Business credit application form: free template and what to include

A business credit application form is the document a new business customer completes before you sell to them on credit terms. It tells you exactly who you are dealing with, who pays the invoices, who else gives them credit, and how much credit they want, and it records their agreement to your terms and to your credit checks. Ask for one before the first order on credit, and again when a customer wants a higher limit or changes ownership.

Late payment is the norm: in Chaser's 2026 accounts receivable report, 92% of businesses said their invoices are typically paid after the due date. You can't control every late payment, but you can control who gets credit and on what terms. A good application form is where that control starts. This guide covers what to include, gives you a US template and a UK template to copy, and explains how to assess a form when it comes back.

What is a business credit application form?

A business credit application form, also called a trade credit application or, in the UK, a credit account application form, is a request from a business customer to buy from you now and pay later. The customer fills it in and signs it. You use it to decide whether to offer credit, how much, and on what terms.

The form does more than collect facts. The National Association of Credit Management (NACM) lists four purposes for a credit application: information for the credit decision, information for ordering and delivery, the customer's acknowledgment of your terms and conditions of sale, and information for collecting payment later. NACM also notes that, properly written, the application creates a contract between you and the customer. That is why the signature and the terms section matter as much as the company details.

It is the first step of the credit control process: everything that follows, from the credit limit to the first payment reminder, relies on what the form captured. If you are new to the discipline, start with what credit control is.

When should you ask for a credit application?

• Before the first order on credit terms. NACM advises using your application consistently for every prospect, so every customer is judged on the same information.
• When a customer asks for a higher limit. A fresh form and a fresh credit check show whether the risk has changed since you opened the account.
• When the customer's business changes. NACM recommends a new application whenever you learn of a substantive change in the customer's structure or organization, such as new owners or a sole trader incorporating.
• When an account has been dormant for a long time. Contacts, addresses, and finances may all have changed, so treat it like a new account.

What should a business credit application include?

Every form should let you identify the business, contact the people who pay, check the customer's credit, and prove later what was agreed. These are the 12 sections to include, drawing on NACM's guidance on structuring a credit application and on UK data protection rules. The templates below follow the same order.

Keep the form short enough that customers finish it. NACM's practice tip is to keep the application simple and direct, because an applicant faced with too much small print and legal language may not complete it. Put long terms and conditions in an attachment or behind a link, and refer to them in the signature section.

Free business credit application template: US version

Copy the template below into a document, add your logo, and replace every bracketed field. It is written for a US supplier selling on trade credit to other businesses. Before you use it, attach your terms and conditions of sale and have your attorney review the authorization and guarantee wording for your state.

A few notes on the US version. Leave out any question about race, color, religion, national origin, or sex: Regulation B bars creditors from asking, apart from narrow exceptions. If you plan to pull a personal credit report on an owner or guarantor, NACM suggests a separate authorization with its own signature line, which is why section 9 has one.

Free credit account application form template: UK version

The UK version asks for the same core information, using UK identifiers: the company registration number for limited companies and LLPs, and the VAT number. It also includes a short "how your information is used" section, because for sole traders, partners, and directors the form collects personal data. Link it to your own privacy notice, and ask your solicitor to review the declaration and any guarantee.

Notice that the UK version tells applicants about the credit search rather than asking for their consent to it. The legal section below explains why.

How does a customer fill out a credit application form?

Make the form easy to complete correctly and you will spend less time chasing missing details. Tell the customer:

• Who should sign. An owner, director, partner, or officer, not a junior buyer, so the signature binds the business.
• To use the full legal name. The registered name and number, not just the brand name on their website.
• To give a real accounts payable contact. A named person with a direct line, plus the inbox that receives invoices.
• To let their references know. That way the references expect your request and can answer it.
• Where to send it. One email address or online form, so applications don't sit in a salesperson's inbox.

How do you assess a returned credit application?

NACM's guidance is to treat what is on the application as unverified fact: the form tells you what to check, and the checks tell you what is true. Work through these steps for every new account.

1. Check the form is complete and signed

Send back any form with a blank legal name, registration number, accounts payable contact, or signature. Don't start the credit checks until you know which entity you are assessing.

2. Confirm the business exists as described

In the UK, search the Companies House register for the company number, registered office, and directors, and use GOV.UK's VAT number checker to confirm a VAT number is valid and registered to that business. In the US, check the entity's registration with the state where it says it is organized.

3. Run a credit check

A business credit report shows the customer's credit history, such as outstanding debts and payment history, and a credit score gives you a quick read of the risk. See how to run a customer credit check for the sources and red flags, and soft and hard credit checks for the difference between the two. With credit checking in Chaser, you can get a credit report and credit score for a prospective customer from the same software that automates your receivables.

4. Take up the references

Contact each trade reference and ask how long the customer has had an account, the credit limit, the terms, and whether they pay on time. Read the answers with care: NACM points out that applicants always give their best references, which aren't necessarily representative of how they pay everyone.

