Checking your own credit score does not lower it. When you look at your own report or score through a bank app, a monitoring service, or AnnualCreditReport.com, the bureaus log it as a soft inquiry, and soft inquiries are invisible to scoring models.1Experian. What Is a Soft Inquiry? Your score only moves when a lender pulls your file because you asked to borrow money.
Soft Inquiries vs. Hard Inquiries
The distinction that decides everything is who is pulling the report and why. A soft inquiry happens when someone checks a credit file for a reason unrelated to a new application for credit. You checking your own report is the clearest example. Others include pre-approved offers, insurance quotes, employer background screenings, landlord screenings, and periodic account reviews by creditors you already have.3Equifax. Hard Inquiry vs Soft Inquiry: What’s the Difference?
Soft inquiries also stay private. They appear on the version of the report only you can see and are not visible to lenders reviewing your file later.2Experian. What Is a Soft Inquiry? The Fair Credit Reporting Act treats your access to your own file as a standalone right, separate from any lending decision, which is why federal law keeps it out of the scoring formula entirely.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
A hard inquiry is different. It occurs when a lender pulls your full report to make a decision on a formal application, typically for a mortgage, auto loan, credit card, or personal loan. Because you’re actively seeking new debt, scoring models treat the pull as a mild risk signal.
How Much a Hard Inquiry Actually Drops Your Score
The impact is small and short-lived. A hard inquiry typically lowers a FICO score by fewer than five points; a VantageScore may drop five to ten points.5Experian. How Long Do Hard Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report FICO only factors in hard inquiries from the past 12 months, though the inquiry itself remains on your report for up to two years.6myFICO. Do Credit Inquiries Lower Your FICO Score? VantageScore may consider inquiries for the full 24 months they stay visible, with the effect fading over time.
Hard inquiries are also visible to future lenders, which is why a cluster of them within a short window can look like you’re taking on debt quickly.
Rate Shopping Is Treated as One Inquiry
If you’re comparing rates on a mortgage, auto loan, or student loan, the individual pulls from each lender aren’t counted separately. Scoring models group them into a single event when they fall inside a set window. VantageScore uses 14 days; FICO allows up to 45.7TransUnion. How Rate Shopping Can Impact Your Credit Score Keeping all your comparison applications inside 14 days protects you under both.
This grouping only applies to the same type of loan. Applying for a mortgage and a credit card in the same week won’t merge; those are two separate inquiries.
How to Check Your Credit for Free
Federal law entitles you to one free credit report every 12 months from each of the three major bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — through a centralized system.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681j – Charges for Certain Disclosures The only federally authorized site is AnnualCreditReport.com.9USAGov. Learn About Your Credit Report and How to Get a Copy You can also request reports by calling 1-877-322-8228 or by mailing a request to Annual Credit Report Request Service, PO Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
All three bureaus currently offer free weekly online reports through the same site, on top of the statutory annual right.1Experian. What Is a Soft Inquiry? So you can pull your full report from each bureau once a week at no cost, and none of it touches your score.
One thing to keep straight: a credit report and a credit score are not the same. The report is your detailed credit history. The score is a number calculated from that history. Many banks, card issuers, and free apps push score updates directly to you, and those also register as soft inquiries.
What to Do About a Hard Inquiry You Didn’t Authorize
If you review your report and see a hard inquiry from a company you never applied to, dispute it. An unauthorized pull can indicate identity theft or a bureau error, and removing it protects both your score and your file going forward.
File the dispute directly with the credit bureau reporting the inquiry. Your dispute should include your contact information, the specific inquiry you’re challenging, an explanation of why it’s inaccurate, and copies of any supporting documents.10Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Dispute an Error on My Credit Report? Certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof of when the bureau received it.
The bureau generally has 30 days to investigate. That extends to 45 days if you filed the dispute after receiving your free annual report, or if you submit additional information during the investigation.11Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Does It Take to Repair an Error on a Credit Report? Once it finishes, it has five business days to notify you of the results. If the inquiry can’t be verified, it has to come off.
It’s also worth contacting the company that supposedly made the inquiry and disputing it with them directly. If they can’t verify it, they must correct their records and notify all three bureaus.10Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Dispute an Error on My Credit Report?