The BBB rating in brief
A BBB rating is a letter grade, from A+ down to F, that reflects the BBB’s view of how a business deals with the public. It is calculated on a 100-point scale. An A+ covers scores from 97 to 100, and an F covers 0 to 59.99.
The rating draws on seven elements.
Complaint history comes first, followed by the kind of business and how long it has operated. The rest are transparency, any broken commitments to the BBB, licensing, and advertising problems. Complaint history is the one an owner can influence most directly.
Three facts frame everything else. Customer reviews do not affect the rating, but complaints can. Accreditation is separate, and the BBB says dues do not buy a rating.
What NR means
NR stands for “No Rating”. The BBB says it is not a grade and is not negative. A profile can show NR when the BBB has not assigned a letter.
Steps a business owner follows to understand and manage the rating
Managing a BBB rating follows a plain sequence. Find the profile, read the grade, answer complaints, fix the causes and keep records current. None of it requires accreditation, and the steps apply to any business with a profile.
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Find the business profile. The BBB publishes profiles for both accredited and non-accredited businesses. An owner should look up the business by name and confirm the profile is the right one.
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Read the grade and the reasons behind it. The profile shows the letter grade. The seven rating elements explain where points may have been lost.
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Check the details the BBB holds. Time in business, type of business and licensing all feed the score. Wrong or missing details can affect the result.
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Respond to every complaint. The BBB counts complaint responses among the weightiest inputs to the grade. An unanswered complaint is a missed chance.
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Fix what the complaints point to. A pattern of similar complaints usually points to one process. Changing that process lowers the chance of the next complaint.
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Keep commitments made to the BBB. Breaking a commitment to the BBB is itself a rating element. A promise made in a complaint response should be kept.
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Review advertising and licensing. Licensing and advertising issues are rating elements too. An owner should confirm licenses are current and claims in ads are accurate.
How the points add up
The BBB does not turn the seven elements into a public formula on its profile page. The exact weighting of each element is a deeper subject. The first part of this series explains how BBB grades work in more detail.
Planning for a new business
A newer business starts with less time in business behind it. That element improves only as the months pass. A new owner can still focus on the elements within reach, such as transparency, licensing and complaint responses.
Checking another company’s rating
The same steps work for checking a supplier or contractor. Look up the profile, read the grade and read the complaint record. The grade is a summary, and the record behind it often says more.
What moves a BBB rating up or down
Complaint handling moves a BBB rating more than anything else an owner controls. The other elements, such as time in business and type of business, change slowly or not at all. Transparency, licensing and advertising sit in between.
Complaint history and responses
Complaint history covers both the complaints filed and how the business handled them. In the BBB’s own words, the way a business answers complaints ranks among the most important inputs. A business with complaints that are all answered can be in a better position than one with fewer complaints left unanswered.
The BBB passes each complaint along within two business days. A reply is due within 10–15 calendar days. Most complaints wrap up roughly 30 calendar days from the date they were filed.
How a complaint closes
Closure statuses are Resolved, Answered, Unresolved, Unanswered and Unpursuable. The status records how the complaint ended. Each complaint stays visible on the profile for three years after it was filed.
That three-year window matters for the rating. An old problem stays visible until it ages off the profile. Steady, prompt responses over time build a record that outweighs a single bad month.
Complaints the BBB will not take
Some disputes fall outside the BBB’s scope: anonymous filings, workplace disputes, and grievances about price or second thoughts alone. Those disputes do not enter the complaint record. Owners do not need to worry that an anonymous grievance will affect the grade.
Time in business and type of business
Time in business grows on its own. A newer business cannot speed it up. Type of business reflects the industry the business operates in.
Transparency
Transparency means sharing clear, accurate information about the business. It is one of the seven elements. An owner can affect it by keeping the profile’s details correct.
Licensing and advertising
Licensing issues arise when a required license is missing or lapsed. Advertising issues arise when ads make claims the BBB flags. Both can lower a score.
What does not move it
Customer reviews do not affect the BBB rating. Paying dues does not buy a rating. Accreditation is an optional extra, and an unaccredited business can still earn an A+.
A note on history
The BBB introduced letter grades in 2009. An ABC 20/20 report in 2010 led it to end higher grades for paying members. Whether accreditation still adds any points today is not settled by the BBB’s current pages.
Mistakes that drag a rating down
The most damaging rating mistakes involve ignoring complaints, confusing reviews with complaints and assuming money can change the grade. Each one rests on a misunderstanding of how the score works. Most can be avoided with a little attention.
Ignoring a complaint
If the business stays silent, the complaint is closed as Unanswered. That silence costs points in one of the heaviest parts of the grade. Even a complaint the owner disagrees with deserves a reply inside the response window.
The handling of BBB complaints has its own guide on this hub. It compares the complaint record with reviews and explains when a complaint matters. This guide stays with how the rating responds.
Treating reviews as the problem
Some owners spend effort fighting negative reviews on their BBB profile. Customer reviews do not affect the rating. Complaints are where the rating effort belongs.
Expecting dues to lift the grade
According to the BBB, money paid in dues neither lifts a grade nor erases a complaint. Paying for accreditation is not a route to a higher letter. Owners who apply for that reason are likely to be disappointed.
Breaking a promise made in a response
A response that promises a refund or a repair creates a commitment. Honoring commitments to the BBB counts in the grade. A broken promise can cost more than the original complaint.
Reading NR as a penalty
NR is not a grade and is not negative. Owners sometimes rush to change it out of worry. The BBB’s own position is that it carries no negative meaning.
Replying in anger
A defensive or hostile reply rarely helps. The BBB’s complaint steps start with responding promptly, sympathizing and apologizing. They continue with reassuring the customer, getting the facts and rebuilding trust.
The last steps are to thank the customer and follow up. A calm reply that follows those steps reads well to anyone who later views the profile. It also gives the complaint a better chance of closing as Resolved.
Letting licenses lapse
Licensing issues are a rating element. A lapsed license can lower the score even with a clean complaint record. Keeping renewal dates on a calendar avoids that.
Frequently asked questions
What does the BBB rating mean?
It is the BBB’s letter grade for a business, from A+ down to F, based on a 100-point scale. The grade draws on seven elements, including complaint history and time in business. It is not an endorsement.
Is BBB rating junk?
The rating measures specific things, mainly complaint history and how complaints are handled. It does not include customer reviews. It is most useful when read alongside the complaint record behind it.
How do I check a company’s BBB rating?
Look up the business by name on the BBB’s site and open its profile. The BBB publishes profiles for both accredited and non-accredited businesses. The profile shows the letter grade and the complaint record.
How do I check out a company’s reputation?
Start with its BBB profile, which shows the letter grade and the complaint record with closure statuses. Read how the company replied, not just how many complaints it has. Other review platforms add a second view, since BBB reviews do not feed the grade.
Where to go next in the Better Business Bureau hub
All the BBB guides sit together on the hub for the Better Business Bureau. The hub explains accreditation, the letter rating and the complaint process as one system. Readers can pick the topic that matches the question in front of them.