How to Get a Business Credit Card: Requirements and Steps

How to get a business credit card comes down to five things. You need a registered business entity, an EIN (or SSN for sole proprietors), documented revenue, a personal credit score most issuers want at 670 or higher, and, for most cards on the market, a personal guarantee. A small set of issuers approve on business financials alone, but only for companies with verifiable revenue and cash reserves.

That's the answer block. The harder question for a finance team at a growing company is which card type to apply for, what the trade-offs look like once you're past the sole-prop tier, and when a small-business credit card stops scaling so a commercial card program becomes the better fit. This guide works through both: the mechanics of getting approved, and the framing your CFO or controller actually needs when evaluating across the corporate card market.

Key Takeaways

• Most business credit cards check personal credit and require a personal guarantee. EIN-only, no-personal-guarantee cards exist but are rare and concentrated among a handful of fintech issuers.

• The five core requirements are entity registration, an EIN, documented revenue, a personal credit score (typically 670+), and a personal guarantee.

• Small-business credit cards, corporate cards, and commercial card programs are different products with different underwriting, controls, and rebate economics. Pick based on company stage, not card marketing.

• Approval takes minutes to hours for small-business cards and one to two weeks for corporate card programs that go through underwriting.

• Companies with eight-figure revenue, more than ten cardholders, or ERP-integrated AP usually outgrow small-business cards and move to a commercial card program.

What counts as a business credit card?

A business credit card is any card account underwritten to a business entity rather than an individual, but the category covers products that work very differently in practice. Sole proprietors carry small-business credit cards that look almost identical to personal cards. Mid-market companies run corporate card programs with managed limits, virtual cards, and ERP integration. The application path you should take depends on which tier you're actually in.

Treating all three as one product is part of why finance teams at growing companies end up applying for the wrong tier, getting approved for limits that don't scale, and then needing to migrate inside of a year. A few definitions up front prevent that.

How does a small-business credit card differ from a corporate card?

Small-business credit cards target sole proprietors, single-member LLCs, and small businesses with a handful of cardholders. Issuers weight personal credit heavily, almost always require a personal guarantee, and offer revolving balances with consumer-card-style rewards. Think Chase Ink, Amex Business, Capital One Spark. Approval can happen the same day.

Corporate cards target mid-market and larger companies. Underwriting looks at business financials more heavily, limits are set at the program level (not the individual cardholder), and the rebate structure is usually negotiated rather than published. Card issuance, spend controls, and reconciliation run through a commercial-cards team at the issuer. Application takes one to two weeks because real underwriting happens.

A commercial card program is the umbrella structure that holds corporate cards, virtual cards, expense cards, and sometimes purchasing cards under one issuer relationship. This is the product Corpay's corporate cards guide walks through in detail, and it's the one most finance teams should be evaluating once they pass the mid-market revenue mark.

Where do charge cards and expense cards fit?

Charge cards require pay-in-full balances each cycle instead of revolving. Brex famously moved its flagship from a charge product to a credit product because the accounting treatment and the buyer behavior differ. Pay-in-full is cleaner for cash-flow visibility but caps the working-capital benefit a credit line provides. The trade-off matters enough that it's worth understanding how a charge card differs from a credit card before you apply for one.

Expense cards are usually a thinner layer, with employee-issued cards, tight controls, and an expense-management software hook. Some are technically charge cards, some are technically debit. The business expense card category sits adjacent to corporate cards and often gets confused with them in buyer searches.

What are the business credit card requirements?

The requirements list is straightforward. Issuers want to see that you're a real business, that you can pay the bill, and that someone is accountable if you don't. Here's what that looks like in practice:

• A registered business entity (sole proprietorship, LLC, S-corp, C-corp, or partnership). Sole props get the fewest options on EIN-only cards.

• An EIN for registered entities, or an SSN for sole proprietors operating under their own name.

• Documented business revenue. Small-business cards take self-attested revenue. Corporate cards verify against bank statements or tax returns. Commercial card programs typically want $1M+ in annual revenue.

• Time in business. Most issuers want at least one year of operating history. Corporate card programs want two or more.

• Personal credit score of 670 or higher for the best terms; some issuers approve at 580+. Corporate card programs that run no-PG underwriting skip this entirely.

• Business credit profile, if you have one. A D&B Paydex score and an Experian Business profile help on larger applications.

• A personal guarantee for almost every small-business card and for many corporate cards. EIN-only no-PG cards are the exception.

• A business bank account with cash reserves. Required for no-PG underwriting, useful for everything else.

