How To Get a Loan With a 700 Credit Score

If you have a 700 credit score and need to borrow money for anything — debt consolidation, a new home, moving costs, an emergency, you name it — you’re probably in good shape. Along with sufficient income to afford payments (and a down payment for some loan types), many lenders will offer you a loan. In fact, most of the best personal loan lenders offer personal loans to borrowers with a 700 credit score.

We'll cover how to get a personal loan with a 700 credit score — personal loans should be considered a strong (and often preferable) alternative to credit cards for major expenses that you need more than two years to repay. If you want to buy a home or a car, check out mortgage rates with a 700 credit score and the best auto loans.

1. Confirm your 700 credit score

Before researching lenders, check your credit score — it can and does change regularly and you can take steps to improve it if needed.

You have a number of ways to check your credit score and credit report, including credit monitoring services, Credible’s free credit score monitoring, and free credit scores through your existing financial apps, such as your bank or a budgeting app.

“At 700, you’re just one negative mark away from your credit score falling into the fair range,” advises R.J. Weiss, certified financial planner and founder of The Ways to Wealth. FICO’s fair credit score range is between 580 and 669, and while you can find personal loans with fair credit, your options will be more limited. 

“It’s at that fair range where you start getting denied for loan products and seeing much higher rates,” Weiss says. “It doesn’t take much to get into this range either. It could be a slight increase in your credit utilization or too many hard inquiries.”

If you realize your score has dropped — especially if you can be flexible about when you borrow  — work on getting your score back to 700 (or higher) before applying for a loan.

2. Determine how much you need to borrow

Next, figure out exactly how much you need to borrow. For instance, if you’re consolidating debt across three credit cards, calculate how much money it would take to pay off all three. That’s how much you should borrow.

If you’re funding home renovations, get multiple estimates from contractors and borrow enough to cover the total cost, and then some — experts recommend adding 10% to 20% to the estimate to cover unexpected expenses. 

That said, if the expense you’re planning has a set cost, borrow only what you need and not a cent more. Overborrowing will result in a higher monthly loan payment, which could make it harder to budget for repayment.

3. Determine your ideal monthly payment

Review your budget to determine how much you can safely afford to spend each month on repayment. This will help you choose the right loan repayment term. Choosing a longer personal loan term length (for example, five years instead of three years) will lower your monthly payment, but it also means you’ll pay more in interest in the long run and could get a higher rate.

And don’t be swayed if a lender tells you that you can afford more. Figure out what monthly payment amount you are comfortable with, and don’t agree to anything higher.

To see how loan term, loan amount, interest rates, and fees impact your monthly loan repayment? Use a personal loan calculator to run various scenarios. 

4. Gather documentation

When you apply for a personal loan, the lender will verify more than your 700 credit score. You’ll also need to provide documentation to prove your income, employment, address, and identity. Compile these documents now so you’re ready to roll when you find the right lender.

Here are the typical personal loan documentation requirements:

• Recent pay stubs, W2, and/or tax return to verify your income
• Employer verification (such as a letter from your employer) to verify employment
• Utility bills to verify your address
• Copy of driver’s license or Social Security card to verify your identity
• Payoff letters from existing creditors if consolidating debts

5. Research lenders

As you’d do when purchasing a new product or hiring a contractor to work around your house, shop around to get the best deal on a personal loan and to find a lender willing to work with you. Even though a 700 credit score falls within the good range, some lenders require a higher credit score to be eligible for a loan. 

It’s often best to pair this step with the next one. You’ll want to look at lender reviews and compare rates, loan amounts, repayment terms, fees, and discounts, but it helps to narrow your options first. That’s where prequalification comes in.

6. Get prequalified

Many lenders allow you to prequalify for a personal loan via a soft credit pull before you fill out a full application (and submit to a hard credit check that temporarily dings your credit scores). If you meet the lender’s basic criteria, it will return a quote based on the information you provided.

While prequalified quotes aren’t set in stone, they give you a good idea of:

• Whether you’d get approved
• The rate you might be approved for
• Repayment terms you might be offered
• The loan amount
• Whether you’ll be charged an origination fee and how much
• Whether the lender allows you to use loan funds for your intended purpose

You can often prequalify with multiple lenders at once by using an online personal loan marketplace, such as Credible. However, not all lenders may be represented on loan comparison sites, in which case, you might be able to prequalify with the lender directly.

7. Compare quotes

Once you’ve prequalified with multiple lenders, it’s decision time — but the decision may not be as easy as you think.

The loan’s annual percentage rate (APR) is often the most important indicator of cost, as it takes into account the interest rate and upfront fees like an origination fee. However, it could make more sense to choose a loan with a higher APR in these situations: 

• You need a lower payment: You’re concerned about affordability either now or within the loan’s term. (You can make larger payments as you’re able to pay off the loan faster.)
• You need a larger loan amount: The lender may not be comfortable lending you the amount you need unless you choose a longer repayment term (with a higher APR). 
• To avoid an origination fee: An origination fee may reduce the loan amount you receive and is often extra security for the lender. You might want to accept a higher rate to avoid paying one. 
• You're keen on accessible customer service: Some lenders have more customer service options than others and are easier to get in contact with when you need to. For instance, one lender may only allow contact via an online form or have a convoluted phone tree to get a representative. 
• The lender has middling reviews: If you’re not satisfied with the lender’s ratings on sites like Trustpilot and the BBB, it could be best to choose a different one. 
• You prefer in-person support: The lowest APRs could be from online lenders with streamlined tech platforms and no physical branches. If that’s not how you prefer to do business, find a local bank or credit union with solid reviews, reasonable rates, and good support. 

8. Select a lender and apply

Once you’ve landed on the best-looking lender, move forward with the actual application process, typically online. At this point, most lenders conduct a hard credit inquiry, which will temporarily lower your score — often not more than five points, per FICO.

9. Submit required documents

The application will typically involve submitting the required documents you gathered earlier in the process. Some lenders may require additional documentation; for instance, if you’re self-employed, you might need to provide two years of tax returns.

10. Accept the loan and make payments

Assuming your application is solid, the lender will send you a loan offer. Review the fine print carefully to make sure you understand the loan terms, fees, and interest rates. Only sign if it looks good to you.

Making monthly payments is crucial to protecting your credit score, so consider setting up automatic payments from a checking account that will always have enough money to cover the payment. Also, some personal loan lenders offer rate discounts if you set up autopay.

Average personal loan interest rates by credit score

Your credit score has a big impact on personal loan interest rates and borrowing amounts, though other factors — such as your income, your outstanding debts, the loan term, and the lender’s own policies — can affect rates and loan amounts as well.

The table below breaks down the average interest rate and loan amount for each FICO score range, but note that your exact amounts will vary. The third row (“Good credit”) is where your 700 credit score falls:

How to improve your credit score

With a 700 credit score, you can often qualify for a loan, but it probably won’t have a very low interest rate. If you can afford to wait a few months before taking out the loan, focus on improving your score first.

There are several ways to improve your credit score over time, including:

• Making on-time payments on existing debts, such as your mortgage, credit cards, and car loan.
• Keeping your credit utilization low — that is, swiping your credit card for a lot less than you’re approved for, and paying it off in full each month.
• Limiting new credit applications until you’re ready to move forward with the personal loan.
• Consolidating credit card debt can reduce your credit utilization within one month — if you use a personal loan (or non-credit-card loan) to do it. This, in turn, can improve your credit score quickly and significantly, putting you in a better position to apply for another loan. It’s true that the hard credit inquiry from the first loan could ding your credit, but the credit score gain from reducing your credit utilization could more than make up for it.