Soft inquiries have no impact on your credit score
A soft credit check (also called a soft inquiry or soft pull) does not lower your credit score. The three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — do not factor soft inquiries into the calculations that produce your score. Only hard inquiries can affect your score, and only by a small amount.
Soft inquiries happen when a lender or company checks your credit without your permission as part of a background review, or when you check your own credit. Hard inquiries happen when you formally request credit — explore for a mortgage, auto loan, credit card, or personal loan. The difference matters because hard inquiries signal to lenders that you are actively seeking new debt.
You can request your free credit reports from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com once per year. Checking your own reports is always a soft inquiry and never affects your score.
Key Takeaways
- Soft inquiries do not appear on your credit score and have zero impact on the number lenders see.
- Hard inquiries can lower your score by a few points, but the effect fades after three to six months.
- You can check your own credit reports and scores as often as you want without any penalty.
- Employers, insurance companies, and landlords typically use soft inquiries, so their background checks do not touch your score.
- Multiple hard inquiries within a short window (usually 14 to 45 days) for the same type of credit count as one inquiry on your score.
What counts as a soft inquiry
Soft inquiries include any credit check that happens without your formal request for new credit. When you check your own credit score through your bank, a credit card issuer's website, or a free monitoring service, that is a soft inquiry. When a credit card company pre-screens you to send a "you are pre-approved" offer, that is a soft inquiry. When an employer, insurance company, or landlord runs a background check, they typically use a soft inquiry.
Utility companies, phone carriers, and retailers may also pull your credit as a soft inquiry before opening an account. The key distinction is that you are not formally requesting a new line of credit — the company is checking your creditworthiness for their own risk assessment. Soft inquiries appear on your credit report but not on the version lenders see, and they carry no scoring weight.
How hard inquiries differ and what they cost
A hard inquiry happens when you submit a formal process for credit. This includes credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, personal loans, student loans, and sometimes rental applications. The lender pulls your full credit report and score as part of their decision to approve or deny you. Hard inquiries appear on your credit report and are visible to other lenders.
Each hard inquiry can lower your score by a few points — typically between 5 and 10 points per inquiry, though the exact impact varies by scoring model and your overall credit profile. The effect is temporary. Most scoring models stop counting the inquiry after three months, and it falls off your report entirely after two years. If you are shopping for the same type of credit (like comparing mortgage rates from multiple lenders), most models treat inquiries within 14 to 45 days as a single inquiry, so rate shopping does not compound the damage.
The reason hard inquiries matter is that they signal you are seeking new debt. Multiple hard inquiries in a short time can suggest financial stress or desperation to lenders, which raises their risk. A single hard inquiry has minimal impact on a strong credit profile, but it can matter more if your score is already low or if you have many recent inquiries.
Where soft inquiries appear and who can see them
Soft inquiries show up on your credit report, but only you and the company that ran the inquiry can see them. When another lender pulls your credit report to make a lending decision, they do not see the soft inquiries. This is why soft inquiries have no scoring impact — the scoring models that lenders use do not include them in their calculations.
You can see all soft inquiries on your credit report by requesting it from each of the three bureaus. The report will list the company name, the date of the inquiry, and whether it was a soft or hard pull. If you see an inquiry you do not recognize, you can dispute it with the bureau, though soft inquiries are rarely fraudulent since they do not require your formal consent to appear on your report.
Why lenders care about hard inquiries but not soft ones
Lenders use hard inquiries as a signal of recent credit-seeking behavior. If you have applied for three credit cards in the past month, that tells a lender you may be in financial trouble or planning to take on a lot of new debt. Soft inquiries do not carry that signal because they happen without your active request — a pre-screened offer or a background check does not mean you are trying to borrow money.
Credit scoring models weight recent hard inquiries more heavily than older ones. A hard inquiry from last week matters more than one from six months ago. This is why the impact of a hard inquiry fades over time. After about three months, the scoring impact becomes negligible, and after two years, the inquiry no longer appears on your report at all.
How to minimize hard inquiry damage when you need credit
If you are planning to explore for credit, you can reduce the scoring impact by doing your shopping within a short window. When you are rate shopping for a mortgage, auto loan, or personal loan, try to submit all applications within 14 to 45 days. Most scoring models treat multiple inquiries for the same type of credit as a single inquiry during this window, so you can compare offers without multiplying the damage.
Avoid explore for multiple types of credit at once. explore for a credit card, auto loan, and mortgage in the same month will generate three separate hard inquiries that each count as a distinct inquiry. If you need credit, prioritize the most important one and wait a few months before explore for the others.
Check your own credit before you explore. Knowing your score and report in advance lets you address errors or weak spots before lenders see them. Checking your own credit is always a soft inquiry, so you can do it as many times as you want without penalty.
Monitoring your credit without triggering hard inquiries
Many banks and credit card issuers now offer free credit score monitoring through their websites or apps. Checking your score this way is always a soft inquiry. Services like Credit Karma, Experian, and AnnualCreditReport.com also let you monitor your score and report for free, and these checks are soft inquiries.
You can also set up fraud alerts or a credit freeze with the three bureaus. A fraud alert tells lenders to verify your identity before opening new accounts in your name. A credit freeze blocks lenders from accessing your credit report entirely unless you temporarily lift it. Neither of these actions involves a hard inquiry or affects your score.
Checking your credit regularly helps you spot errors, fraud, or identity theft early. Since checking your own credit is always a soft inquiry, there is no downside to monitoring frequently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a landlord or employer checking my credit hurt my score?
No. Landlords and employers typically use soft inquiries, which do not affect your score. Even if they use a hard inquiry, it is usually a specialized employment or rental report that does not feed into your credit score calculation. You can ask what type of inquiry they will run before they pull your credit.
Do pre-approved credit card offers hurt my score?
No. Pre-approved offers are based on soft inquiries that the credit card company runs without your request. Receiving an offer does not affect your score. Your score only takes a hit if you actually explore for the card, which triggers a hard inquiry.
How many hard inquiries is too many?
One or two hard inquiries in a few months has minimal impact on a strong credit profile. More than three hard inquiries in six months can signal financial stress to lenders and may lower your score noticeably. If you are rate shopping for one type of credit, keep all applications within 14 to 45 days so they count as a single inquiry.
Will checking my credit score on my bank's app hurt it?
No. Banks offer free credit monitoring through their apps and websites, and these checks are always soft inquiries. You can check your score as often as you want without any penalty.
How long does a hard inquiry stay on my credit report?
Hard inquiries appear on your credit report for two years, but their scoring impact fades much faster — usually within three to six months. After two years, the inquiry is removed from your report entirely and no longer visible to lenders.