The Difference Between Soft and Hard Inquiries

When someone checks your credit, it's recorded as an inquiry on your credit report. But not all inquiries are created equal. There are two types: hard inquiries (also called hard pulls) and soft inquiries (soft pulls). Understanding the difference helps you protect your score and make informed decisions about when and how to apply for credit.

A hard inquiry occurs when a lender or creditor checks your credit report as part of a lending decision — such as when you apply for a credit card, auto loan, mortgage, or apartment rental. Hard inquiries appear on your credit report and can temporarily lower your credit score by a few points (typically 5–10 points). They remain visible on your report for two years but typically only affect your score for one year.

Soft inquiries occur when you check your own credit, when a company checks your credit for pre-approval offers, or when an employer runs a background check. Soft inquiries do NOT affect your credit score in any way. You can check your own credit as often as you like without any negative impact. In fact, regularly reviewing your own report is strongly encouraged for monitoring accuracy.

When you're shopping for a mortgage, auto loan, or student loan, multiple hard inquiries within a short window (typically 14–45 days depending on the scoring model) are treated as a single inquiry. This allows you to shop for the best rate without being penalized for comparing lenders. Credit card applications, however, do not receive this exception — each application counts as a separate hard inquiry.

There's no hard rule, but having multiple hard inquiries in a short period — outside of rate shopping windows — signals to lenders that you may be seeking credit aggressively, which can be perceived as a risk factor. The impact of each individual inquiry is small, but the cumulative effect of many can be meaningful. Space out credit applications when possible and only apply for credit you genuinely need.