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Major personal loan requirements include being at least 18 years old, having a bank account, having a good credit history, and having enough income or assets to afford monthly loan payments. Specific personal loan requirements vary by lender, however. Avant requires a credit score of 600 or higher, for example, while ... read full answerProsper sets the bar at 640 and SoFi asks for 680. Most lenders don’t disclose annual income requirements, but two exceptions are LendingPoint ($20,000+) and Citibank ($10,500+).

Some personal loans may have additional requirements, such as collateral to secure the loan. Lenders will also look at plenty of other factors when you apply, including your existing debt, employment status and housing payments.

Personal Loan Requirements

18+ Years Old

A loan is a binding contract, and most states won’t let you enter into a binding contract unless you are at least 18. Lenders generally do not offer loans to minors as a result.

SSN and U.S. Residency

Many (but not all) lenders will only make loans to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. You may be required to have a Social Security number. Some lenders allow applicants to use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or a Visa instead.

Bank Account

Lenders usually send the funds as a direct deposit to a bank account. Certain types of loans, such as ones where you provide collateral, may not require you to have a bank account. But most loans will.

Steady Income

Lenders need to be confident that you will repay the loan. So you will need to demonstrate that you have a source of income and/or significant assets. Lenders don’t generally disclose minimum income requirements, but you must be able to manage your monthly payments in addition to any other debts/expenses you have.

Credit Score of 585-700+

Lenders require applicants to meet a certain credit score threshold for approval. The most popular lenders usually require a credit score of at least 585 to 700. However, these requirements aren’t set in stone. Having a high income might help make up for a low credit score, and vice versa.

Reasonable Financial Obligations

If the lender determines that you already owe too much money relative to your income and assets (i.e. the amount you can afford to pay back), you probably won’t qualify. Lenders will also consider monthly expenses like housing payments that will decrease the amount of money you can put toward repaying a loan.

Stable Employment

It’s not impossible to get a loan if you don’t have a job. But if you’re unemployed you’ll need a strong alternative source of income, such as a pension, government benefits or investments.

Bottom Line

Overall, good credit and disposable income are the two most important personal loan requirements. You can check your latest credit score for free as well as compare personal loans based on their minimum credit score requirements on WalletHub. Lenders will be able to provide more detailed information about other requirements.

Although each lender is a bit different, the basics of the application and approval processes are pretty much the same. You can take the same general approach to maximize your odds of success, too.

Personal loan applications require several key pieces of personal information, including your name, SSN/ITIN, address and date of birth, along with financial information such as your yearly income and monthly mortgage/rent payments. It usually takes less than 7 business days to get a decision and to receive your money if you’re approved.

A personal loan generally it’s not hard to get, but some personal loans are much more difficult to get than others. Unsecured personal loans often require a credit score of 660+, and some are only available to people with scores of 700+.

Some unsecured personal loans are available to people with lower credit scores, but you have to watch out for predatory interest rates. For example, one good unsecured personal loan provider for bad credit is Avant, whose interest rates will only be as high as 35.99%. In contrast, a company like Opploans could charge as much as 199%.... read full answer

A secured personal loan is a lot easier to get than an unsecured personal loan, as the collateral that you provide greatly reduces the lender’s risk. Even people with bad credit should have little trouble getting approved. The tradeoff is that the lender can take ownership of the collateral if you are unable to pay back your loan. So there’s a lot more risk for you as the borrower. You’ll have to decide if you have any collateral you’re willing to put on the line, such as an auto title, stocks, money in a certificate of deposit, or valuable art.

One thing that will make it extremely hard to get a personal loan is if you don’t have any kind of income. You need income to show that you’re capable of making monthly payments. You don’t necessarily have to be employed, however. Your income can come from other sources like a retirement account, alimony, disability payments and more.

Personal loans let you borrow a sum of money from a lender and then pay it back in monthly installments over a set term – usually anywhere from 12 to 84 months. Those monthly payments include equal portions of the original loan amount, plus interest and fees. Personal loans can be used for debt consolidation, home improvements, vacations, big purchases and more. Understanding how things will go, from the time you apply to when you submit your final payment, is the key to making personal loans work for you.... read full answer

How Personal Loans Work

• Lenders Review Applications.

  You will need to provide personal information (such as your address and SSN), financial information (such as your income and employment status) and more. The lender will evaluate and hopefully approve you.

• Applicants Receive Funds After Approval.

  The issuer of the loan will deposit the money into your bank account as a lump sum. You can do whatever you wish with the money, unless the terms of the loan say otherwise.

• Interest Charges Accrue.

  From the day you take out the loan, the amount will begin accruing interest at a rate set by the issuer. So no matter how long it takes you to pay the loan back, you’ll always owe more than you originally took out.

• Borrowers Make Monthly Payments.

  The lender will give you a required amount to pay each month. You can pay more if you’d like, but make sure that there’s no penalty for paying the loan off earlier than the terms of the contract stipulate. Some lenders may charge a fee.

• Loan Payments Build Credit.

  The lender will report to the credit bureaus whether you’ve paid on time each month. Once you’ve paid off the entire balance, including interest and fees, the lender will report your loan as paid in full. Abiding by the terms of your loan can help increase your credit score.

Personal loans are pretty simple. You just have to make sure to submit your payments every month, and setting up automatic monthly payments from a bank account can go a long way in that regard. The most complicated part of the process is probably selecting the correct loan, but WalletHub’s comparison tool makes that easy.