BBB Rating Elements Checklist

Use This Checklist With Your BBB Profile Open

Open your business profile on bbb.org in another tab. Go through the twelve items below in order. A yes means the element looks sound. A no or a not sure means it deserves a closer look.

• Complaint volume: do you know how many complaints are on the file, and how recent each one is?
• Unanswered complaints: has every complaint on the file received a business response?
• Unresolved complaints: for each answered complaint, did you make a good faith effort to fix the problem?
• Response timing: were complaints answered inside the window the BBB gave you?
• Complaint pattern: if the BBB flagged a pattern, have you documented the fix?
• Time in business: is the start date on your BBB profile correct?
• Type of business: does the BBB classification match what you actually do?
• Transparency: are ownership, address and contact details complete?
• Mediation or arbitration: have you honored any settlement you agreed to?
• Licensing: are the licenses your trade requires current and on file?
• Advertising review: has the BBB questioned any claim of yours, and did you respond?
• BBB marks: are you using a BBB seal or logo without permission?

What to Do With Your Answers

Start with any complaint that is unanswered or unresolved, because the BBB publishes its largest point ranges for those two elements. The rating factors guide shows every published range, and how BBB ratings work explains how the ranges combine into a letter grade.

If a complaint is open and a response window is running, the response deadline calculator shows the dates. If you would like a specialist to go through your file with you, the free audit below checks every element on this list. We cannot change a rating ourselves, and the BBB decides every grade.