Why Some Loans Need a Co-Borrower, and How to Ask

The lender said yes, with one condition: someone has to co-sign. If you are under 25 that is the normal outcome, not a judgment on you. It also means asking someone you love to put their credit behind your debt, and almost nobody has done that before. This is how to do it well.

Why the lender is asking

A lender prices a loan on two things: can you pay it back, and have you paid things back before. At 19 or 22 you usually have little of either on paper. No long income history, and a credit file that is thin or empty.

That is normal. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that most people with no credit file at all are young, with over 10 million of them under 25 in its 2015 study. The Bureau cut its totals roughly in half in a 2025 recount, but the age pattern did not change: the people lenders cannot score are mostly people who have not had time to build a record yet.

A co-borrower fixes that for the lender. They look at the second person's income and history instead of, or as well as, yours. In the most recent industry report, 96% of new private undergraduate student loans had a co-signer. For a young borrower it is the rule, not the exception.

The words differ by lender. "Co-signer" and "co-borrower" are used almost interchangeably, and the obligation is the same. We use co-borrower because that is what our financing partner calls it.

Most of our flight students who finance their training need one, so the example on this page is a training loan. The conversation is the same for a car, an apartment or a business.

What they are actually agreeing to

Be clear on this before you ask anyone, because they will ask you.

What happens	What it means for them
They sign the loan	They are equally responsible and legally obligated to repay it, not a reference or a character witness
You pay on time	Nothing is owed by them and no bill goes to them
You pay late	The late payment goes on their credit history as well as yours
You stop paying	The lender can come to them for the full amount, plus late fees and collection costs
They apply for credit themselves	Lenders count your loan as their debt when deciding what else they can borrow

The CFPB's wording is the plainest: co-signers are equally responsible for and legally obligated to repay the loan, and any late or missed payment affects both people's credit. That is the whole deal. It is a large ask, and you should treat it as one.

Who people ask

Usually a parent. Then a grandparent, an older sibling, an aunt or uncle, occasionally a stepparent or a family friend who has known you a long time. The person needs two things: a credit record the lender can score and an income that could carry the payments if it came to that.

Who not to ask: anyone whose own finances are tight, anyone who would struggle to say no to you, and anyone you would not tell if you missed a payment. The last one is the real test. A co-borrower you would hide a problem from is the wrong co-borrower.

Before you ask

Do the work first. Hear the difference between "flight school is expensive, can you help" and "it is $89,000, the payment starts at month 12, and here are the three schools I visited." The second one gets a yes far more often. It also deserves one.

Know the exact number. The loan amount, the term, the estimated monthly payment, and when the first payment is due. For our students that is $89,000 for the training, with the first payment at month 12. If you cannot say what the monthly payment will be, you are not ready to ask.
Know what it is for, in one sentence. Not "flight school is expensive." Something like: nine months of training to a commercial certificate and instructor rating, then paid work instructing while I build hours for the airlines.
Know how you will pay it back. What you will earn after training, when it starts, and what the payment is as a share of it. What happens after flight school is the version of that for a pilot.
Know what you have already done. Hours flown, exams passed, a job held to save for it, schools you visited. You are asking someone to back a decision, and evidence that you have taken it seriously is what moves them.
Have a backup. What you will do if they say no. Having one makes the ask lighter for both of you.

How to ask

Ask for a conversation, not an answer. "Can we sit down this weekend, there is something I want to run past you" is better than a text with the question in it. Do it in person or on a call. Not by message.
Lead with the ask. Say it in the first minute: "I am applying for a loan for my training and the lender wants a co-borrower. I would like to ask you, and I want to tell you what that means before you answer." People tense up waiting for the question. Get it out.
Say the risk yourself. Tell them what co-signing commits them to, in the words above, before they have to ask. You lose nothing by being the one who names it, and you gain a lot.
Show the plan. The number, the purpose, the repayment, the evidence. Short. A single page is enough.
Give them an out. "If this is not something you are comfortable with, I understand, and I have other options." Mean it. A yes that was pressured is worse than a no.
Do not ask for the answer that day. "Think about it, and I will send you the page from the lender so you can read it yourself." Then send it.

For our students there is a short page written for the co-borrower that explains the program, the commitment and the timeline in neutral terms. Send that rather than making the case yourself twice.

What to agree between you

A co-signed loan goes wrong when one person finds out about a problem from the lender. Agree these before anyone signs.

Autopay from your account, so a missed payment is a decision rather than an accident.
They can see the account. Most lenders let a co-borrower view statements. Set it up on day one.
What happens if you cannot pay. You tell them first, before the due date, every time. If they end up making a payment, it is a loan from them to you, and you write down the terms.
The exit. Some lenders release a co-signer after a run of on-time payments and a credit check on you alone, but when the CFPB looked in 2015, 90% of those who applied were turned down. The reliable exit is refinancing in your own name once you have an income. How to pay for flight school shows what that looks like for a pilot.

When you should not ask

When their finances cannot take a bad year. A co-borrower on a fixed income, close to retirement, or carrying their own debt should not be carrying yours. If the worst case would hurt them badly, the answer is a smaller loan or a later start, not a riskier signature.
When your own plan is shaky. If you are not sure you want the career, do not put someone else's credit behind finding out. Pay for the first step yourself. For flying that is a discovery flight and a few lessons, not a program.
When there is a better ask. A parent who owns a home may be able to borrow against it at a far lower rate than a 19-year-old is offered. That is their loan, which you repay to them, and it is a different conversation from co-signing. Often a better one.
When the relationship is the thing you cannot afford to lose. Money has ended plenty of them. If you are not sure the two of you could handle a missed payment, do not find out.

If the answer is no

Thank them, and mean it. They have just done the responsible thing with their own finances, which is exactly what you are asking them to trust you to do with yours.

Then work the backup. Apply for every scholarship you qualify for. Ask whether a smaller loan plus savings would be approved without a co-borrower. Spend a year building credit with a secured card and a steady job, and apply again. Ask a different person, if there is one for whom the risk is small. None of those is as fast as a yes. All of them are better than a resentful one.

Questions

What is the difference between a co-signer and a co-borrower?

In practice, very little. Both sign the loan, both are legally responsible for the full amount, and both see it on their credit history. Some lenders use one word and some the other. Read the loan agreement for the obligation rather than the label.

Does being a co-borrower affect their credit?

Yes, in both directions. On-time payments can help it. Late payments go on their record as well as yours, and the loan counts as their debt when they apply for credit of their own.

Can a co-borrower be removed later?

Sometimes. Some lenders offer co-signer release after a run of on-time payments and a credit check on the borrower alone, but it is not automatic and many applications are refused. Refinancing in your own name once you have an income is the more reliable route.

Do flight training loans need a co-borrower?

Often, depending on your credit and income. The lender decides after seeing your application. Our own application asks for one before you can submit, so it is worth having this conversation early rather than at the last screen.

What if nobody can co-sign for me?

Apply for scholarships, ask the lender what amount would be approved on your own, build credit for a year and apply again, or start with the part of the training you can pay for yourself. A smaller loan later is usually better than a signature from someone who cannot afford to give it.

Sources

Last reviewed October 2026. Lender rules on co-signers and release change, so read the loan agreement in front of you rather than relying on a general page, including this one.