

How to check your report at each bureau

Dun & Bradstreet. Start with the identifier. D&B says "D-U-N-S Numbers are free to request", and once you have one, "Use your D-U-N-S Number to review your business credit file, checking for accuracy and taking note of changes you can make." For a one-off look, D&B says that "if you only want to check your business credit file once, you can order a stand-alone business credit report"; for ongoing monitoring it points to its Credit Insights product. D&B also lets you "update your company information with Dun & Bradstreet for free using D-U-N-S Manager", which matters because at least one D&B score considers the completeness of your company information.

Experian. Experian's business credit report page runs on a company search by name, city and state, covering U.S., Canadian and international businesses. The single-report products listed (checked October 2026) are the "CreditScore Report $59.95 one-time charge", described as a credit summary report with business public records, credit scores and payment summary trends, and the "ProfilePlus Report $69.95 one-time charge", its most comprehensive single report with detailed trade line data and inquiries. Subscriptions add daily monitoring and alerts.

Equifax. Equifax's small-business page says that "As a business owner you can now access your own credit reports and monitor your small business credit." The ordering path runs through an approved reseller: "Order a copy of the Business Credit Industry Report Plus 2.0 and relevant scores from eCredable, an approved Equifax reseller." The listed price is a "One-time download for $49.99", with monitoring "Subscriptions starting at $39.99 / month" supplied by Nav, another approved Equifax reseller. You verify your personal information, add the business details, then download.

If a funding partner's program fits, you can start a funding request once your file reads the way you expect; the sections above are the same ones a lender's analyst opens first.

Fixing errors and filling gaps

Each bureau has a correction path, and the bureaus' own pages are specific about it.

• Experian. Its dispute page says: "If you have a current copy of your company's business credit report and believe some of the data to be inaccurate, please use the convenient Submit Data Dispute button found at the bottom of the report to complete an online form." Experian adds that "Generally an investigation is completed within 30 days, however, complex cases may take longer", and that "If changes are made, you will be provided a second complimentary commercial credit report for confirmation." It also suggests looking closely at the "key score factors" section, since corrections there can move the score.
• Dun & Bradstreet. D&B says "You can also use D-U-N-S Manager to dispute any late payments in your file that you believe may be incorrect." Gaps are as common as errors: D&B's two recommended levers are "paying your bills on or ahead of time" and "making sure your suppliers and lenders are reporting your payments to Dun & Bradstreet", and it notes that "you can ask your suppliers to submit your paid invoices to Dun & Bradstreet as a Trade Reference."
• Equifax. Equifax frames ordering your own report as the correction route, saying it leaves you "empowering you to correct inaccuracies, monitor borrowing history, and improve access to funding opportunities."

If your file is thin rather than wrong, the fix is reporting, not disputing. Our guide on how to build business credit covers getting suppliers to report, and how to improve your business credit score covers the payment habits the scores reward.

What a lender does with the report

SBA's lender guidance (checked October 2026) describes the latitude an SBA lender has: "Lenders may use a business credit scoring model, credit score, or credit history of the applicant, associate(s), and guarantors; cashflow, equity, or collateral may also be a consideration." Note the word guarantors: even though the business file is separate from your personal one, an owner who guarantees the loan brings personal credit history into the decision. D&B puts the lender's use plainly: "a bank can consult a business credit report when deciding to offer a loan", and Equifax says "Lenders, insurers, service providers, and even potential customers often review your business credit profile before deciding to work with you."

What this means in practice is covered in our guides on how business lenders evaluate you and what lenders check before approving. The short version: the report is one input, cash flow is the other, and a clean file with a thin trade section is still a thin file.

FAQ

Is my business credit report really public?

Yes, in the sense that no permission from you is needed. Experian says anyone, "potential lenders, partners, or even competitors", can check your company's credit profile at any time, and D&B says the D-U-N-S Number "can be used by lenders, potential partners, and creditors to unlock information on your business's financial stability, creditworthiness, compliance to certain standards, and more." Treat the report as something a counterparty will read before you have met them.

Which score does a lender actually look at?

There is no single answer, because D&B says there is "no one single "credit score" or ranking in business credit" and SBA allows lenders to use a scoring model, a credit score or credit history. In supplier credit, D&B's PAYDEX is the common reference, with "scores of 80 and above" considered low risk. In lending, Experian's Intelliscore Plus and Equifax's risk scores are built to predict payment behaviour, and the guarantors' personal histories sit alongside them.

Does my personal credit affect my business report?

Not directly. Experian states that your business credit score has no impact on your personal credit score and vice versa, and D&B describes the business file as separate from your personal identity. It still affects the loan decision, because SBA's guidance lets lenders consider the credit history of guarantors, and most small-business owners guarantee their loans.

Why is a supplier I always pay on time missing from my report?

Because reporting is voluntary. D&B's advice is to make sure "your suppliers and lenders are reporting your payments to Dun & Bradstreet", and to ask suppliers to submit paid invoices as a Trade Reference; Experian's FAQ says to "work with vendors who report payment history." A missing supplier is a gap to fill, not an error to dispute.

How often should I check it?

The bureaus do not publish an interval; Experian says to "Check your business credit report regularly" and Equifax says "Regularly reviewing your report is a proactive way to ensure its accuracy". A practical rhythm is before any financing request and after any event that generates a public filing, since those sections move the scores most.

Sources

1. What a D-U-N-S Number Is and How It Can Help You — Dun & Bradstreet (checked October 2026)
2. Business Credit Scores and Ratings: Understanding the D&B PAYDEX Score, SER Rating, and More — Dun & Bradstreet (checked October 2026)
3. How to Read Dun & Bradstreet Business Credit Reports — Dun & Bradstreet (checked October 2026)
4. Understanding Your Business Credit Score — Experian (checked October 2026)
5. Business Credit Report - Run a Free Company Search — Experian (checked October 2026)
6. Business Credit Information: How to Correct or Dispute Business Credit Report Items at Experian — Experian (checked October 2026)
7. Business Credit Reports for Small Business — Equifax (checked October 2026)
8. SBA lender resources: 7(a) loan program terms, conditions, and eligibility — U.S. Small Business Administration (checked October 2026)