Takeaways
- Hard inquiries occur when you apply for a credit card, personal loan, or mortgage.
- Hard credit inquiries are requests for your credit report after you apply for credit.
- Hard credit inquiries cause a short-term dip in your credit score.
- Soft credit inquiries are when a lender requests your credit report independently.
- Hard credit inquiries occur when you complete new credit applications for credit products ranging from personal lines of credit to home equity loans.
What Is a Hard Credit Inquiry?
A hard credit inquiry is a formal request by a lender to get your full credit report from a credit bureau. This request happens when you apply for a new credit product, like a personal loan, credit card, mortgage, or home equity loan. In the lending world, hard credit inquiries are often called “hard pulls” or “hard credit checks.”
Your credit report contains pertinent information about your borrowing history, credit age, and repayment habits. It includes existing loan balances, open credit cards, payment history for all accounts, and any outstanding collection cases or disputes.
A hard credit inquiry aims to evaluate your likelihood of repayment of borrowed money. Credit reports and credit scores are the primary tools used to help lenders make an informed decision about what credit products you are eligible for.
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How a Hard Credit Inquiry Works
A hard credit inquiry, sometimes known as a hard inquiry, occurs when a bank or lender pulls your detailed credit report as part of a lending decision. Hard checks usually only happen when you apply for a loan, mortgage, or line of credit.
During a hard inquiry, the lender requests your full credit report from one or more credit bureaus—Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian. The inquiry will include your history, current debts, and historical payment behavior. Not all credit information is reported to all credit bureaus.
Sometimes, vendors only report information to some of the bureaus, making access to one credit report insufficient for a complete financial picture of a customer. To get the whole picture, lenders will request credit reports from all three bureaus for large loans, like fixed-rate mortgages.
A hard credit inquiry is a formal request, and it is noted in your credit report. This acts as a signal to other potential lenders that are applying for credit.
Unlike soft credit inquiries, generally done as part of a background check or pre-qualification marketing, hard inquiries can affect your FICO or VantageScore credit score.
While the impact of a single hard credit inquiry is minimal, multiple hard inquiries across different credit products within a relatively short period (over 30 to 60 days) can have a more substantial effect, lowering your score and possibly making it harder to borrow at your desired interest rate.
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Do Credit Inquiries Affect Your Credit Score?
Credit inquiries can affect your credit score, depending on the inquiry type. Hard credit inquiries can temporarily lower your credit score by a few points.
Credit score companies usually count multiple back-to-back inquiries as one inquiry because it usually implies credit product shopping. For example, this signals you are shopping for the best personal loan on the market.
A single hard inquiry is not likely to cause harm, but an elevated level of inquiries over a sustained short period could indicate a high-risk borrower.
If you check your credit or a landlord or potential employer checks it, they do a soft credit inquiry. These checks are often used as a general credit background check or as part of a pre-qualification offer. Soft inquiries are not noted on your credit report and cannot be seen by anyone else who checks your credit.
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Do Hard Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report?
Hard inquiries can stay on your credit report for two years. That said, a hard credit inquiry's impact on your credit score reduces considerably after the first year.
Lenders can see your report's hard inquiries during these two years. However, they will generally focus on more recent inquiries or issues of missed monthly payments when assessing your creditworthiness.
However, it is essential to remember that if you are shopping for a mortgage, auto loan, or student loan, generating multiple hard inquiries in a short period can help minimize the impact on your score.[1]
Depending on the scoring model, hard inquiries made during a short enough period are often treated as a single inquiry. This is to encourage interest-rate shopping without credit damage.
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Hard vs. Soft Credit Inquiries
Hard and soft inquiries have their place in the credit and lending ecosystem. Each inquiry has unique impacts on your credit report and score.
- Hard Credit Check: A lender or creditor makes a hard inquiry to evaluate your credit history to make a lending decision. Hard credit inquiries are noted on your credit report and lower your credit score by a few points; however, this effect is magnified if you are “serial applying” and generating multiple hard credit inquiries.
Read More: How to Increase Your Credit Score by 100 Points
Hard inquiries can stay on your report for up to two years, though they usually only affect your score for one year.[2] Multiple inquiries on your credit report look like you are signing up for excessive debt.
- Soft Credit Check: Unlike hard credit checks, soft credit checks happen when your credit report is reviewed for reasons that do not involve you directly applying for new credit or lending products. An example of this is when you see that you are “pre-qualified” for certain credit cards offering promotional offers or cash-back rewards programs.
Soft credit inquiries do not impact your credit score and cannot be seen by other lenders or creditors, making them a non-invasive way to monitor your credit.
Smart Summary
A hard credit inquiry is a request by a lender to access your credit report from a credit bureau. Lenders request your credit report to get a detailed summary of your credit history and determine your eligibility for a suite of credit products. A formal application submission triggers a hard credit inquiry, and it can stay on your credit report for up to two years. Reviewing your credit report ahead of a hard credit inquiry increases your chances of getting the personal loan, credit card, or mortgage you need.
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(1) Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What happens when lenders check my credit? Last Accessed January 14, 2025.
(2) Equifax. Understanding Hard Inquiries on Your Credit Report. Last Accessed January 14, 2025.