What documentation will you need to provide?

For most applications you'll provide business legal name, EIN, formation state and date, business address and phone, the name and personal info of the principal owner or officer signing the application, estimated annual revenue, and the industry classification (NAICS code). Corporate card programs ask for more. Typical additions are two or three months of business bank statements, two years of business tax returns for higher-limit cards, articles of incorporation, and sometimes audited financials for limits in the hundreds of thousands.

Have the documents in one folder before you start the application. The biggest avoidable cause of rejected applications I've seen is a mismatch between the EIN registration name and the business name on the application. Usually it happens because the owner has a DBA layered on top of a legal entity name and used the DBA on the application form. Issuers cross-check against IRS records. Match the legal name.

What gets checked, personal credit, business credit, or both?

Most business credit cards do a hard pull on the applicant's personal credit at application. Some report business activity to personal credit bureaus only on default; others report normal activity, which can affect the owner's personal score. Corporate card programs lean on business credit and bank statements, and the better commercial issuers will run no-PG underwriting that touches the principal's personal credit only for identity verification.

Per the Federal Reserve's 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, 62% of small businesses used credit cards as a financing product in 2025, and credit cards were the single most common financing product cited. That number tells you the use case is dominantly small-business credit, where almost every card checks personal credit. If you're a CFO at a growing company who doesn't want your CEO's FICO score touched every time the card limit gets reviewed, you're past the small-business tier and should be looking at a commercial card program with separate business underwriting.

How do you apply for a business credit card step by step?

The application itself is short. The work happens before you fill it out. Here's the actual sequence:

1. Confirm your business entity is registered. If you're operating as an unincorporated business and want to apply as an LLC, register with your state first and obtain an EIN from the IRS at irs.gov (it's free, so ignore any service charging for this).

2. Open a business checking account. Required documentation, and a signal of business legitimacy to underwriters.

3. Pull your personal credit report. Resolve errors. If your score is below 670, fix what you can before applying, because a hard pull on a thin file can move it down 5 to 10 points.

4. Pull your business credit profile if you have one. Confirm D&B Paydex and Experian Business records are accurate and current.

5. Pick the right card tier for your stage. Sole props and small LLCs apply for small-business cards. Companies with seven-figure revenue and AP automation in place should evaluate corporate card programs. Companies with eight-figure revenue, ten or more cardholders, or ERP-integrated payables should be talking to commercial card issuers.

6. Gather documentation. EIN confirmation letter, two to three months of business bank statements, estimated annual revenue, owner and officer info, and formation documents for higher-limit applications.

7. Submit the application. Small-business cards take 10 to 15 minutes online. Corporate card programs route through a sales team and underwriting; expect 30 to 60 minutes of intake, then one to two weeks of review.

8. Set up the program after approval. Configure spend limits, issue cards to employees, define merchant category restrictions, and hook the card data into your ERP or accounting system. The setup phase is where finance teams either get value out of the program or leave it on the table, a topic the Corpay card controls and spend policies primer breaks down by control type.

Ready to evaluate beyond the small-business tier? See how Corpay's commercial card program fits finance teams at growing companies. Corporate cards, virtual cards, and ERP-integrated reconciliation in one issuer relationship.

Commercial cards success story

See how commercial cards transformed expense management and reporting for a finance team — turning a manual burden into measurable savings and a more strategic AP function.

Read the success story

Can you get a business credit card with EIN only and no personal guarantee?

Yes, but the options are narrower than the marketing suggests, and the underwriting trade-off is real. EIN-only means you can apply without providing a Social Security Number; underwriting runs on your business financials and bank account balances instead. No personal guarantee means the issuer can't pursue the owner's personal assets if the business defaults on the balance.

These cards are concentrated among fintech issuers like Ramp, Brex, Stripe, and Rho, who use a different underwriting model. Instead of personal credit, they want to see business banking history, monthly revenue, and cash on hand. Their limits are typically tied to cash in the bank, the cards are usually charge products (pay-in-full) rather than revolving, and they require formal entity registration. Sole proprietors operating without a separate business bank account generally don't qualify.

Most growing companies that look at EIN-only options don't actually need them. Personal guarantees on a corporate card program are routine, the executive on the line is usually the same person who signed the company's bank loan documents and lease, and the larger credit limit you get from a PG-backed program is usually more useful than the marginal liability protection of going no-PG.

How do business credit card requirements compare by issuer type?

