Eight things lenders check — before you hand over your details.
This is not an approval prediction, and anyone offering you one is guessing. It is a way to establish whether an application is worth making at all — which is a cheaper question to answer here than on a lender's form, with your Social Security Number already typed in.
Readiness checklist
This is not an approval prediction
It covers the baseline criteria lenders typically verify. It cannot tell you whether you will be approved, what rate you would receive, or whether an offer will appear — those depend on underwriting, verification, your credit file, and your state. What it can tell you is whether an application is worth making at all.
Criteria met
0 / 8
Look at what is still unticked. Each unmet item is a factor a lender will weigh — and a state restriction is one no lender can waive, however willing they are otherwise.
Educational tool only. Not an approval prediction, a credit-score estimate, or a guarantee of any rate, amount, or term — and not a substitute for reading the lender's written disclosures.
Why each of these is on the list.
Age and residency
Legal capacity to enter a credit contract. Verified against government identification, and not something any lender can exercise discretion over.
Verifiable income
Not merely that income exists, but that it can be evidenced — pay stubs, bank deposits, benefit statements. Irregular income is not disqualifying, but it usually reduces the amount offered.
Active bank account in your name
Required for disbursement and for scheduled ACH repayment. Third-party accounts are generally refused.
Contactable phone and email
Used for verification and for the disclosures that must reach you before signing. Also, unavoidably, for marketing — read the consent language.
State permits the product
The one criterion no lender can waive. A licensed lender cannot exceed your state's ceiling, and an unlicensed one exceeding it is a reason to walk away regardless of what they approve.
You understand the APR and total cost
Not a lender's requirement — ours. Signing a schedule you have not modelled is how affordable loans become unaffordable ones. The calculators exist for this.
The payment fits your budget
A lender assesses whether you will probably repay. Whether repaying leaves you able to eat is a separate question, and only you are positioned to answer it.
No upfront fee is being requested
Legitimate U.S. lenders deduct fees from proceeds or add them to the balance. A demand for payment before funding is among the oldest patterns in lending fraud, and it is disqualifying on its own.
Walk away from these
A fee before funding
Advance-fee fraud, essentially without exception. No licensed U.S. lender requires payment before disbursing a loan.
Guaranteed approval
Impossible before verification, and therefore a claim only made by operations that are not verifying anything.
Pressure to sign immediately
A legitimate offer survives being read overnight. Urgency exists to prevent comparison.
No licence you can verify
If the lender is not findable on NMLS Consumer Access and cannot explain why, that is your answer.
Before you apply
Does completing this checklist mean I will be approved?
No, and no honest tool can tell you otherwise. The checklist covers the baseline criteria most lenders verify. Approval also depends on underwriting, identity and income verification, your credit file, your state's rules, and the lender's own appetite on the day. What the checklist can tell you is whether an application is worth making at all — which saves both a hard inquiry and an afternoon.
Why do lenders need an active bank account?
Two reasons. Funds are disbursed by transfer, and repayments are usually collected by ACH debit on scheduled dates. The account normally has to be in your own name. It is worth reading the ACH authorisation carefully before signing — it determines what happens on a month when the balance is short, and that is where most of the real cost of a bad loan appears.
What if I do not meet one of the criteria?
Then applying is likely to cost you an inquiry without producing an offer. Which criterion fails matters: a state restriction is not something any lender can waive, whereas a thin income history may simply mean the amount you can borrow is smaller than you hoped. Either way, the alternatives on this page are worth reading before you try anyway.
Will submitting a request affect my credit score?
Credit-check practices vary by lender and by stage. Some lenders use a soft inquiry for initial review; final underwriting may involve a hard inquiry, which can affect your credit score. Review the lender's consent language before continuing.
What documents should I have ready?
Typically: government-issued photo identification, proof of income such as recent pay stubs or bank statements, your bank account and routing numbers, and proof of address. Having them to hand shortens verification, which is usually the slowest part of the process.
Are there extra protections I should know about?
If you are on active duty or a covered dependent, the Military Lending Act caps most consumer credit at a 36% military APR and restricts certain terms — confirm applicability before accepting any offer. Regardless of status, verify the lender's licence through NMLS Consumer Access, and treat any request for a fee before funding as disqualifying. Legitimate U.S. lenders deduct fees from proceeds or fold them into the schedule; they do not ask for money up front.
Two things to do first
Calculators and guides on this site are educational estimates, not offers of credit and not financial, legal, tax, or credit advice. Actual terms depend on the lender, your state, verification, underwriting, and applicable law. This checklist is not an approval prediction, a credit-score estimate, or a guarantee of any rate, amount, or term. StraightSum is not a lender, loan broker, or credit services organization. We do not make credit decisions, issue funds, set rates or fees, guarantee approval, or service loan accounts. Submitting an inquiry is free and does not guarantee a match, approval, funding, a specific amount, APR, or repayment term.