5. Weigh the five Cs of credit

The five Cs of credit give you a simple way to bring the evidence together.

6. Set the credit limit and terms

Decide the limit and the terms, and they don't have to match what the customer asked for. For a customer you can't yet fully judge, one option is a lower starting limit that you review after a few months of on-time payments. See how to set credit limits for methods, and write your rules down in a credit control policy so every application is judged the same way.

7. Record the decision and tell the customer

Fill in the office-use box: who approved the account, the limit, the terms, and the next review date. Then tell the customer in writing. In the US, Regulation B sets timing rules for this notice, which the legal section covers.

What happens after you approve the account?

The application has done its job when the first invoice is paid on time. Turn what it captured into how you run the account:

• Confirm the account in writing. State the credit limit, the payment terms, the invoice email address, and any purchase order rules, so there is no doubt about what was agreed.
• Put the terms on every invoice. Show the due date and how to pay. See what payment terms are and how to set them.
• Load the accounts payable contact. Your reminders should go to the person who pays from the first invoice, not to the buyer who placed the order.
• Remind before the due date. A friendly note before the due date can catch invoices that are stuck in approval while there is still time to fix them.
• Watch for changes. Review the limit on the date you set, and sooner if the customer starts paying late.

Chaser helps you run that part automatically. It connects to your accounting system and lets you set up as many automatic payment reminders as you need, by email and SMS, across multiple schedules, so each customer is chased on the terms you agreed. With credit monitoring, you can monitor every customer's credit risk with alerts, which helps you prevent bad debt losses. See Chaser's credit control software for how it works.

Legal points to know

Your terms of sale and any guarantee are contract documents, so have a lawyer review them. A few data protection and fair lending rules also apply to the form itself, and they differ between the UK and the US.

UK: data protection and guarantees

• Company data isn't personal data, but some of the form is. The ICO explains that information about a limited company isn't personal data, while UK GDPR does apply to information about sole traders, partners, employees, and directors as individuals. A form from a sole trader or partnership, and the director and guarantor sections of any form, collect personal data.
• Tell applicants about credit checks rather than asking for consent. The ICO's guidance on credit says data protection law doesn't require an organization to have your consent before it searches your credit file, as long as it has a lawful basis and you have been told the search will take place. Its consent guidance gives the example of a credit card company that asks for consent to share data with credit reference agencies but would do it anyway: the ICO calls that misleading and says the company should have relied on legitimate interests from the start, while still telling customers.
• Give applicants your privacy information. Under the right to be informed, you must tell people your purposes for using their personal data, how long you keep it, and who you share it with. A short section on the form linking to your privacy notice covers this. The ICO notes this guidance is under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act, so check it for updates.
• Put guarantees in writing. In England and Wales, section 4 of the Statute of Frauds 1677 means no court action can be brought on a promise to answer for another person's debt unless the agreement, or a note of it, is in writing and signed by the guarantor or someone they authorized.

US: the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B

• Regulation B covers business credit. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) is implemented by Regulation B, which defines business credit as credit primarily for business or commercial purposes and sets notification rules for business credit applicants.
• Trade credit has the lighter notification rules. For an extension of trade credit, and for a business with gross revenues over $1 million USD in its preceding fiscal year, you must tell the applicant of the action you took within a reasonable time, orally or in writing. If you decline and the applicant asks in writing within 60 days of your notice, you must provide a written statement of reasons and the ECOA notice. The official interpretation describes trade credit as a financing arrangement between a buyer and a seller, such as a supplier who finances the sale of equipment, supplies, or inventory. Applications for other business credit from businesses with revenues of $1 million USD or less follow fuller rules.
• Keep the records. For trade credit, Regulation B requires you to keep records for at least 60 days after you notify the applicant, and longer if they ask in writing in that time for reasons or for the records to be kept.
• Don't ask prohibited questions. Regulation B bars creditors from asking about race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, apart from narrow exceptions.
• Don't require a spouse as guarantor. If your credit standards call for a guarantor, Regulation B lets you ask for one. The applicant's spouse may serve as guarantor, but you can't require that the spouse be the one.

This section is general information for businesses, not legal advice. Laws change and depend on your circumstances, so ask a qualified solicitor or attorney to review your credit application, terms of sale, and any guarantee before you use them.

Common mistakes with credit application forms

• Extending credit before the form comes back. NACM calls the application the best time to get information and agreement to your terms. Once goods have shipped, the customer has less reason to sign.
• Accepting a trading name instead of the legal entity. You can only pursue the business that signed.
• No named accounts payable contact. Your first reminder goes to a generic inbox or to the buyer, and the invoice waits.
• Asking for more personal data than you use. In the UK, collect home addresses and personal details only where you need them, such as for sole traders, partners, and guarantors.
• Setting the limit once and never reviewing it. Put a review date on every approval and keep to it.

FAQs

This article is general guidance for businesses, not legal advice. For advice on a specific contract, guarantee, or credit decision, speak to a qualified solicitor or attorney. Last reviewed 3 October 2026.