Hard Inquiry

Hard Inquiry

Key takeaways

• A hard inquiry (hard pull) occurs when a lender requests your full credit report after you apply for credit.
• Hard inquiries can cause a small, temporary drop in your credit score.
• Hard inquiries remain on your credit report for two years but generally affect scores only for the first year.
• Soft inquiries (including your own requests, prescreening, or employer checks with permission) do not affect your credit score.

What is a hard inquiry?

A hard inquiry is a formal request by a lender or creditor to review your credit file as part of a credit application (for example, a credit card, auto loan, mortgage, or personal loan). It is recorded on your credit report and can slightly lower your score.

How a hard inquiry works

• Lenders obtain credit reports from one or more of the three major bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Not every creditor reports to all bureaus, so reports can differ.
• Hard inquiries stay on your report for two years; their effect on most scoring models typically lasts about one year.
• Multiple hard inquiries in a short time can signal higher risk and may reduce your score more substantially. To accommodate rate shopping:
• Most FICO models treat multiple inquiries for the same type of loan (mortgage, auto, student) made within a short window as a single inquiry. Recent models often use a 45-day window.
• FICO also has rules that ignore certain loan-shopping inquiries made shortly before scoring (for example, a 30-day prior-to-scoring exception in some models).

Hard inquiry vs. soft inquiry

• Hard inquiry: triggered by your application for credit and can affect your score. Visible to lenders and appears on your credit report.
• Soft inquiry: initiated for other reasons (preapproval offers, account reviews, your own request, or employer checks with consent). Soft inquiries do not affect your score and are visible only to you on most reports.

Other information lenders may request

Your credit report does not include everything lenders may want:
* Income, bank account balances, investments, or other assets
* Marital status, education, or medical history
* Your credit score (bureaus supply scores separately)

Lenders often request documentation—pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, or investment statements—to verify income and assets.

Who can access your credit report

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, consumer reporting agencies may provide credit information only to parties with a permissible purpose: creditors, insurers, employers (with written permission), landlords, and others evaluating an application. Employers generally must obtain your written consent.

How to get your credit report and correct errors

• You are entitled to a free credit report from each bureau at least once a year via AnnualCreditReport.com.
• If you find errors, you can dispute them with the credit bureau; the bureau is required to investigate and report the results.

Prevent prescreening and freeze your credit

• To opt out of prescreened credit and insurance offers, use OptOutPrescreen.com.
• A credit freeze stops most third parties from accessing your credit report. Freezes must be placed separately with each credit bureau.

Bottom line

Hard inquiries are a normal part of applying for credit. They can cause a small, temporary drop in your credit score, but score models and consumer protections accommodate reasonable rate shopping for major loans. Monitor your reports, dispute errors promptly, and use tools like opt-outs or freezes if you want to limit access to your credit file.