- BBB says customer reviews are not used in the letter-grade calculation. Complaints are.
- The grade and the star average measure different things, so a business can have an A+ and a mediocre star average, or the reverse.
- The published point ranges are largest for unanswered and unresolved complaints, at 40 to 0 and 30 to 0.
- A 1 to 5 star review costs you reputation, not points. It still deserves a reply.
- Building up reviews will not raise your grade. Fixing what BBB scores can.
On this page
What BBB Says About Reviews and the Rating
BBB says reviews play no part in the letter grade, and it repeats the point on several of its pages.
BBB's overview of ratings says customer reviews are not used in the letter-grade calculation, and its FAQ says customer reviews do not affect the rating. Its reviews FAQ puts the contrast plainly: unlike complaints, reviews are not considered as part of a business's BBB rating. BBB's page on the value of reviews adds that reviews have no impact on the letter grade and do not require resolution.
This page sits in our BBB reviews hub. If you came for the complaint side, the grade question is answered in how BBB ratings work.
BBB says reviews are not part of the rating. It does not say reviews are meaningless. Those are two different statements, and the second one is where owners get hurt.
What Does Move the Grade
BBB builds the grade from information in your BBB file, using seven published elements, and the biggest ranges belong to complaints.
The grid below shows BBB's published point ranges. Grades run from A+ to F on a 100-point scale, and an A+ is 97 to 100.
More recent complaints relative to business size cost more than old ones.
The single largest published range. Silence is the most expensive thing on a BBB file.
A response without a good faith effort to fix the problem still costs points.
Answering late is better than never, and answering on time is better still.
When BBB flags a pattern, it expects the underlying cause to be fixed.
Newer businesses start with fewer points here. Time fixes it.
Some business models BBB considers high risk carry a deduction.
Missing basics like ownership, address or contact information.
Agreeing to a settlement and not following through is heavily penalized.
A required license that is missing, lapsed or not on file.
Claims BBB finds misleading after review.
Using BBB marks or seals without permission.
Point ranges as published by the BBB in its overview of BBB ratings. Descriptions are our plain-English summary.
The seven rating elements BBB names are complaint history, type of business, time in business, transparent business practices, failure to honor commitments to BBB, licensing information and advertising issues. Reviews are not on the list. Complaint history considers the number of complaints, the size of the business, timely and appropriate responses, good-faith resolution, patterns of unresolved issues and the age of resolved complaints.
These are BBB's published ranges. They are not a promise that any one action returns a set number of points, and BBB does not publish its full weighting formula. We never say that answering a complaint adds a specific score.
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.
Why So Many Owners Think Reviews Count
Owners often mix up the letter grade and the star average, which sit near each other on a profile but come from different inputs.
| What you see | What it reflects | Does a review change it? |
|---|---|---|
| Letter grade, A+ to F or NR | BBB's rating elements, built from your BBB file | No, per BBB |
| Star average | Customer reviews, on a 1 to 5 star scale | Yes. BBB's pages we read do not explain how the stars are combined |
| Complaint list and statuses | Complaints filed, and how each closed | No, but complaints feed the grade |
| Accreditation status | Whether the business is accredited, a separate voluntary program | No |
A shopper sees the grade and the stars together and may assume one explains the other. They do not. Our guide to BBB accreditation versus rating covers a similar confusion on the accreditation side.
When the Grade and the Stars Disagree
Because the grade and the stars use different inputs, they can point in opposite directions, and that mismatch is normal.
| Profile pattern | Likely explanation | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| High grade, low stars | Few or no scored complaints, but unhappy reviewers who chose the review route | Reply to reviews and fix the cause. The grade is not at risk from them |
| Low grade, high stars | Complaints that went unanswered or unresolved, while happy customers left reviews | Work the scored side first. Stars will not rescue the grade |
| NR with reviews | BBB says NR means there is not enough information to rate, or the file is under review. Reviews do not fill the gap | See our guide to what NR means on a profile |
| High grade and high stars | Complaints answered well and happy customers | Keep the routine going |
The second row is the one that surprises owners most. A business can collect many glowing reviews and still sit on a poor grade because a handful of complaints closed as Unanswered. Reviews cannot offset that, per BBB's own statement.