The category mostly splits into three structural buckets. Here's the side-by-side, with representative issuers named for context. Verify any specific issuer's current terms before applying because issuer requirements change.

A few notes on what the table doesn't capture. The EIN-only fintech category is structurally different from traditional corporate cards. Those issuers are charging interchange and selling spend-management software, not running balance-sheet credit. That changes who they can approve and what the program looks like once you're in. Traditional corporate card programs run on more conventional underwriting, which is why they want longer operating history and verified revenue.

When does EIN-only make sense and when doesn't it?

EIN-only makes sense when you have cash reserves, a clean separation between personal and business finances, and an aversion to executives signing personal guarantees. It works well for venture-backed startups burning through funding with no AR, because the cash balance underwriting model fits them.

It doesn't make sense for pre-revenue solo founders without business banking, sole proprietors, or companies that want to maximize the credit line. PG-backed programs typically offer higher limits because the issuer has more recourse on default. If you need a $250K credit line for inventory financing, a no-PG charge card capped to your bank balance won't get you there.

What should you do if your application is denied?

Start by requesting the adverse action notice. Federal law requires the issuer to send a written explanation within 30 days, and the reason determines what you fix. The five most common denial reasons:

• Personal credit too low. Pull a free credit report, dispute errors, and pay down revolving balances. Reapply in 6 months once your score moves.

• Insufficient business revenue. Build revenue or apply for a smaller-limit card matched to your current volume.

• Insufficient time in business. Wait. Most issuers want 12 months minimum; corporate card programs want 24.

• Documentation mismatch. Reconcile the EIN registration name, the business bank account name, and the application name. Match all three.

• Too many recent credit inquiries. Wait 90 days. Apply less aggressively next time.

While you're waiting to reapply, work on the business credit profile. Get a D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet; it's free and necessary for business credit reporting. Open a few trade-credit accounts with suppliers who report payment activity to D&B. Pay early. Six months of clean trade payment history can materially change underwriting outcomes on the next application.

If you need card-based spend before then, the alternatives are a secured business credit card (cash deposit collateralizes the limit), a partner-bank prepaid program, or a personal credit card used for business expenses with disciplined reconciliation. None of these are great long-term answers, but they bridge the gap.

How do you set up the card program after approval?

The setup phase is where finance teams either get real value out of a card program or leave most of it on the table. The work has four threads.

First, define spend controls before you issue cards. Set per-card monthly limits, MCC restrictions for any categories you don't want employees charging (gambling, jewelry, ATM cash advances), and approval workflows for transactions over a threshold. Default to tighter controls, because loosening them later is easier than chasing down unauthorized spend.

Second, issue employee cards with role-based limits. A traveling sales rep needs different limits and controls than an office manager buying supplies. Map cardholder roles to limit tiers, document the policy, and onboard each cardholder with a written acknowledgment.

Third, set up virtual cards for vendor payments. They're the most under-used corner of card programs at companies that have just graduated from small-business cards. A virtual card generates a unique card number for each transaction or supplier, which limits fraud exposure and produces cleaner reconciliation. For AP teams paying recurring software vendors and supplies, virtual cards both reduce risk and earn rebates on spend you were already going to make.

Fourth, integrate with the ERP. Card transactions should flow into the GL automatically, coded to the right account, with receipts attached. Done right, the close gets faster every month instead of slower. Done wrong, you've added another system the team has to reconcile by hand. The Corpay guide to maximizing a corporate credit card program walks through rebate math and reconciliation patterns once the program is running.

One more thing worth checking at setup is the rebate structure. Some programs publish flat-rate cashback that resembles consumer-card rewards, but commercial programs typically negotiate the rebate against annual spend volume and payment timing. If you're putting $5M-$50M through the program, that negotiation is worth taking seriously. The business card cashback and return-on-spend math shows what that looks like for finance teams running real volume.

When should you move from a small-business card to a commercial card program?

You've outgrown a small-business card when any of three things become true. You've passed roughly $10M in annual revenue, you have more than ten people who need cards, or your AP team is starting to run virtual cards or ERP-integrated payments and the small-business card can't keep up. At that point the limitations show up everywhere. Credit limits don't flex with growth, spend controls are too blunt, employee cards get issued through a portal that doesn't integrate with anything, and rebates are flat-rate consumer-style instead of negotiated commercial-grade.

A commercial card program solves these structurally. The card issuer runs underwriting at the program level, so individual cardholder limits move without re-applying. Spend controls are granular, including per-card, per-MCC, per-vendor, and per-time-window rules. Virtual cards become a real AP tool instead of an occasional consumer-style use. And the rebate, negotiated against your spend volume, can return meaningful dollars instead of low-single-digit cashback.

