- Local BBBs are independent, and IABBB coordinates shared standards and operates bbb.org.
- A profile can exist without your involvement, because BBB publishes profiles for accredited and non-accredited businesses alike.
- The rating is built from your BBB file on a 100-point scale. Reviews are not part of the calculation.
- A complaint follows a published clock: forwarded within two business days, a response requested within 10 to 15 calendar days, closing around day 30.
- Owners control four things: the information in the file, complaint responses, reviews they can confirm or dispute, and whether to seek accreditation.
On this page
The System in One Paragraph
The BBB works by collecting information about businesses, publishing it on free profiles, grading it, and routing consumer complaints and reviews through a published process.
Everything else is detail. A business exists in the BBB system whether or not it ever contacted the BBB, a customer may file a complaint or review, the BBB forwards it, records what happens and updates the file, and the file drives the grade. Accreditation is an optional layer on top, with standards and a fee. This guide is part of our About the BBB hub, and it maps the flow so the other guides make sense. For the arithmetic of the grade itself, read how BBB ratings work. Here we stay on the machinery.
Who Runs What
Independent local BBBs run profiles, complaints, reviews and accreditation in their communities, while the International Association of Better Business Bureaus coordinates standards and operates bbb.org.
| Player | Role | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| IABBB | Coordinates the network, sets shared standards, operates bbb.org | The rating scale and the Standards for Trust are national |
| Local BBB | Handles profiles, complaints, reviews and accreditation in its area | Your local office is who you actually deal with. Fees, accreditation decisions and dispute programs are local |
| Consumer | Files complaints and writes reviews | Must give a name, and BBB validates contact details |
| Business | Responds, confirms or disputes interactions, updates its information, may seek accreditation | The only party that controls its own responses |
| Accredited Businesses | Pay dues and agree to the Standards for Trust | Dues fund BBB, per BBB's FAQ |
BBB's own FAQ gives the practical rule: each BBB operates independently, so contact yours directly for anything local. We cover the funding question honestly in is the BBB a scam or pay to play.
Want a Specialist to Look at Your BBB Profile?
We will check every published rating element on your file and tell you exactly what is costing you points. Free, and honest about what can and cannot change.
Step 1: A Profile Exists
BBB publishes a profile for businesses whether or not they are accredited, so a business can have a rating without ever asking for one.
BBB describes profiles as free and public, and it publishes them for accredited and non-accredited businesses. The profile gathers what BBB knows: contact details, time in business, licensing information, complaint history and any advertising or government action it has recorded. If your information is wrong, the file and the grade will both suffer, so checking it comes first. A thin file can also produce an NR, which BBB says means there is not enough information to rate, or that the file is under review or being updated. BBB says NR is not a grade and not negative.
- Your legal name and every operating address are correct
- Your contact details are current
- Your licensing information matches the state record
- Your website and ownership details are accurate
- You know which local BBB serves you
Step 2: The Rating Is Built From the File
BBB builds a rating from the information in a business's file, using seven published elements on a 100-point scale that converts to A+ through F.
The elements are complaint history, type of business, time in business, transparent business practices, failure to honor commitments to BBB, licensing information and advertising issues. BBB publishes a point range for each, and the largest positive ranges sit in the complaint elements: unanswered complaints 40 to 0 and unresolved complaints 30 to 0. BBB describes the result as its opinion of how a business is likely to interact with customers, and states that customer reviews are not used in the letter-grade calculation. BBB does not publish how many points any single action returns, so treat anyone who quotes you a number with caution.
Our rating factors guide shows each element and range, and the published grade bands from A+ at 97 to 100 down to F below 60.
