Requesting a personal loan through our service takes one form and a few minutes. We pass your request to a network of third-party lenders and lending partners, and any lender that wants to make an offer shows you its own terms. Whether you arrived from an avant lending search or a friend's tip, the process below is the same for everyone, and it never costs you a fee.
We are not a lender. The credit decision, the rate and the funding all come from the lender, not from us. The lender you choose handles approval, the agreement, funding and repayment.
Step 1: Prepare Your Details
Preparation means choosing an amount, setting a payment ceiling and gathering the documents lenders usually check, so your request is accurate and any offers you receive are easy to judge.
Start with the real number. If a furnace repair quote is $2,300 and you can cover $800 from savings, request $1,500 rather than the full bill. Then decide the most you can pay each month without touching rent, utilities or groceries. Write both numbers down.
Have these ready before you open the form:
- Proof of steady income, such as recent pay stubs or benefit statements
- A checking account in your own name, with routing and account numbers
- Your Social Security number and a government-issued ID
- An email address and phone number you check every day
Most lenders require you to be at least 18 (19 in Alabama and Nebraska) and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Step 2: Submit the Request Form
Our request form asks for the loan amount, the purpose, and basic personal, income and contact details, then shares that one request with lenders who may be able to help.
The form is free, and submitting it does not commit you to anything. Take a moment to check each entry. A typo in your income or bank details is one of the most common reasons a lender asks for extra verification later. A soft inquiry is the usual first step for many lenders, and it leaves your credit scores untouched.
Step 3: Review Any Offers
Reviewing offers means comparing each lender's APR, origination fee, term, monthly payment and total of payments against the payment ceiling you wrote down in step one.
APRs from lenders in networks like ours commonly range from about 5.99% to 35.99%, and some lenders may quote higher APRs where state law allows. Terms often run 3 to 36 months. Some lenders deduct an origination fee, often 1% to 10% of the amount, from the money you receive.
As a reference point, $2,000 borrowed for 12 months at 24.99% APR with no origination fee works out to about $190.08 per month, $2,280.94 in total, and $280.94 in interest. That is an estimate. Your offer may differ, so always rely on the figures the lender shows you. You can also test your own numbers in our personal loan calculator.
Not every request receives an offer. If none arrive, or none fit your budget, you owe nothing and can simply walk away.
Step 4: Accept and E-Sign With the Lender
Accepting an offer moves you to the lender's own website, where you complete its verification, read the full loan agreement and e-sign it if you agree with every term.
The lender may ask you to upload a pay stub, confirm your identity or link your bank account. Accepting may lead to a hard inquiry, depending on the lender. Before you sign, confirm the APR, the total of payments, the first due date and any late fee. If anything differs from the offer you saw, ask the lender before signing.
Step 5: Receive Funds and Repay
Funding arrives by direct deposit once the lender approves you and you sign, often as soon as the next business day, and you then repay the lender in fixed installments on its schedule.
Some lenders take a few business days, especially if verification is still open. Once the money lands, set up automatic payments or a calendar reminder a few days before each due date. Questions about your balance, payments or payoff go to the lender, because only the lender manages your loan account.
When to Pause Before Borrowing
Borrowing makes sense only when the payment fits comfortably and cheaper options are not available, so it is worth pausing if any of the warning signs below apply to you.
- The new payment would leave less than a small cushion after essential bills.
- The provider offers a no-interest payment plan you have not asked about.
- You would use the loan to cover another loan payment.
Our eligibility guide explains common lender requirements in more detail, and our advertiser and lending disclosure explains how we are paid.