Navy Federal Business Loans Review: A Solid Choice for Veterans and Servicemembers
A business loan from the Navy Federal Credit Union comes with many perks. But if you’re not already a member of the union, you’ll have extra steps to complete when applying.
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
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Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Karrin Sehmbi is an editor and content strategist on the small-business team. She has covered small-business software and lending since 2022 and has more than sixteen years of editorial experience in the fields of educational publishing, content marketing and medical news. She has also held roles as a teacher and a tutor.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
NerdWallet's content is
fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance by humans.
It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
the information is as clear and complete as possible. Learn more by checking
our
Editorial Guidelines.
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
Why trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
80+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance.
50+ categories of the best business loan selections.
NerdWallet's small-business loans content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business lending. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, MarketWatch, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, MSN and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Advertiser disclosure
You’re our first priority.
Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or
financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are
objective, independent, straightforward — and free.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
which products we review and write about (and where those products
appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or
advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our
partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products
or services. Here is a list of our partners .
Navy Federal - Secured business Line of credit
Overview
The bottom line:
Navy Federal does not disclose most of its loan details. This makes it difficult to determine whether it’s worth the time, effort and cost to become a member to be eligible to apply for a business loan.
Loan details
Min. Loan Amount
$10,000
Qualifications
Min. credit score
700
Min. Time in Business
24 months
Min. Annual Revenue
$100,000
Pros & Cons
Pros
Credit line is revolving.
Business membership comes with benefits not offered by other types of lenders.
Products designed specifically with veterans and their families in mind.
Cons
Lack of provider transparency around terms, rates and fees.
Not available to new businesses.
Personal and business membership required to apply.
Lengthy and involved application process.
The Navy Federal Credit Union has been serving the armed forces, veterans and their families since 1933. It offers several types of small-business loans and many benefits for its members. It’s a strong choice for veteran and servicemember small-business owners.
But you’ll have to jump through some hoops before applying for a business loan. You’ll need to first become a member of the credit union, and then apply for business membership. And you won’t know much about the terms, rates and fees of a loan until you apply.
Consider Navy Federal business loans if you:
Are a member or veteran of the armed forces (or have close family who are) . You need to meet this requirement to become a member of the credit union.
Already have a Navy Federal membership. You’ll need to be a member before you can apply for business membership, which opens up loan options to you.
Are looking for a business vehicle loan. This is the loan type Navy Federal is most transparent about on its website, and terms and interest rates are reasonable.
Can make use of the credit union’s benefits. The credit union offers a full suite of personal and banking products, finance and budget resources, special discounts and more.
Navy Federal offers four types of business loans but does not disclose many details about terms, rates or fees on its website or by phone to nonmembers.
Navy Federal secured business line of credit
Loan amount
Starting at $10,000.
Estimated APR range
Undisclosed.
Fees
Undisclosed.
Terms
Revolving.
Repayment schedule
Undisclosed.
Funding speed
Approval can take up to five business days.
Navy Federal secured term loan
Loan amount
Starting at $10,000.
Estimated APR range
Undisclosed.
Fees
$150 origination fee.
Possibly lien search and recording fees.
Terms
Undisclosed.
Repayment schedule
Undisclosed.
Funding speed
Approval can take up to five business days.
This writer’s take:
Happy hold music doesn’t make up for poor customer support.
I first connected with a representative via the chat function on Navy Federal’s website. After saying I had a few questions about the secured business line of credit, I was passed to another rep, who said she couldn’t help but suggested I call for answers.
The first two phone reps were friendly. The hold music was upbeat and played only a few seconds each time before connecting me to someone. But I have to say I was not impressed by the level of support here.
The first two reps said they were not in the correct department to answer my questions. The third rep that I reached sounded unsure of himself when responding to my question: “What is the minimum credit score required?” He had no information to provide on that, he told me, clearly reading from a script. Underwriting is outsourced to a different department, so he doesn’t have access to that kind of information. He also declined to give me an APR range or details about interest rates.
Questions about the maximum line of credit size and the repayment terms were similarly stonewalled.
Ultimately, I left the call with no more information about the secured business line of credit than I had before dialing.
Additional Navy Federal business loan options
Commercial real estate loans
Navy Federal offers commercial real estate loans for business owners to buy a variety of commercial-use property types. You can choose either a standard repayment term of five years or a 20-year amortized repayment term. The credit union also offers both fixed and variable rates.
Additionally, Navy Federal commercial real estate loans don’t come with a prepayment penalty, so you won’t be penalized for paying early and avoiding extra interest.
Vehicle and equipment loans
Navy Federal offers competitive rates on business auto loans. These vehicles are typically cars, light-duty trucks and SUVs. You can get terms up to 3 years at a rate of 4.09% for a new vehicle or 5.19% for a used one. You can also opt for a longer repayment term (up to six years), but rates increase slightly with longer terms.
For a commercial vehicle loan, which includes commercial, heavy-duty, or "special use" trucks and vans, you can get a loan starting at $10,000. These loans are only good for vehicle purchases; you can’t use them to refinance.
