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How Do Credit Inquiries Affect Your Credit Score?
A hard inquiry into your credit will have minimal and a temporary impact on your credit score. Even a short-term drop should not deter you from rate-shopping for the best offers on mortgages or car loans.
“It’s ironic that so much attention gets focused on credit inquiries because they are such a tiny part of the FICO score,” said Craig Watts, public affairs manager for the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), one of the country’s three major credit bureaus. “We generalize by saying that typically no more than 10% of a FICO score’s weight is determined by a person’s taking on (and searching for) new credit. But for most people, inquiries have little to no influence on their FICO scores.”
To put that 10% into perspective, payment history — paying bills on time — makes up 35% of your credit score.
A credit inquiry is just a small nick in your credit report. However, not all inquiries are created equal.
Hard Inquiries vs. Soft Inquiries
The essential difference between a hard inquiry and a soft inquiry is whether or not you gave the lender permission to check your credit report.
Generally speaking, if you let a lender scrutinize your credit report, it’s a hard inquiry. If a lender or bank peers into your credit report without your knowledge or permission, it’s a soft inquiry.
As far as your credit score is concerned, soft inquiries are harmless and will mostly go unnoticed. Hard inquiries, however, can leave that small mark on your credit report, especially for anyone applying for credit in a short time span.
The mark is not significant, and will go away within two years if you handle debt responsibly.
What Is a Soft Inquiry?
A soft inquiry happens whenever you check your credit report, or when a lender checks your credit report without your knowledge or permission.
Soft inquiries have no effect on your credit score. Lenders can’t even see how many soft inquiries have been made.
Examples of a soft inquiry include:
- Inquiries made by lenders to make you a “pre-approved” credit offer (think those offers that often go from mailbox to trash bin unopened).
- Inquiries that come from employers.
- Checking your own credit report.
- Inquiries made by a lender with whom you already have an account.
What Is a Hard Inquiry?
A hard inquiry happens when a lender checks your credit report with your permission.
This is a routine part of the application for a credit card, car loan, student loan or mortgage. If your soon-to-be landlord checks your credit as part of the application process for renting an apartment, that’s a hard inquiry, too.
Even though they shouldn’t cause great concern, these are the kinds of inquiries that can cause angst, because they can drop your score by up to five points and because they stay on your credit report for two years.
Basically, it’s a hard inquiry any time you tell someone it’s OK to check your credit report.
Here’s a look at the basics of each inquiry:
| Feature | Hard Inquiry | Soft Inquiry |
|---|---|---|
| Permission | Required | Occurs without your knowledge or permission |
| Impact on score | Can lower score, but usually only between 0 and 5 points | No effect on your credit score |
| Common reasons | Credit card, mortgage, auto loan, student loan | Checking your own credit, pre-approved offers, background checks |
| Frequency risk | Multiple inquiries in a short time can signal you’re a high risk borrower and can drop your score more than five points | No negative impacts |
| If you’re rate shopping | Multiple inquiries for the same loan (mortgage, auto) within 14-to-45 days are often treated as one request | No effect on score regardless of frequency |
| Worry/concern/angst level | Low, assuming your credit score is good and you have handled debts well | None |
How Many Points Does a Hard Inquiry Affect Your Credit Score?
A single hard inquiry should drop your score by no more than five points. Often no points are subtracted. However, multiple hard inquiries can deplete your score by as much as 10 points each time they happen.
This is because frequent requests may indicate you are having a hard time getting a loan, which indicates you may be a risky borrower. FICO data shows that people with six or more recent hard inquiries are up to eight times as likely to file for bankruptcy.
“Realistically, only a narrow group of people has good reason to be cautious about the effect inquiries could have on their FICO score,” Watt said.
Here’s who might be concerned, according to Watt:
- People who take an unusually long time (several months) to shop for a new mortgage or auto loan.
- Consumers who shop around in the same year for several different lines of credit not associated with a mortgage or auto loan.
- People who know before they begin applying for credit – presumably from conversations with creditors – that their credit score barely qualifies them for their desired credit offering.
How Rate Shopping Affects Your Credit Score
The FICO score credit-scoring model recognizes that many consumers shop for the best interest rates before purchasing a car or home, and that their searching may cause multiple lenders to request their credit report.
Most modern FICO scoring models treat multiple mortgage, auto loan, or student loan inquiries made within a 14-45 day period as a single inquiry. This allows consumers to shop for the best rate without severely damaging their credit score.
If you’re wondering how to get the most bang for your buck while rate shopping, a nonprofit credit counselor can help walk you through the process. The advice is free and can save you from committing a costly error while perusing various rates.
More About What Can Affect Your Credit Score
If your credit score already has taken a beating, there are ways to mend it and even improve it in a short amount of time. Some suggestions include:
- Build and Establish Credit When You Have None – Some people avoid credit cards and choose to pay cash only. That’s a solid financial strategy until you need a significant loan for a car or home. Those lenders want to see a credit history – do you repay the loan on time? – and the credit score that goes with it. If you have no credit history, you’ll get turned down, despite not owing anyone anything.
- A Credit Builder Loan – One of the easiest ways to start a credit history is to go to your local bank, use money already deposited in your checking or savings account as collateral and ask for a Credit Builder Loan. The loans are typically in the $300-$1,000 range. You repay the loan every month and that starts your credit history for borrowing and repaying loans. The required payback time is usually 6-12 months.
- Will My Credit Score Be Damaged if I Close Several Credit Card Accounts at Once? – Closing a credit card account seems like a common sense move. The problem is, there are negative consequences to your credit score. Better you should keep the cards open and use them on rare occasions, then quickly pay off the bill. The longer a credit card is in use, the more value it adds to your credit score.
