Yes, personal loan can be applied either by yourself singly or together with a co-applicant jointly.The co-applicant needs to be a family member like your spouse or parents. By getting a co-borrower, your loan application will be processed in a higher income bracket, enabling you to avail a larger loan amount. However, keep in mind that if either you or your co-applicant have poor credit history, the chances of success of your loan application may be adversely affected.

Though the documentation requirements of personal loans vary from one financial institution to another, some of the key documents that you would need to provide with your personal loan application include: Income proof ( Salary Slip for salaried/recent acknowledged ITR for self-employed ) Address Proof Documents Identity Proof Documents and others Certified copies of degree/license ( in case of self-employed professional ) and others as per the lender’s criteria.

Approval of loan is at the sole discretion of the loan sanctioning officer who bases his/her decision on the basis of the criteria specified by the bank/ financial institution. The entire process can take from about 48 hours to about two weeks’ time. Once all the necessary documents are submitted and the verification process is completed, the loan, if sanctioned, is disbursed within seven working days by the bank. In order to avoid delays in loan processing and disbursement, do keep all necessary documents ready along with the postdated checks PDC and/or signed Electronic Clearing System form.

It is always a good idea to compare the offers of individual banks before you decide to settle on a specific provider. Use online tools like the loan eligibility calculator and personal loan EMI calculator to find the loan option that suits you the best. Some of the key factors to consider when deciding on a loan provider include interest rates, loan tenure, processing fees and others.