How to Get a Cell Phone Plan Without a Credit Check

Joining Someone Else's Plan

Choose a main account holder. You can join someone else's plan in two ways: by using a family plan or signing up as an authorized user. Fortunately, only the main account holder needs to pass a credit check, so your credit score won't matter. Choose someone with strong credit to open the account. You can check your credit score by using a free service such as Credit.com. You can also buy your FICO score from myfico.com.

Compare providers. Many cell phone companies provide family plans, including T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, Cricket, and others. Some carriers also let a primary account holder add an “authorized user.” Consider the following as you look at plans: The number of lines. Some plans let you add up to 10 lines. Amount of data per line. Some carriers offer unlimited data. You'll pay more, but often not much more than other plans. Monthly price. Prices vary from $60 to $180 a month.

Sign up for your chosen plan. The main account holder should contact the carrier to apply for a family plan. They can also add you as an authorized user if you decide to go that route. They should sign up at the carrier's website. Look for a link to “family plans” at the website.

Using a Prepaid Carrier

Identify providers. Many carriers offer prepaid plans. With these plans, you buy a certain amount of minutes and/or data, and the phone stops working when you use them all up. Popular providers of these plans include: AT&T Cricket Wireless Sprint Straight Talk Wireless T-Mobile Verizon Virgin Mobile

Compare plans. Look at the price as well as how much data each plan offers. Data is usually measured by gigabytes (GB), with a larger GB the better. Some providers offer only talk and text. You can compare plans online. Also compare activation fees. Some plans let you activate your account for free, but others charge you to activate in a store.

Purchase a phone. With a contract, you get the phone upfront and slowly pay it off each month. With a prepaid plan, you buy the phone yourself upfront. You can buy phones are most large stores, depending on the phone that you want. Expect the phone to cost more because you are buying it separately.

Pay for your plan. Sign up for your plan at the carrier's website. You can also buy a phone from the same website. Remember to load money onto your account each month or your phone won't work.

Paying a Security Deposit

Calculate your security deposit. Some carriers will let people with no or poor credit sign up for a plan, but you must pay a security deposit first. For example, T-Mobile lets consumers with the best credit buy an iPhone for around $27 a month. However, if you have poor credit, you can pay $360 upfront and then make monthly payments. To estimate your security deposit, use an online security deposit calculator. You need to know your credit score to use the calculator. You can get your score from myfico.com for a small fee, or you can use a free online service such as Credit Karma.

Apply for a plan. Stop into any store and apply, or apply online at the carrier's website. You typically must provide the following information when you apply. personal identification, such as a driver's license or other government-issued ID telephone number email address delivery address tax identification number

Pay your security deposit. The carrier will check your credit and then contact you about a security deposit. Typically, you must pay your deposit before the carrier will activate your plan. Some carriers won't even let you pay a security deposit. Instead, carriers have created prepaid plans for people with bad credit, so don't be surprised if you are rejected.

Receive a refund of your security deposit. Your carrier will probably refund your deposit if you pay your bills consistently for a year. They should pay simple interest on the deposit, so you'll get back a little more than you paid in. Make sure to pay your bill in full and on-time.

Using a Co-Signer

Find a co-signer with good credit. Just as you can get a car loan with poor credit if you have a co-signer, you can get a cell phone plan with a co-signer as well. Identify someone who has good credit to co-sign for you. Ask your family first. Your co-singer should check their credit score before you apply. They can get their credit score for free or for a small fee.

Sign up for your cell phone plan. You should sign up for the plan yourself. Visit a cell phone store or the carrier's website. The carrier will run a credit check and let you know whether or not you need someone to co-sign on the contract.

Pay your bills. Stay on top of your payments, and use your cell phone responsibly. The co-signer is responsible for your bills if you don't make payment, so don't take advantage of them by forgetting to pay. Automate your payments to make things easier. If you use online banking, automating payments is easy.

Move the account into your name. Once you have established a solid payment history, the cell phone provider might move the account solely into your name. For example, T-Mobile might move your account after 60 days. However, the carrier will probably run a credit check when you request that the account be moved. Because of this, you should check your credit before making the request.