- Top Credit Score Facts and Myths – There are plenty of myths and legends about what will impact your credit score and how much you will suffer or celebrate because of it. Get the truth about these myths and legends.
See How Much You Could Save on Credit Card Payments
Complete a quick online assessment to see your potential savings on credit card payments through an InCharge Debt Management Program.
Does a Hard Inquiry Still Hurt if I am Denied for the Loan?
Yes, a hard inquiry that leads to a denial of the loan application hurts, but only slightly.
It’s important to remember that the effect on the credit score is not because you are denied for a loan, it’s because of the hard inquiry.
Any drop in score because of the hard inquiry is the same as if the loan were approved. It will only affect your credit score by a few points, and that loss should be regained in a few months.
How Many is Too Many When it Comes to Credit Inquiries?
Nobody should be afraid of a hard credit inquiry, however there does come a point when there are too many.
While there are not hard and fast rules, generally six or more credit inquiries in a 24-month period is considered too many. That’s because it indicates risk, and as we previously pointed, FICO’s research indicates that excessive inquiries have a correlation to bankruptcy filings.
Six or more hard inquiries within a two-year period can make it more difficult to gain approval for a credit card or other lines of credit, like a loan.
Can I Get a Hard Inquiry Removed if I Didn’t Authorize it?
You absolutely have the right to dispute or challenge a hard inquiry you did not authorize.
How do you find them? Check your credit report. A hard inquiry stays on your credit report for two years, so if you see one you did not authorize, challenge it. We all should be able to remember when we applied to borrow significant sums of money for a car, home or medical bill.
An unauthorized inquiry could be a sign that you are a victim of fraud or even possible identity theft. If you believe this is the case, file a dispute with each of the three major credit reporting agencies: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax).
Each has a dispute site like this one for Experian.
If you spot an inquiry you don’t recognize, start the process for a fraudulent inquiry immediately.
Do Rental Applications Count as Hard Inquiries?
Not always, no.
The decision to do a hard or soft inquiry is up to the landlord, and in many cases the landlord will do a soft inquiry, according to TransUnion.
In general, a landlord wants a quick look at your credit, so a soft inquiry follows. This is because you are not borrowing money to pay the rent, merely agreeing to make the payments on time and in full.
Does Asking For a Credit Limit Increase Result in a Hard Pull?
Yes, asking to increase your credit limit does result in a hard inquiry of your credit score and history.
This request usually is made to a credit card company so you can charge more. That leads to the hard inquiry, which can hurt your score.
But if you are savvy about borrowing, the increase in credit limit can actually help your score. This happens because you are reducing your credit utilization, another factor in a credit score.
Example: You have $250 in charges on a $500 limit on your credit card, so you are utilizing 50% of your credit. Then you request the limit be increased to $2,000. If you keep that same $250 in charges (yes, it takes discipline), your credit utilization on this card drops to 12.5%, which helps your credit score.
Does a ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) service like Klarna or Affirm pull a hard credit check?
Most short-term BNPL services use soft credit checks that do not affect your score. However, some providers may report payment history to credit bureaus or use a hard inquiry for larger financing plans.
BNPL apps like Klarna have become more popular (a consumer base of 29 million!) because they allow people to make purchases over time, often interest free. If using them, it’s important to remember how important it is to make the payments on time, which means not spending more than you can afford.
Bottom Line: The Type of Inquiry May Affect Your Credit Score
Soft inquiries have no effect on your credit score. They happen all the time without your knowledge, so don’t worry about them. A single hard inquiry will go mostly unnoticed by the credit bureaus. Any “damage” done will mend itself in as soon as a couple months.
However, if you make too many hard inquiries in a short enough period of time, your credit score will drop, possibly significantly.
See How Much You Could Save on Credit Card Payments
Complete a quick online assessment to see your potential savings on credit card payments through an InCharge Debt Management Program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Soft inquiries do not hurt your credit score. Hard inquiries can lower your score, but usually only by a few points and often for a short time. A hard inquiry happens when a lender checks your credit after you apply for credit.
A hard inquiry usually happens when you apply for credit and give a lender permission to review your credit report. A soft inquiry happens when you check your own credit, receive a preapproved offer, or when certain companies review your credit without a formal application. Soft inquiries do not affect your score.
A single hard inquiry usually lowers a credit score by no more than five points, and sometimes it has no impact at all. Multiple hard inquiries can have a larger effect, especially if they happen in a short time and are not part of rate shopping.
Sometimes. Multiple inquiries for the same type of loan, such as a mortgage, auto loan, or student loan, are often treated as one inquiry if they happen within a short rate-shopping window. The article notes that most modern FICO models use a 14-to-45-day window.
You can dispute a hard inquiry if you did not authorize it or do not recognize it. Check your credit reports and file a dispute with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion if the inquiry may be inaccurate, unauthorized, or related to fraud.
Sources:
- Olive, P. (2026) Credit Inquiries. Retrieved from https://finances.extension.wisc.edu/articles/credit-inquiries/
- Gravier, E. (2023, December 13) Why do I have a ‘hard inquiry’ on my credit report – and what does that do to my credit score? Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/select/hard-inquiries-credit-score/
- N.A. (ND) How many hard credit inquiries are too many? Retrieved from https://www.chase.com/personal/credit-cards/education/credit-score/how-many-hard-credit-inquires-are-too-many
- Lyons, J. (2025, July 30) Does Applying for an Apartment Hurt Your Credit? Retrieved from https://www.zillow.com/learn/does-applying-for-an-apartment-hurt-your-credit/
- McGurran, B. (2025, November 19) Does Requesting a Credit Limit Hurt Your Credit Score? Retrieved from https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/does-it-hurt-to-increase-your-credit-limit/