Credit Application Form Template
What a new trade customer must tell you before you invoice on terms.
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1. About the applicant
| Trading name | [trading name] |
| Legal name and constitution | [legal name and type] |
| Registered address | [address] |
| Tax / registration no. | [tax number] |
| Years trading | [years] |
2. What is being asked for
| Credit limit requested | $ [amount] |
| Payment terms requested | [terms] |
3. Trade references
| Company | Contact | Years | Credit held |
|---|---|---|---|
| [add one reference per line] |
4. Bank
[bank, branch and account]
5. Declaration
The information given is true and complete. We authorise you to make enquiries of the references and bank named above, and to obtain a credit report, for the purpose of assessing this application and reviewing the account afterwards.
We accept that credit is granted at your discretion, that any limit or terms may be varied or withdrawn on notice, and that invoices are payable in full on the due date without set-off. We will tell you of any change of ownership, constitution or address within 14 days.
What is a Credit Application?
A credit application is what a new trade customer completes before you agree to invoice them rather than take payment upfront. It collects the legal identity of the business, who can place orders, where invoices go, and who else already extends them credit. Skip it and you are lending money to a name on an email signature — with no registered address to chase, no director named, and no signed acceptance of your payment terms.
Any business selling on account uses one: builders' merchants, wholesalers, printers, freight forwarders, equipment hire firms, agencies and manufacturers. Credit control teams use the completed form to set an initial limit, accounts payable uses it to route invoices correctly, and sales uses it to check the person placing orders is authorised to commit the company. It is normally the first document in a new customer file, filed alongside the signed terms of sale and any personal or parent-company guarantee.
What you can collect and how you can use it varies. Running a credit reference search on a sole trader or a partnership usually means processing personal data, so the lawful basis and the notice you give are governed by the data protection law where you operate — UK GDPR, the EU GDPR, India's DPDP Act, state privacy laws in the US, or the Australian Privacy Act and its credit reporting provisions. Company identifiers differ too: a company number and registered office in the UK, an EIN and state registration in the US, a CIN and GSTIN in India, an ABN or ACN in Australia.
The form does not create the credit account and it does not by itself set your payment terms. Terms bind because the applicant signs your conditions of sale, which should be attached to or referenced by the form — a signature on an information sheet with no terms behind it gives you nothing extra to enforce. It is also not a credit check: it gathers what you need to run one. And unless it contains an explicit personal guarantee, signed separately and properly witnessed where required, it does not make a director personally liable for the company's debt.
What to put in a Credit Application
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Business name | For example: Barton Supply Co. |
| Your address | For example: Unit 7, Barton Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
| Customer name | For example: Halliwell Interiors Inc. |
| Customer address | For example: 44 High Street, Columbus, OH 43215 |
| Legal name and constitution | For example: Halliwell Interiors Inc. — private limited company |
| Years trading | For example: 11 |
| Credit limit requested | For example: 62,000 |
| Payment terms requested | Free text |
| Trade references | One per line: Company | Contact | Years trading | Credit held |
| Bank reference | For example: Huntington National Bank, Grandview Branch — A/c 30412876591 |
| Your tax registration no. optional | For example: EIN 47-3821590 |
How to write a Credit Application
Capture the legal entity, not the trading name
Ask for the registered company name, the registration number and the registered office, then separately for the trading name and delivery address. ‘Riverside Motors’ may be a trading style of a limited company, a sole trader or a partnership, and each has different consequences if you have to sue. Ask which it is, and note that a sole trader owner is personally liable while a company director generally is not.
Get accounts payable details and an ordering authority
Record the name, email and direct phone for whoever processes invoices, plus the purchase order process if they use one. Then list who is authorised to place orders and up to what value. This is the field that stops a junior employee ordering six thousand pounds of stock and the customer refusing the invoice because nobody senior approved it.
Ask for trade references and bank details
Two or three current suppliers who already extend credit, with contact names and account numbers, and the bank's name and branch. Actually take the references up — a reference you never called is decoration. Ask each referee how long the account has run, the usual balance and whether payments arrive on terms, and note the answers on the file with the date.
State your payment terms and the approved limit
Print your payment terms — net 30 from invoice date, or end of month following, whichever you use — and the interest or charge you apply to late payment, referencing the late payment legislation that applies where you trade. Leave a box for the limit your credit controller sets after review, so the approved figure lives on the same sheet as the application.
Have an authorised signatory sign and date it
The signature block should carry the printed name, position and date, and a line confirming the signatory has authority to bind the business and accepts the attached conditions of sale. If you want a personal guarantee from a director or proprietor, put it on a separate page with its own signature — burying a guarantee in small print at the bottom of an application form is exactly the kind of term a court views sceptically.
Common mistakes
- Accepting a trading name without the registered company number, so when the account defaults you cannot identify which legal entity to pursue.
- Collecting trade references and never contacting them, which turns the most useful part of the form into filler.
- Failing to attach your conditions of sale, leaving you with a signed information sheet and no agreed payment terms, retention of title or late payment charge.
- Treating a director's signature on the form as a personal guarantee when the wording never said so, and discovering the point only after the company enters insolvency.
- Never reviewing the limit after the first year, so a customer whose circumstances have changed keeps ordering against a figure set when the account was new.
Frequently asked questions
What information should a credit application form ask for?
Legal entity name and registration number, registered and trading addresses, years trading, the accounts payable contact, authorised order placers and their limits, bank details, two or three trade references, VAT or GST registration where relevant, and the credit limit and terms requested. Add a signature block confirming authority and acceptance of your conditions of sale. Anything you would need to chase the debt should be on the form.
Can I refuse credit after someone completes the form?
Yes — you are not obliged to extend credit to anyone, and you can offer proforma or card payment instead. What you must not do is refuse on grounds prohibited by discrimination law where you operate. If your decision relies on a credit reference agency report, some jurisdictions require you to tell the applicant which agency you used. Check the consumer credit and data protection rules that apply to you.
Do I need consent to run a credit check on a customer?
It depends on the jurisdiction and on whether the applicant is a company or an individual. Company searches on public registers are generally unrestricted; searches on sole traders, partners or guarantors involve personal data and are regulated. Include a clear notice on the form explaining what searches you will run and how you use the results, and confirm the requirement under your applicable data protection and credit reporting law.
How long should I keep completed credit applications?
Long enough to cover the life of the account plus the limitation period for recovering a debt, which varies by jurisdiction and is typically several years from the date payment fell due. Data protection law also expects you to delete personal data you no longer need. Set a retention period in writing, apply it consistently, and say on the form how long you keep the information.
Is a credit application the same as a credit agreement?
No. The application gathers information and records the applicant's acceptance of your terms. The credit account exists once you approve it and open the account at a stated limit. Regulated consumer credit — lending to individuals for personal use — is a different animal again, with licensing and disclosure rules in most jurisdictions. Trade credit between businesses generally sits outside those consumer regimes, but confirm that for your market.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.