What Credit Score Do You Need to Lease a Car in the UK?

Published 8 May 2025

Leasing a car in the UK typically requires a good to excellent credit score, but the exact number depends on the lender and the credit reference agency used.

What Is a “Good” Credit Score for Car Leasing?

• Experian: A score of 881 or above is considered “good,” while 960+ is “excellent”.

• Equifax: A “good” score is over 531, with 811+ being “excellent”.

• TransUnion: “Good” starts at 604, with 628+ as “excellent”.

Most leasing companies look for applicants with a good to excellent credit score. While there is no universal minimum, having a score in these ranges will give you the best chance of approval.

Why Is a Credit Check Required?

Leasing is a form of credit. Lenders check your credit to assess if you can reliably make monthly payments. This protects both you and the finance provider, ensuring the agreement is affordable.

What If You Have Bad Credit or No Credit History?

For many people, these strict requirements can make leasing a car feel out of reach. A poor credit score, CCJs, IVAs, or simply a lack of credit history often lead to automatic rejections from mainstream providers.

How Compass Vehicle Services Ltd (CVS Ltd) Is Different

At Compass Vehicle Services Ltd, we specialise in car leasing for customers with bad credit, poor credit, or no credit history at all. Unlike most companies, we don’t rely on automated credit scoring to make decisions. Instead, our in-house underwriting team manually reviews every application.

Here’s how our process works:

• We look at your individual circumstances, not just your credit score.

• We assess your affordability by reviewing your bank statements and supporting documents.

• If you can demonstrate you can comfortably manage monthly payments and provide traceability, we can often say yes-even when others say no.

Why Choose CVS Ltd?

• Manual, Personal Assessment: Every application is reviewed by a real person, not a computer algorithm.

• Specialists in Bad Credit Leasing: We’ve helped customers who have been turned away elsewhere get behind the wheel since 1999.

• Flexible Solutions: We tailor lease deals to your unique financial situation.

Key Takeaways

• Mainstream car leasing companies usually require a good to excellent credit score.

• CVS Ltd welcomes applicants with bad credit or no credit history.

• Our manual underwriting process means we look at your real financial situation, not just your credit score.

• If you can afford the payments and provide the right documents, you have a strong chance of approval with CVS Ltd.

If you’ve struggled to get approved elsewhere, talk to CVS Ltd-the car leasing company that cares.