How does Corpay's commercial card program work for finance teams?

If you've outgrown a small-business credit card, Corpay's commercial card program is built for the finance team you've become. Corpay is the #1 commercial Mastercard issuer in North America with 800,000+ business customers, and the program covers what mid-market finance teams actually need. That includes corporate cards with program-level limits and managed underwriting, virtual cards for AP and supplier payments, granular spend controls including MCC restrictions and per-card policies, real-time monitoring with push notifications, and ERP-integrated reconciliation across 180+ ERPs including NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics, Acumatica, QuickBooks, and SAP.

Card data flows through Corpay's program with SOC 2 Type II compliance and the security controls a finance team running enterprise-grade payments needs, including encrypted card data, MFA-protected portals, transaction monitoring, and audit-ready reporting. The combination of corporate cards plus virtual cards plus AP integration is what Corpay Complete is built around. It's the program finance teams move to when small-business credit cards stop scaling.

Schedule a consultation with Corpay's commercial cards team to walk through your current card spend, the program structure that fits your stage, and the rebate economics for your volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you need to get a business credit card?

You need a registered business entity, an EIN (or SSN for sole proprietors), documented business revenue, a personal credit score of typically 670 or higher, and a personal guarantee on most cards. Some EIN-only fintech cards waive the personal guarantee but require cash reserves in a business bank account.

Do I need an EIN to get a business credit card?

You need either an EIN or a Social Security Number. Sole proprietors can apply with an SSN, but registered entities (LLC, S-corp, C-corp, partnership) need an EIN. EIN-only cards, which let you apply without providing an SSN, are offered by a small group of fintech issuers and require formal business registration plus cash reserves.

Can I get a business credit card without a personal guarantee?

Yes, but options are limited. A handful of fintech issuers offer no-personal-guarantee cards underwritten against business financials and cash on hand. These typically require formal entity registration, verified business banking, and a minimum balance in the business bank account. Most traditional credit cards and many corporate cards require a personal guarantee.

What credit score do I need to qualify for a business credit card?

Most issuers want a personal credit score of 670 or higher for the best terms, though some approve at 580+ with higher rates and lower limits. Corporate card programs that run no-PG underwriting can skip the personal credit check entirely, scoring instead on business financials, bank balances, and operating history.

How long does business credit card approval take?

Small-business credit cards often approve within minutes to hours of online application. Corporate card programs that go through real underwriting take one to two weeks, because the issuer reviews business financials, bank statements, and sometimes tax returns. Plan around the longer timeline if you're applying for a program with higher limits.

Will applying for a business credit card hurt my personal credit?

Most small-business credit card applications trigger a hard pull on personal credit, which can drop your score 5 to 10 points temporarily. Some issuers also report ongoing business activity to personal credit bureaus, which affects long-term scoring. Corporate card programs with EIN-only underwriting touch personal credit only for identity verification.

Can a new business or startup get a credit card?

Yes. Most small-business credit cards approve new businesses with strong personal credit because they rely on the owner's personal credit profile during underwriting. Fintech EIN-only cards approve startups with funding in the bank account, even pre-revenue. Traditional corporate card programs typically want two or more years of operating history.

Can a sole proprietor get a business credit card?

Yes. Sole proprietors can apply for small-business credit cards using their SSN, with the application underwritten primarily against personal credit and self-attested business revenue. EIN-only no-PG cards generally don't approve sole proprietors because they require formal entity registration and verified business banking. If you're a sole prop planning to grow, register as an LLC first to broaden your options.

Do business credit cards check personal credit?

Most do, at least at application. Small-business credit cards weight personal credit heavily in underwriting. Corporate card programs vary. Some check personal credit at application but score business financials more heavily afterward, and a few skip personal credit entirely once you provide business banking history and revenue documentation.

What's the difference between a small-business credit card and a corporate card?

Small-business credit cards target sole proprietors and small LLCs, underwrite primarily on personal credit, and almost always require a personal guarantee. Corporate cards target mid-market and enterprise companies, set limits at the program level, often offer EIN-based or limited-PG underwriting on certain tiers, and come with managed spend controls, virtual card subprograms, and negotiated rebates against spend volume.

David Luther

Product Marketing Program Manager

David Luther, MBA is a product marketing program manager with years of experience in commercial banking, finance, and technology sectors, with research and writing appearing in financial publications.

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