Do you need a cosigner for a personal loan?

You can get a personal loan without a cosigner by simply applying for the loan as an individual, as long as you have a credit score of 585 or higher. You’re not required to have a cosigner in order to get approved a personal loan. Although getting a personal loan without a cosigner is more difficult for people with bad credit, there are still plenty of lenders that will approve individuals with “bad” scores.... read full answer

A cosigner agrees to take responsibility for the loan if you default. In return, the lender considers the cosigner’s credit and income when deciding whether to approve the loan application. If the co-signer’s credit and income are in significantly better shape than yours, your odds of approval should greatly improve. But if you can’t find someone to cosign for you, you still have options to get a personal loan.

How to get a personal loan without a cosigner:

• Visit credit unions in your area. Credit unions are not-for-profit institutions, and they aim to have a close relationship with their customers. For those reasons, you may have luck finding a personal loan with a credit union, even if you have no cosigner and bad credit.
• Explore other lenders with low score requirements. There are several lenders whose minimum credit-score requirements are in the bad-credit range (though the upper end), such as Avant, Achieve Personal Loans and LendingPoint.
• Get a secured personal loan. If you need a personal loan and are willing to put up something valuable as collateral, you can get a secured personal loan. The value of the collateral reduces the lender’s risk, so you should have no trouble getting approved without a cosigner and with a low credit score. You get the collateral back if you repay the loan as agreed.
• Borrow from someone you know. A friend or family member is less likely to care if you have a cosigner or what your credit score is. And you may be able to get a generous rate from them.

If the amount you want to borrow is small, you could potentially borrow on a credit card instead. But this works best if you already have a card with a decent APR and a suitable credit limit. If you don’t already have a card and you do currently have bad credit, the options aren’t great.

Unsecured credit cards for bad credit tend to come with high rates and fees. And with a secured card, you’ll have to put down a $200+ security deposit, which becomes your credit limit. That kind of defeats the purpose, for someone interested in getting a loan.