What Is a Soft Inquiry? How To Know What Hurts Your Credit

A soft inquiry (also known as a “soft check” or “soft pull”), happens when you or someone you authorize (i.e., a creditor for a preapproval or even a potential employer) checks your credit report. Unlike hard inquiries, soft inquiries don’t impact your credit scores because they aren’t attached to a specific application for credit.

Soft Inquiry [Defined]

A soft inquiry, or a soft pull, is a type of credit inquiry that occurs when your credit report is accessed for informational purposes, without affecting your credit score. Soft inquiries are typically made by you, potential employers, or lenders during the pre-approval or pre-qualification process.

Here’s an overview of what defines a soft inquiry:

1. No Impact on Credit Score — Soft inquiries do not impact your credit score. They are not factored into credit scoring models because they are considered to be inquiries for informational purposes rather than credit applications.
2. Examples of Soft Inquiries — Examples of soft inquiries include checking your own credit report, background checks by employers, promotional inquiries by credit card issuers, and pre-qualified credit offers. These inquiries are typically done with your consent and do not involve a formal application for new credit.
3. Monitoring and Informational Purposes — Soft inquiries are often used for credit monitoring, identity verification, background checks, and to provide you with personalized credit offers. They allow you to access your own credit information and keep track of changes without any negative impact on your credit score.
4. Visible on Credit Report — While soft inquiries are visible on your credit report, they are only visible to you and do not affect your creditworthiness or the evaluation of future credit applications. Soft inquiries are not seen by lenders when they review your credit report during the application process.

It’s important to note that while soft inquiries have no impact on your credit score, hard inquiries (or hard pulls) can affect your credit score temporarily. Hard inquiries occur when you apply for credit, such as a loan or credit card. It’s advisable to be mindful of the frequency and number of hard inquiries, as multiple inquiries within a short period can potentially have a slight impact on your credit score.

Hard vs. Soft Inquiries

Soft and hard credit checks differ in various ways. Hard credit checks occur when you apply for credit such as a personal loan, auto loan, or line of credit through lenders or financial institutions. It’s important to ask whether the credit pull will be hard or soft. You may be able to request a soft credit check in some cases.

When a hard credit check is conducted on your account, your credit score is impacted. Although it’s possible for such inquiries to reduce your score by up to 10 points, usually the decrease is only a few points. Fortunately, the effects of hard credit inquiries are relatively short-lived, and after two years, they are removed from your credit reports and no longer affect your score. However, the impact may differ depending on the credit scoring model used, such as FICO score or VantageScore.

When you’re shopping for certain types of new credit, such as mortgages, multiple hard credit checks within a specific time frame (usually 30 to 45 days) will be grouped together in a process called “deduping.” This is done to simplify the process of finding the best loan rates, which is also known as “rate shopping.” Get the complete breakdown of hard inquiries.

How Does a Soft Inquiry Work?

When you apply for new credit like a loan or credit card, the lender will probably make a hard inquiry to assess your credit. This inquiry will be recorded on your credit report for two years, but it will typically have a minimal impact on your credit scores (e.g., your FICO score) and will only be noticeable for a few months.

If someone checks your credit report without you applying for new credit, it’s called a soft inquiry. Soft inquiries do not indicate a higher risk and do not affect your credit scores.

For example, a soft inquiry occurs when:

• You check your credit
• A current creditor checks your credit
• You apply for a soft-pull preapproval 
• A creditor pulls your credit to confirm if you qualify for a preapproval offer

Certain activities such as opening a bank account or renting an apartment may lead to a hard or soft credit inquiry. To clarify, you can inquire with the company regarding the type of inquiry they will conduct.

Can You See Soft Inquiries on Your Credit Report?

You have the option to see the soft inquiries made on your credit reports. To obtain a copy of your credit report, you can ask for one free copy every 12 months from each major credit bureau (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) on AnnualCreditReport.com. Additionally, you can monitor your Experian credit report for free on a monthly basis.

Please remember that each of your three credit reports may have different inquiries as each inquiry is only recorded on the credit report that is checked. For instance, if you examine your Experian credit report, the soft inquiry won’t be recorded on your Equifax or TransUnion credit reports.

How Do Soft Inquiries Impact Credit Scores?

Soft inquiries do not affect your credit scores. Credit scores are determined by credit scoring models, which analyze the information in your credit report.

Keep in mind that hard inquiries do impact your credit score, and typically drop your credit score by around five points. Hard requests typically remain on your credit report for 12 months. However, having numerous hard pulls on your credit in a short time span can put a dent in your credit score.

Do You Need to Be Concerned About Credit Inquiries?

Don’t be afraid to apply for credit when you need to open a new account just because of hard inquiries. They generally have a minor impact on your score. Soft inquiries are even less concerning as they won’t affect your credit scores, even if you have multiple soft inquiries on your credit reports.

Bottom Line

There’s no need to fear when it comes to a soft inquiry as it does not negatively impact your credit report or your credit score. You will likely run into a number of instances where there is a soft inquiry on your credit, whether that’s upon checking your own credit report or getting a preapproval.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)