Last reviewed: 3 October 2026
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Hard vs. soft credit inquiries, and what happens when you shop around
A credit inquiry is a request to look at your credit report. A hard inquiry is often made by a lender after you apply for credit, and it can affect your score. A soft inquiry does not.[1] The CFPB says scoring models generally treat several inquiries for the same type of loan, made within a short period, as one.[2] This page explains the difference, the CFPB's shopping window, and where it stops.
The short version
- Hard inquiry: often made by a lender after you apply for credit. It can affect your score, because most scoring models look at how recently and how often you apply.[1]
- Soft inquiry: a review of your file that does not affect your scores. Checking your own report is one.[1][3]
- Shopping for one loan: the CFPB says inquiries within 14 to 45 days of each other, for the same type of loan, are generally treated as no more than one inquiry.[2]
- Limits: shopping that runs past 45 days, or covers two different types of loan, generally counts as multiple inquiries.[2]
Hard and soft inquiries side by side
An inquiry is a request to look at your credit report to decide whether you qualify for credit, a job, housing, insurance or something else.[1] The CFPB sorts inquiries into two groups.
| Hard inquiry | Soft inquiry | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Often made by a lender after you apply for credit, to help it decide whether to approve you.[1] | A review of your credit file. The CFPB lists reviews of existing accounts by lenders or insurers, prescreening by prospective lenders, employment screening, and your own requests for your reports.[1] |
| Effect on your scores | It can affect your credit score, because most scoring models look at how recently and how often you apply for credit.[1] | It does not affect your credit scores.[1] |
| Who can see it | It can be seen on your report when others buy your report from the credit reporting company.[1] | It is shown only to you when you review your own report. It is not visible when others buy your report.[1] |
Does checking your own report count?
No. The CFPB says that requesting your own credit report does not hurt your score, because checking it is not an inquiry about new credit.[3] The CFPB says you can review your report for free once a week from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) at annualcreditreport.com.[3]
Offers that arrive in the mail
The CFPB says your score is not affected when a card issuer gets your name from a credit reporting company to send you an unsolicited, even pre-qualified, offer. If you accept the offer and apply, the issuer then looks at your report or score, your report shows that you applied for a card, and that is a hard inquiry. The CFPB adds that it can affect your score depending on how many cards or other loans you apply for.[4]
Comparison shopping for one loan
The CFPB says a single inquiry from a lender has little effect on your score. It also says scoring models take into account that people shop around for a loan, and that they do not penalize you for comparison shopping.[2] The CFPB describes the rule this way:[2]
- Scoring models generally count several inquiries as one if they happen within a reasonably short time.
- In general, inquiries within 14 to 45 days of each other, for the same type of loan, count as no more than one.
- For the most common scoring models, student loan, auto loan and mortgage-related inquiries made 30 days before scoring have no effect at all.
- Shopping that goes past 45 days, or covers two different types of loan (the CFPB's example is a mortgage and an auto loan), generally counts as multiple inquiries and can hurt your score.
The FTC gives a similar example for mortgages: inquiries from multiple mortgage lenders in a short time often count as just one inquiry. The FTC also says that some inquiries are not counted at all, such as those from creditors monitoring your account or making prescreened offers.[5]
What the sources leave open. The CFPB gives a range, 14 to 45 days, not one number. Its page does not say which scoring model uses which length of window. We therefore cannot tell you the exact window for the score a particular lender uses.
Where the law touches inquiries
If a credit score is included in a report, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a clear statement when the number of inquiries was a key factor that adversely affected that score.[6] So an inquiry that hurt a score is something a report can be required to tell you.
How to verify this yourself
- Read the CFPB's answers on what a credit inquiry is[1] and on which inquiries have no effect on a score.[2]
- Get your reports at annualcreditreport.com and read the inquiries section. Hard inquiries are listed; soft inquiries you triggered yourself are shown only to you.[1][3]
- Read the FTC's Credit Scores page for the list of factors scoring systems use, including recent applications.[5]
What this page does not cover
It does not say how many points any inquiry costs, how long a hard inquiry stays on a report, or which scoring model a lender uses. The sources we used do not give those figures. It does not cover credit card applications as a separate category, because the CFPB's shopping rule is stated for "the same type of loan." It is general information, not financial or legal advice. Our Standard checks companies; it does not score inquiries.
Your next step
Before you apply, get your free reports and read the inquiries section. If you see an inquiry you do not recognize, our credit report audit checklist shows how to go through the rest of the report. For who may pull your report in the first place, see who is allowed to pull your credit report. For the other factors in a score, see credit utilization and FICO vs. VantageScore. To check a company that offers credit help, use the Register and our guide to checking a company yourself.
When we will update this page
We revisit it when the CFPB or FTC changes these pages. Sources last read 2 October 2026.
What you can do next
- Find a company — see which specific US companies we checked and what we could verify.
- How we check — the rules and sources behind each result.
- More credit help guides
- Report an error on this page or in a result.