Your score does not decide approval on its own, but it decides the price. This is what each band is worth in rupees, and where the score stops being the thing holding you back.
Two people with the same salary and the same employer can be quoted five percentage points apart. The score is usually the reason. Find your band below and read what it is costing you — or saving you.
Pick the row that matches your score. Each page covers what lenders do at that level, what you can realistically negotiate, and the fastest way out of the band if you are in the wrong one.
| Score | What it means for you | Read |
|---|---|---|
| No score / new to credit | Not a bad score — no score. A different problem with a different fix | No credit history |
| Below 650 | Approval is possible but expensive; the fix is usually months, not documents | Low CIBIL score |
| 650 – 699 | You are just under the cut-off; small repairs move you a whole band | 650 score |
| 700 – 749 | Approved everywhere, still paying for the gap to 750 | 700 score |
| 750 – 799 | The score stops being the lever; tenure and fees now cost more | 750 score |
| 800 and above | Top band everywhere — and where people stop comparing | 800 score |
The clearest way to see it is in rupees. Take a ₹6 lakh loan over five years and change only the score:
| Score | Typical rate | EMI | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 620 | 20% | ₹15,896 | ₹3.54 lakh |
| 670 | 16% | ₹14,590 | ₹2.75 lakh |
| 710 | 13.5% | ₹13,786 | ₹2.27 lakh |
| 760 | 11.5% | ₹13,196 | ₹1.92 lakh |
From 620 to 760 is about ₹1.6 lakh on one ordinary loan. That is the whole argument for waiting three months and fixing the score before applying, rather than borrowing at whatever rate today's score buys.
Did you know?
Checking your own CIBIL score is a soft enquiry and does not affect it, no matter how often you do it. Only a lender's hard enquiry, recorded when you formally apply, costs you points. This is why applying to four banks to compare rates is self-defeating — the comparison itself lowers the score you were comparing on.
A score is not a pass mark. Lenders use it in two separate steps, and confusing them causes most of the frustration people feel.
Step one is a filter. Each lender has a floor — commonly 700 or 720 for banks, lower for NBFCs. Below it, the file is declined regardless of income.
Step two is pricing. Above the floor, the score sets which rate card you land on. This is where the rupees are, and where a fifty-point improvement pays for itself.
What the score never does is raise the amount you can borrow. That is decided by income against existing EMIs — the FOIR test explained on the eligibility page. An 800 score does not create headroom that your salary does not support.
Expert insight
If your score is within thirty points of the next band, the highest-return thing you can do is pay your credit card down before the statement date, not before the due date. Card issuers report the statement balance, so a card paid in full on the due date can still be reported at 80% utilisation. Moving that one number often lifts a score twenty to forty points inside two cycles — which is frequently the whole gap between rate cards.
Please note
Rate bands and EMI figures here are illustrative, calculated at the rates shown, to demonstrate how the score affects cost. Your actual offer also depends on employer, income, existing EMIs and lender policy, all of which change without notice. Nothing here is a guarantee of approval or of a particular rate.
Q1. What is the minimum CIBIL score for a personal loan?
Most banks want 700 to 750. NBFCs commonly lend from around 650, and a few go lower at much higher rates. There is no single legal minimum — it is each lender's own policy.
Q2. Can I get a personal loan with no CIBIL score at all?
Yes, though through a narrower set of lenders. Having no score is a different situation from having a poor one, and it is covered on the no credit history page.
Q3. Does checking my own score lower it?
No. Your own check is a soft enquiry with no effect. Only a lender's hard enquiry, made when you formally apply, costs points.
Q4. How long does it take to raise a score?
Utilisation changes can show within one or two statement cycles. Repairing missed payments takes longer — typically six to twelve months of clean repayment.
Q5. Will a higher score let me borrow more?
No. Loan size is set by income against existing EMIs. The score changes the rate, not the ceiling.
Q6. Is 750 much better than 800 for a loan?
Barely — usually under half a percentage point. The meaningful gains are between 650 and 750.
Q7. My report shows a loan I already closed. Does that hurt me?
Yes, because it counts against your obligations. Raise a dispute with the bureau; correction is free and normally takes about thirty days.
Q8. Should I wait to improve my score before applying?
If you are within reach of the next band and the need is not urgent, usually yes. On a ₹6 lakh loan, one band is often worth ₹40,000 to ₹80,000 in interest.
Treat the score as a price tag rather than a verdict. Below the cut-off it decides whether you are considered at all; above it, it decides what you pay — and the difference between the worst band and the best is roughly a third of the interest on a typical loan.
So find your band, read what it changes, and if you are close to the next one, fix the small things first. Then compare offers once, with a soft check, instead of spending score to shop around.
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