For both vehicle loan options, there is no prepayment penalty, so you won’t be punished for paying ahead of schedule.
How to qualify for a Navy Federal business loan
Navy Federal business loans are only available to Navy Federal members. If you’re not already a member, you need to make sure that you qualify for membership before you take the time to apply.
You can become a Navy Federal member if you fall into one of these categories:
Veteran, retired, or active duty member of the armed forces (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard, Space Force and Department of Defense).
Reservist member of the armed forces.
Department of Defense civilian.
Spouse of a Navy Federal member.
Child of a Navy Federal member.
Parent of a Navy Federal member.
Sibling of a Navy Federal member.
Grandparent of a Navy Federal member.
Grandchild of a Navy Federal member.
Other household member of a Navy Federal member.
To become a member, you have to provide your social security number, driver's license or government ID, and current home address. You also need credit card or bank account numbers to add funds to your account.
Before you apply for a Navy Federal business loan, you’ll need to take the additional step of applying for business membership. This process includes supplying some business documentation along with the application and following up by phone after submitting the app. All business owners need to be Navy Federal members before beginning the application.
From real estate and vehicle loans to lines of credit and term loans, Navy Federal has most of your potential financing needs covered. Most of these come without prepayment penalties, which means you could save a bit on interest by paying your loan off early.
Designed to serve the members
As a nonprofit credit union, Navy Federal operates with a mission to serve its member base — those who have served our country. Navy Federal must be doing a lot right to have grown from a group of naval employees in 1933 to 15 million members in 2025.
Member-focused benefits and resources
Like most nonprofit, member-owned credit unions, Navy Federal has a good deal to offer its members. You have access to competitive interest rates, low fees, dedicated customer service and exclusive offers.
Because Navy Federal caters to those who currently serve and have previously served our country, they have additional resources for that specific member base. For example, this credit union is a VA lender and offers a home loan specifically for servicemembers and veterans.
Where Navy Federal falls short
Lack of provider transparency
Banks and credit unions are often less transparent about their rates, fees and qualification criteria than online lenders. So it’s not a total surprise that Navy Federal’s website is missing these kinds of details. But it is off-putting that even customer representatives won’t give this information, by chat or phone, when asked for it.
Rigorous application requirements
If you’re looking for a quick and pretty painless online application process, Navy Federal won’t deliver. (You can check out our lists of online business loans and no-doc business loans for that.)
Before you apply for a business loan, you need to become a member of the credit union. This step can be completed online and requires only a few bits of information. But then you need to apply for business membership to be eligible to apply for a business loan.
This process has several steps and requires a number of documents to be uploaded with the online application. Navy Federal’s site states that you can “save and come back to [the app] later if you’re unable to complete it.” This gives the impression it’s pretty long. Once you’ve submitted your application, it’s on you to call to follow-up with them within two business days.
Questionable support for nonmembers
Given that the first question each of the three customer support representatives asked me was for my member account number, I believe the level of support may look different — read, better — for Navy Federal members than for nonmembers.
I was passed first through two reps over online chat and then another two reps by phone before finally reaching a third and final representative. His responses to my questions about basic details of the secured business credit line (repayment term, APR range, credit score requirement) were vague, corporate and ultimately unhelpful.
This makes it really difficult for any veteran or servicemember in search of a small-business loan to seriously consider Navy Federal as a lender if they’re not already a member.
More funding options for veterans
If you’re not sold on Navy Federal as the right business lender for you, or you’re still considering all your options, check out our page on grants and loans for veterans. It’s packed with veteran-specific grants, business loans that include benefits for veterans and additional resources to support your entrepreneurial goals.
Bank, credit union and SBA loans typically come with competitive interest rates and long terms. But application processes are more rigorous, qualification requirements are stricter and underwriting generally takes longer than you’ll find with online loans.
You’re eligible for an SBA CAPLine of credit with a minimum credit score of 650 and at least 24 months in business. These lines of credit can reach up to $5 million for qualified borrowers and can be used to fill seasonal gaps in cash flow, cover construction costs or just generally provide working capital.
NerdWallet rates this line of credit from Wells Fargo five out of five stars. You’ll need a personal credit score of at least 680 but only 6 months of business history to qualify. Lines max out at $150000, but collateral is not required and you won’t be charged a penalty fee for paying it off early.
The SBA 7(a) loan is the most common U.S. Small Business Administration loan program. You may be eligible for up to $5 million to use for a variety of business needs. You can qualify for the 7(a) loan with a minimum credit score of 650 and 24 months in operation.
Bank of America Business Advantage Unsecured Term Loan
Bank of America
Bank of America Business Advantage Unsecured Term Loan
This Bank of America unsecured term loan is another bank loan that NerdWallet awards a 5-star rating to. Terms range from 12 months to 60 months, and APRs start at 6.5%. With great credit, at least 24 months in business and minimum annual revenue of $100000, you can get a loan for up to $100000.