Step 3: Complaints Follow a Clock
A BBB complaint follows a published sequence: forwarded to the business within two business days, a response requested within 10 to 15 calendar days of filing, a follow-up if there is none, and generally closing about 30 days after filing.
| Stage | What BBB says happens | Your move |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | The consumer submits the complaint, and it cannot be deleted by the consumer | Do not assume it will disappear |
| Forwarding | BBB forwards it to the business within two business days | Check the email address on your profile |
| Response window | BBB asks for a response within 10 to 15 calendar days of filing | Respond inside the window, ideally within 10 |
| Follow-up | BBB sends another request if there is no response | A missed first notice is recoverable, but only just |
| Consumer reply | The consumer is invited to reply, and BBB may ask for a second response | Be ready to answer twice |
| Closing | Generally about 30 calendar days after filing, with a status | See the five statuses below |
| Display | Complaints appear on the profile for three years from filing | Plan for a three-year horizon |
The five closing statuses are Resolved, Answered, Unresolved, Unanswered and Unpursuable. An Answered complaint is one where the business addressed the issue and the consumer did not accept the response or did not confirm. An Unanswered complaint is one where the business did not respond at all, and the published rating scale lists up to 40 points at stake there. Our guide on how to respond to a BBB complaint goes through the response itself, and the deadline calculator works out your dates.
Step 4: Reviews Run a Separate Track
BBB reviews run on their own track: the reviewer is validated, BBB verifies that a marketplace interaction took place, and the business gets a chance to respond before publication.
BBB says it validates the reviewer's email address or phone number, removes inappropriate language and personal information, and does not allow anonymous reviews or reviews where the consumer was compensated. Both sides can comment, and no third-party comments are allowed. BBB also says plainly that it cannot guarantee the accuracy or truthfulness of any single review. Because reviews are not used in the grade, a bad review can hurt perception without moving the letter. We explain what can and cannot be done in can a BBB review be removed.
Step 5: Dispute Resolution, If the Local BBB Offers It
BBB describes a ladder of dispute resolution from conciliation to binding arbitration, and says availability depends on your local BBB and, for some processes, on your contract.
- Conciliation. BBB staff will not discuss the merits of either side.
- Mediation. The mediator does not decide who is right or wrong.
- Informal dispute resolution. A hearing officer makes a non-binding decision.
- Conditionally binding arbitration. Binding on the parties only if the customer accepts it.
- Binding arbitration. A decision binding on all parties.
BBB says the customer usually pays nothing or a small fee, and that mediation, informal dispute resolution and arbitration generally take less than 40 days. Failure to honor a mediation settlement or arbitration award is a published rating element with a range of 0 to -41, which is why a promised settlement is worth keeping.
Step 6: Accreditation, the Optional Layer
Accreditation is voluntary and separate from the rating, and it adds standards, a fee that depends on factors including business size, and ongoing monitoring.
BBB lists eight Standards for Trust: build trust, advertise honestly, tell the truth, be transparent, honor promises, be responsive, safeguard privacy and embody integrity. Accredited businesses must keep at least a B rating at company-owned locations and headquarters, and BBB says it can revoke accreditation when a business stops meeting the standards. Dues do not buy a rating and do not remove a complaint. The cost-benefit side is in is BBB accreditation worth it.
Where an Owner Has Control
Owners control the accuracy of their file, how they respond to complaints, whether they confirm or dispute a review interaction, and whether they pursue accreditation.
You control
- Information in the file, including licensing and ownership
- Whether and how you respond to complaints
- Whether you honor mediation and arbitration outcomes
- Your response to a review request, including disputing a non-customer
- Whether to apply for accreditation
You do not control
- The rating itself, which only BBB assigns
- Whether a consumer files a complaint
- Whether a consumer accepts your response
- When a closed complaint comes off, since BBB lists three years
- The wording of a customer's review
Business Rating Fix, the BBB rating division of Reputation Resolutions, is independent of the BBB, and our work is results-based. We agree on the result in writing first, and you pay when it is delivered. Start with a free BBB audit or read about our rating improvement process. We cannot change a grade and make no promise about outcomes.
Anthony Will
Founder and CEO, Reputation Resolutions
Anthony Will founded Reputation Resolutions and has worked in online reputation management since 2013. Reputation Resolutions is BBB Accredited with an A+ rating and is a Google Partner. Business Rating Fix is its Better Business Bureau rating division.
- In online reputation management since 2013
- Reputation Resolutions: BBB Accredited, A+ rated
- Google Partner
Full profile Meet the team Our editorial standards
Fact-checked against bbb.org · Updated November 2026
