Credit basics
Hard and soft credit inquiries: which ones count, and what to do about one you do not recognize
A hard inquiry comes from applying for credit and can affect scores. Checking your own report never does.
An inquiry is a record that someone looked at your credit report. The CFPB sorts inquiries into two kinds.
| Hard inquiry | Soft inquiry | |
|---|---|---|
| Usual cause | You applied for credit, such as a card, a car loan or a mortgage | You checked your own report; a lender you already have reviewed your account; a prescreened offer; an employer's screening |
| Who sees it | Others who buy your report | Only you |
| Effect on scores | Can affect them | None |
Most scoring models look at how recently and how often you have applied for credit, which is why hard inquiries count.
When a lender pulls your report
A lender usually runs a hard inquiry when you apply for a new loan or card. The CFPB lists other times a lender may check: a mortgage preapproval, a request for a higher credit limit, a refinance, and just before a loan closes. A lender cannot pull your report because you only asked about rates. When a lender you already have checks your credit, it is a soft inquiry.
Checking your own report never hurts
Requesting your own report or score is not an inquiry about new credit and has no effect on your scores. Your reports are free every week from each of the three nationwide bureaus through AnnualCreditReport.com.
Who is allowed to look
The Fair Credit Reporting Act lets a bureau give out your report only for a reason the law lists, called a permissible purpose: for example a credit transaction you are part of, the review or collection of your account, insurance underwriting, your own written instructions, or employment after the employer has told you in writing.
Your report must list everyone who pulled it for employment in the past two years, and for any other purpose in the past one year.
An inquiry you do not recognize
- An inquiry from a company you never applied to can be a sign that someone used your identity. The CFPB lists accounts from identity theft among the errors to look for. Read the identity theft recovery steps and consider a credit freeze.
- If an inquiry is simply wrong, you can dispute it with the bureau like any other item (see how to dispute a credit report error).
Stopping prescreened offers
Prescreened offers come from soft inquiries, so they do not affect your scores. You can still opt out of them. An opt-out made through the bureaus' notification system lasts five years. If you also return the signed election form the bureau provides, it lasts until you cancel it. Either way it takes effect five business days after you ask.
Sources
- CFPB: What is a credit inquiry?
- CFPB: When will my lender run or obtain a copy of my credit report?
- CFPB: Does requesting my credit report hurt my credit score?
- 15 U.S.C. 1681b, permissible purposes of consumer reports (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. 1681g, disclosures to consumers (Cornell LII)
- CFPB: What are common credit report errors that I should look for on my credit report?
How this page was made
This page was drafted with a language model from the sources listed above. Jake Lawrence read it against those sources and signed it on October 27, 2026.
The text signed has the fingerprint 65657c8dc179f32b. Change one word and the fingerprint changes with it; a signed page whose fingerprint moves comes down until the editor reads and signs it again.
Legal information, not legal advice. Nothing here answers one reader's specific situation; state law can add to every rule above.
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