Pre-qualifying for a personal loan is the first step in the loan approval process. It gives lenders an idea of your creditworthiness, and it gives you a preview of the loan you might receive.
Many banks, credit unions and online lenders let you pre-qualify on their websites. You can also go through the personal loan pre-qualification process on NerdWallet to view personalized rates and terms from our top lending partners.
Pre-qualifying with NerdWallet lets you compare loan offers from multiple lenders using a single form and with no impact to your credit score.
If you’re ready to shop around for the best personal loan for you, here’s what you need to do.
Before you pre-qualify: Check your credit
Your credit score helps lenders measure your likelihood of repaying a personal loan. They use your score to determine whether you qualify and what your loan’s annual percentage rate will be.
Check your credit prior to pre-qualifying so you know where you stand and can take steps to boost your score if needed.
How to pre-qualify for a personal loan
Follow these steps for personal loan pre-qualification, plus read on for tips to increase your approval odds.
1. Research the best lenders for you
If you’re pre-qualifying on individual lenders’ websites, do a little research first to make sure the lender provides loans to borrowers in your credit score range.
For example, if your score is in the mid-600s or higher, look into good-credit lenders, which can include traditional banks, credit unions and online lenders.
If your score is between 300 and 600, consider bad-credit lenders. You may be able to qualify through your local credit union or an online lender that caters to borrowers with low credit scores.
If you go through the pre-qualification process on NerdWallet, you’ll get to skip this first step. Our proprietary system searches through a personal loan marketplace and connects you with loan offers you’re eligible for.
2. Fill out the pre-qualification form
To pre-qualify for a personal loan, you’ll fill out a form online with your personal and financial information, as well as information about your desired loan. This will likely include:
Personal details, like your name, date of birth and Social Security number.
Contact details, such as your address and phone number.
Your annual income and details about your employment.
Your desired loan amount and loan purpose.
Some lenders might ask for additional financial information, such as whether you have savings, retirement or investment accounts.
» GET STARTED: Pre-qualify with NerdWallet’s partner lenders
At this stage in the personal loan pre-qualification process, the lender will typically run a soft credit inquiry. A soft check doesn’t show up on the credit reports that a lender would see when you formally apply. This means you can pre-qualify with multiple lenders without any impact to your credit score.
3. Receive pre-qualified loan offers
After submitting your pre-qualification form, you should see potential loan terms within minutes.
Pre-qualified offers will usually include:
The amount you qualify for.
The annual percentage rate.
The repayment term.
Your estimated monthly payments.
Your offer might also include the total interest costs. If not, use NerdWallet’s personal loan calculator to determine the total cost of the loan.
An important note: A pre-qualified offer doesn’t guarantee you a loan, and rates and terms from your pre-qualified offer aren’t binding. The lender can change the offer if the information it verifies before final approval doesn’t match up with what you submitted on the pre-qualification form.
Reduce your chances of a changed offer by providing detailed, accurate information during pre-qualification.
What’s next: Compare offers and apply
Compare multiple offers
Once you have multiple pre-qualified offers, compare rates, monthly payments, repayment terms and other loan features to choose the loan that works best for you.
APR: The loan’s annual percentage rate reflects the interest rate plus any upfront fees, like an origination fee. It allows you to make an apples-to-apples cost comparison across personal loans and other financing options.
Monthly payments: Make sure you can comfortably afford the estimated monthly payment. Most lenders report payments to the three major credit bureaus, so on-time payments can help build your credit, while missed payments hurt it.
Repayment terms: A shorter repayment period usually means you’ll pay less in interest over the life of the loan, but your monthly payments will be higher than if you opt for a longer repayment period.
Consumer-friendly features: Additional perks like flexible payment dates, hardship assistance and personalized credit-building recommendations can help you decide between similar loan offers.
» MORE: Compare personal loan features
Apply for a personal loan
Once you’ve decided on a specific offer, it’s time to formally apply for a personal loan.
This step usually involves uploading financial documents like bank statements, pay stubs and recent tax returns, which the lender uses to verify the information you submitted during pre-qualification.
After you submit the application, the lender will perform a hard credit check, which will cause your credit score to slightly dip. Hard credit inquiries stay on your credit reports for up to two years, though they stop affecting FICO scores after one year.
If you're approved for a personal loan, some lenders will fund the loan as soon as the same or next business day. Most lenders fund personal loans within a week.
How to boost your personal loan approval odds
Apply for loan types with better approval odds
To strengthen your odds of getting a personal loan, consider a co-signed, joint or secured loan.
Joint and co-signed loans allow you to add someone with stronger credit to your application, increasing your chances of approval or getting a lower rate.
A joint loan means you share the loan fully with another individual, while a co-signed loan means another individual simply vouches for your ability to repay the money. In both instances, the person you add to the loan application is on the hook for any missed payments.
Secured personal loans require you to pledge collateral like your car or savings account to guarantee the loan. It’s usually easier to get approved for a secured loan than an unsecured one, but you risk losing your collateral if you fail to make payments.
Consider lenders that work with bad-credit borrowers
If you have bad credit (a score under 600), you have a better chance for loan approval at credit unions and online lenders.
Credit unions may consider other aspects of your financial picture rather than just your credit score. They typically offer lower rates than other lenders. However, you must become a member in order to get a personal loan from a credit union.
Online lenders may also weigh alternative criteria, like your education and employment, to qualify you for a personal loan. Borrowers with low credit scores typically get the highest interest rates, though.
What’s the difference between pre-qualification and preapproval?
How long does it take to pre-qualify for a personal loan?
What happens if you’re not approved for a personal loan?
Methodology
How we chose the best personal loans
Our team of consumer lending experts follow an objective and robust methodology to rate lenders and pick the best.
30+
Lenders reviewed
We review over 35 lenders, including major banks, top credit unions, leading digital platforms, and high interest installment lenders operating across multiple states.
25+
Categories assessed
Each lender is evaluated across five weighted categories and 27 subcategories, covering affordability, eligibility, consumer experience, flexibility, and application process.
60+
Data points analyzed
Our team tracks and reassesses hundreds of data points annually, including APR ranges, fees, credit requirements, and borrower tools, ensuring up to date, accurate comparisons.
Star rating categories
We evaluate more categories than competitors and carefully weigh how each factor impacts your experience.
NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 30 financial technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 60 data points and cross-check company websites, earnings reports and other public documents to confirm product details. We may also go through a lender’s pre-qualification flow and follow up with company representatives. NerdWallet writers and editors conduct a full fact check and update annually, but also make updates throughout the year as necessary.
Our star ratings award points to lenders that offer consumer-friendly features, including: soft credit checks to pre-qualify, competitive interest rates and no fees, transparency of rates and terms, flexible payment options, fast funding times, accessible customer service, reporting of payments to credit bureaus and financial education. Our ratings award fewer points to lenders with practices that may make a loan difficult to repay on time, such as charging high annual percentage rates (above 36%), underwriting that does not adequately assess consumers’ ability to repay and lack of credit-building help. We also consider regulatory actions filed by agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We weigh these factors based on our assessment of which are the most important to consumers and how meaningfully they impact consumers’ experiences.
NerdWallet does not receive compensation for our star ratings. Read more about our ratings methodologies for personal loans and our editorial guidelines.
