Starting up
How to apply for a Start Up Loan in 2026, step by step
How to apply for a Start Up Loan: the four steps, the three documents the scheme assesses, and how long each stage takes in 2026.
To apply for a Start Up Loan, you check your eligibility, then prepare three documents: a business plan, a cash flow forecast and a personal survival budget. The scheme then runs a credit and affordability assessment. With the documents ready, approval typically takes one to two weeks.
Section 01
How to apply for a Start Up Loan in four steps
- Check you are eligible. A 60-second online check, with no credit check and no obligation. You need to be 18 or over, UK-based, and pre-launch or trading for up to 60 months.
- Build the three documents. The business plan, cash flow forecast and personal survival budget are all assessed. This is where applications are won or lost, and where most of the work sits.
- Submit and be assessed. The scheme runs a full credit and affordability check and reviews your documents. It may ask follow-up questions. Answer quickly and the process moves quickly.
- Sign and draw down. Once approved, funds can land within 24 hours of signing your agreement.
Section 02
What documents do I need?
Three, and all of them are assessed:
- A business plan. What the business does, who buys from it, and what the loan pays for.
- A cash flow forecast. Money in and money out, month by month, showing the repayments are affordable.
- A personal survival budget. Your household income and outgoings, showing you can live while the business grows.
You will also need ID. As the application progresses, expect to provide around three months of bank statements. You do not have to write the documents alone. myplan, our free AI planning tool, builds all three by asking plain questions about your business. The workbook takes around 30 minutes, not the days a plan usually takes from scratch.
Section 03
How long does a Start Up Loan application take?
It depends on the state of your documents. As a guide: the eligibility check takes 60 seconds. An advisor comes back the same working day. From submission, it generally takes one to two weeks to reach approval. Once approved, drawdown can happen within 24 hours. Registrations with the scheme stay open for 90 days, so an unfinished application does not expire overnight.
The rate you are applying at is 7.5% fixed, over one to five years, for £500 to £25,000 per founder. Last read about the scheme before April 2026? The rate and the trading-history limit both changed. Our guide to the 2026 scheme changes covers what moved and why.
Section 04
After approval
Every approved loan includes 12 months of free mentoring. Use it. The first year is where plans meet reality. A mentor who has watched hundreds of first years earns their keep on the hard weeks.
Ready to start? Begin with the 60-second check on our page about applying for a Start Up Loan. bizbritain is an FCA-authorised finance broker and a Start Up Loans Business Support Partner, with a panel of 100+ lenders. We help you prepare the plan, the forecast and the application itself.
Not sure you qualify? Start with the 2026 eligibility checklist.
Preparing the plan itself? Read our guide to your business plan for a Start Up Loan.
This guide is general information, not financial advice. Applications are subject to status, affordability and lender criteria.
Read the guides · ready to apply?
Got a question the guide didn’t answer? Talk to an advisor.
We’ve backed thousands of British founders. If you’ve read the guide and you’re ready to find out what a Start Up Loan could do for your business, our advisors are on the phone now.