PAYDEX is Dun & Bradstreet's proprietary business credit score, measuring how promptly a business pays its bills relative to the terms agreed with vendors and suppliers. It runs from 0 to 100, and unlike a personal FICO score, it is a pure payment-speed metric rather than a broader risk model — it does not directly factor in things like total debt or credit mix the way personal scores do.
The PAYDEX Scale
| Score | What It Means | Payment Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| 90-100 | Anticipates terms | Paying 20-30+ days ahead of the due date |
| 80-89 | Good — pays promptly | Paying on time to slightly early |
| 50-79 | Fair to moderate risk | Payments often 15-30 days past terms |
| 0-49 | High risk | Payments consistently 30+ days past terms or severely delinquent |
Most lenders and vendors treat 80 as the practical threshold for "good standing" — it is the number most commonly cited as the target before applying for a business line of credit or a Tier 2 vendor account.
How to Check Your PAYDEX Score Free
| Method | Cost | What You See |
|---|---|---|
| D&B CreditSignal | Free | Alerts when your score changes — does not show full report detail |
| Nav (free tier) | Free | Summary grade and general standing across D&B and Experian Business |
| Direct D&B report | $49-$149/month | Full PAYDEX score, complete tradeline detail, and all D&B ratings |
Why You Might Not Have a Score Yet
D&B will not generate a PAYDEX score until your business has at least 3 trade experiences reporting payment history — meaning 3 separate vendors have both extended credit and reported at least one payment cycle. A business with 1 or 2 reporting vendors, no matter how perfect the payment history, will not yet show a PAYDEX score at all.
Want the full strategy to build to 80+? See How to Build a PAYDEX Score of 80 for the complete vendor sequencing and payment timing strategy, or start from the beginning with the Build Business Credit guide.
