How to Fill Out and Submit the CareCredit Application Form

You can fill out the CareCredit application online at carecredit.com, by phone at (800) 677-0718, or on a paper form at a participating provider’s office, and in most cases you’ll get a decision within seconds. The form asks for your Social Security number or ITIN, legal name, date of birth, street address, net monthly income, and housing details. Have those ready before you start and the whole process takes a few minutes.

What to Gather Before You Open the Form

The application is short, but every field has to be right. A mistyped digit or a mismatch with your credit file can push your result from “approved” to “pending review.”

Social Security number or ITIN, entered as exactly nine digits. The form rejects placeholder entries like all zeros.¹
Full legal name and date of birth as they appear on your government-issued ID.
A physical street address. Federal customer identification rules require a street address when opening a new account, so a P.O. box alone won’t work.²
Net monthly income, meaning your take-home pay after taxes and deductions, not your gross salary. Combine wages, self-employment earnings, and any other regular income you personally receive. Alimony, child support, and separate maintenance are optional; you list them only if you want them counted.
Whether you rent or own, and your monthly housing payment.

You must be at least 18 to apply online or at a provider’s office, and at least 21 to apply by phone.³ Under the Truth in Lending Act, applicants under 21 generally have to show they can independently make payments or add a co-signer who is 21 or older.⁴

Prequalify First to Protect Your Credit Score

CareCredit offers an online prequalification check that uses a soft credit inquiry, which does not affect your credit score.⁵ You only need the last four digits of your Social Security number and your mobile phone number. Results come back in seconds.

Prequalification is not a guarantee of approval. Submitting the full application triggers a hard credit inquiry, which can temporarily lower your score by a few points.⁶ CareCredit does not publish a minimum credit score. Applicants with scores in the fair range (roughly 580 to 669 on a FICO scale) are sometimes approved; scores below that face a higher chance of denial.

Filling Out Each Section

The online form at carecredit.com and the paper form at a provider’s office ask for the same information. If you’re applying at a dental, veterinary, or other healthcare office, the form includes a “Doctor/Provider” field. Fill that in accurately, because it links your new account to that practice and determines where your first transaction can be processed.

The income section is where most applicants pause. Enter your personal net monthly income, meaning the total amount deposited into your bank account across the month. If you have more than one income source, such as a day job plus freelance work, add them together. Synchrony compares this figure against your existing debts to gauge whether you can take on additional credit.

Adding a Co-Applicant

The form has an optional co-applicant section. Adding one can strengthen a thin credit file or support a higher credit line. The co-applicant provides their own name, date of birth, Social Security number, and income. Both of you become equally responsible for the balance, and late payments or high utilization will show up on both credit reports.

Total Household Income

Some versions of the application include a “Total Household Income” field. You can include income from other adults in your household who are 21 or older, provided you have a reasonable expectation of access to that money. A spouse’s earnings that go toward shared expenses qualify; a roommate’s paycheck does not just because you share an address. Synchrony may follow up if the household figure looks disproportionate to your individual income.⁷

Three Ways to Submit

Online at carecredit.com/apply. Fastest route; you see a decision on screen almost immediately.
At a provider’s office. Hand the paper form to the front desk, or use a tablet or kiosk if the office has one, and staff enter it into the CareCredit system.
By phone at (800) 677-0718. Phone applicants must be at least 21.³

What Happens After You Submit

Synchrony runs a hard credit inquiry and returns one of three outcomes.

Approved

You receive a temporary account number on screen, or from the provider’s staff, that works right away at that office. Save or print those temporary card details; the physical card arrives in 7 to 10 business days.⁸ If you applied through a provider’s custom link or QR code, the approval page may include a “Pay” button to start a transaction immediately.

Denied

You’ll receive a letter within 30 days explaining the specific reasons.⁹ Common reasons include low credit scores, high existing debt, or limited credit history. Calling Synchrony rarely reverses a denial on the spot. If nothing about your finances has changed, waiting three to six months before reapplying gives you time to pay down balances, correct credit report errors, or build a longer payment history.¹⁰

Pending

A pending result usually means Synchrony needs additional verification, often something like confirming your identity or resolving a discrepancy on your credit report. Call the number provided on screen to try to clear it. Federal regulations give Synchrony 30 days from a completed application to issue a final decision.⁹

Costs to Know Before You Use the Card

CareCredit charges no annual fee.¹¹ The standard variable purchase APR outside a promotional plan is 32.99% as of mid-2024, so carrying a non-promotional balance is expensive.¹² The rate is variable and moves with the prime rate.

Late fees are $30 if you paid on time in the previous six billing cycles, and $41 if you missed a payment in any of those six. The fee will never exceed your minimum payment for that cycle. The minimum interest charge in any cycle that accrues interest is $2.¹³

Deferred Interest and Reduced APR Plans

On purchases of $200 or more at enrolled providers, CareCredit offers deferred interest plans of 6, 12, 18, or 24 months.¹⁴ Pay the entire promotional balance before the period ends and you owe zero interest. Leave even one dollar on the account when the clock runs out and you owe all the interest that accrued from the original purchase date, not just interest on what’s left. Interest accrues quietly throughout the promotional window, and the full amount gets added if you miss the deadline. The required minimum payment is often too small to clear the balance in time, so divide your promotional balance by the months remaining and pay at least that much each month.

For purchases of $1,000 or more, CareCredit also offers fixed reduced-APR plans of 24, 36, or 48 months, and a 60-month plan for purchases of $2,500 or more. These charge interest at a stated rate from the start, with no deferred-interest catch-up at the end.¹⁴ Not every provider offers every plan, so ask before your appointment.

Where the Card Works

The standard CareCredit card is accepted at more than 285,000 enrolled provider locations, covering dentistry, veterinary care, cosmetic and skin procedures, vision, hearing, chiropractic, hospitals, weight-loss programs, pharmacies, labs, and specialty care.¹⁵ It is not a general-purpose credit card and won’t work at businesses outside the network. To confirm a specific provider, use the locator at carecredit.com/doctor-locator; you can search by zip code, provider name, or category.¹⁶ A separate CareCredit Rewards Mastercard version works anywhere Mastercard is accepted and is a different product with its own application.¹⁷

1
Synchrony. CareCredit Application Form
2
U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury and Federal Financial Regulators Issue Patriot Act Regulations on Customer Identification
3
CareCredit. Prequalify and Apply for a CareCredit Credit Card
4
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Can a Card Issuer Consider My Age When Deciding Whether to Issue a Credit Card to Me
5
CareCredit. Check CareCredit Prequalification Easily — Here’s How
6
CareCredit. How Prequalifying for the CareCredit Credit Card Helps Your Practice and Patients
7
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1026.51 – Ability to Pay
8
CareCredit. CareCredit Contactless Financing Experience FAQs
9
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1002.9 – Notifications
10
CareCredit. What to Do After Your Credit Card Application Gets Denied
11
CareCredit. CareCredit – Health and Wellness Credit Card
12
CareCredit. CareCredit FAQs
13
Synchrony. CareCredit Pricing Information
14
CareCredit. Understanding Promotional Financing – How It Works
15
CareCredit. How Does the CareCredit Credit Card Work
16
CareCredit. Find a CareCredit Provider Near You
17
CareCredit. CareCredit Rewards Mastercard – Health and Wellness Credit Card