A personal loan has no collateral behind it, so the lender is underwriting you alone. That makes the eligibility criteria narrower and the credit score far more decisive than on a secured loan.
The five things assessed
- Age: 21 to 60 at maturity for most lenders.
- Income: from about ₹20,000–25,000 net a month, higher in metros. Self-employed applicants are read off two years of ITR.
- Employer category. Lenders grade employers A to D. The same salary at a listed company and at an unlisted proprietorship produces different rates and sometimes different answers.
- Credit score: 700 is the usual floor, 750+ gets the advertised rate. Below 650 the file needs a secured alternative.
- Existing obligations: total EMIs after this loan should stay under about 50–55% of income.
How much you can borrow
Roughly 10 to 24 times net monthly salary, capped by the EMI test. On ₹80,000 net with no existing EMIs, a 55% FOIR allows about ₹44,000 of EMI — which at 12% over 5 years supports close to ₹20 lakh. One ₹15,000 car EMI cuts that by more than half.
If you miss a threshold
Score too low. Fix the report before applying rather than applying anyway — see improving your score. Every rejection is recorded.
Income too low. A shorter tenure will not help; a longer one might. A co-applicant is not usually allowed on personal loans, so the realistic route is a smaller amount.
Employer not graded. Some NBFCs lend where banks will not, at 2–4% more. Sometimes worth it, often not.
Nothing works. A loan against property or a gold loan is assessed largely on the asset. Slower, cheaper, and available when unsecured lending is not.
What to check before signing
Processing fee, prepayment terms after the lock-in, and whether insurance is being bundled into the loan amount. That last one is common and quietly raises what you repay.
See the criteria on our personal loan page, or send your details and we will tell you where your file actually stands.
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