Why Reviews Still Matter
Reviews do not change your points, but they are on your profile where buyers read them, and a good reply is visible to everyone.
BBB says reviews are vetted and sent to the business before they are published, that completed reviews are posted to your BBB business profile, and that both sides can comment. BBB's own value of reviews page cites outside research to argue that reviews influence buying. We have not verified that research, so we do not quote its numbers.
- Buyers read them. A buyer checking you sees stars and text next to your grade.
- They flag problems early. In our work since 2013, a pattern in review text, such as repeated late arrivals, often shows up months before the same problem becomes complaints that do cost points.
- Your reply is public. Our guide on how to respond to a BBB review shows a structure.
- Not every review is published. BBB says it has received more than 4 million customer reviews and has published 62 percent of them, which shows the vetting is real.
Where Reviews and Complaints Cross Over
A customer chooses a complaint or a review for the same experience, so the route they pick decides whether your grade is exposed.
BBB says a consumer must choose whether to file a complaint or submit a review. That means one unhappy experience can end up in either column. Our guide on BBB reviews versus complaints walks through the consequences of each, including the response clock that applies only to complaints.
The practical lesson is to treat every unhappy customer as a possible complaint. If you resolve the problem early, the customer may file neither. If you ignore it, a complaint that goes Unanswered sits in the widest range on the published scale, 40 to 0.
A Worked Example
A made-up case shows why collecting reviews is not a rating strategy.
For example, imagine a fictional landscaping business called Cedar Row Lawn Care with a B- grade. The owner reads an article claiming that reviews boost ratings, and spends a season inviting every customer to review. Dozens of five-star reviews arrive.
- The star average improves, which helps buyers.
- The letter grade does not move because of the reviews, since BBB does not use them.
- An audit shows two old complaints closed as Unanswered because notices went to a dead inbox.
- The business fixes the notice email and answers any open complaint in the window.
- Only now is the scored side improved. What BBB does with it is BBB's decision, and no result is promised.
Inviting every customer is still good practice, as long as you offer nothing in return. It simply is not the lever for the grade.
Myths About Reviews and Ratings
Four myths account for most of the confusion.
| Myth | What BBB publishes |
|---|---|
| More five-star reviews will lift my grade | Reviews are not used in the letter-grade calculation |
| One bad review can drop me a letter | A review is not part of the rating, so it cannot by itself |
| Accreditation fees can buy a better rating | Accreditation dues do not buy a rating and do not remove a complaint |
| A reply to a review raises my rating | Reviews are not part of the rating, so a reply does not change it |
How to Check What BBB Is Scoring on Your Profile
Check your own profile against the seven published elements, because your grade comes from them and not from your reviews.
Open your complaint list
Note each complaint, its filing date and how it closed. Unanswered and unresolved are the statuses with the largest published ranges.
Check for a pattern
Failure to address a complaint pattern is a published element with a range of 0 to -31. Look for repeated issues across complaints.
Confirm your business facts
Type of business, time in business, licensing information and transparent business practices all come from your file. Errors there are worth fixing.
Check advertising and commitments
Advertising issues and failure to honor commitments to BBB are published elements with ranges that reach -41.
Then look at reviews
Treat reviews as a reputation check, separate from the grade, and reply to any that are still open.
BBB says a rating is built from information in a business's BBB file, so the file is where to look. If something in it looks wrong, ask your local BBB to correct it in writing. Our rating improvement service and free audit do this review for you, and we cannot promise any grade.
What To Do Instead
Work the items BBB scores, and treat reviews as a reputation task.
- Log in and check for open complaints today
- Answer every complaint inside 10 to 15 calendar days of filing, aiming for day 10
- Check that your contact details and licensing information on the profile are accurate
- Look at your type of business and time in business so you know what is fixed and what is not
- Reply to every review, positive and negative
- Invite all customers to review, with no incentive
Our free BBB audit checks your profile against the published elements, and our BBB rating improvement service works the items that move the grade. All work is results-based. Before work starts we agree the result in writing, for example moving from a B+ to an A, and you pay when it is delivered. We cannot assign a rating or promise a grade. BBB decides, and Business Rating Fix, the BBB rating division of Reputation Resolutions, is independent of the BBB.
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
