National Complaint Acceptance Policy

BBBs typically do not impose additional requirements, such as requiring that complaints meet a certain monetary threshold. And, while BBB’s strongly encourage consumers to first contact the business, a complaint will not be rejected because the consumer declines to do so.

Complaints Accepted by the BBB


Better Business Bureaus accept all complaints that meet the following criteria:

  • The complaint includes the complainant’s name and postal address;
  • The complaint includes the business’s name and provides sufficient information to determine the business’s location;
  • The complaint seeks assistance from BBB;
  • The complaint is from a customer, or the customer’s authorized representative, of the business complained about;
  • The complaint relates to a marketplace issue;
  • The complaint alleges a problem experienced with the services or products that the company provided or allegedly agreed to provide;
  • The complaint is not in litigation and has not have been resolved by a previous court action, arbitration, or settlement between the parties; and
  • The complaint contains no abusive language.