Does a Soft Pull Affect Your Credit Score?

Understanding how inquiries into your credit history affect your financial standing is important. When a company or individual accesses your credit information, it’s often referred to as a “credit pull” or “credit inquiry.” The impact on your credit score varies significantly depending on the type of pull performed. This article clarifies the distinctions between different credit inquiries and their effects on your credit score.

What is a Soft Credit Pull

A soft credit pull, also known as a soft inquiry or soft credit check, occurs when your credit information is accessed for informational purposes rather than for a new credit application. These inquiries do not always require your explicit permission and are generally not visible to other lenders. Common instances include checking your own credit score through a credit monitoring service or directly from a credit bureau.

Financial institutions frequently use soft pulls for pre-approvals for credit cards or loan offers, allowing them to assess your eligibility without impacting your credit score. Employers may also conduct soft inquiries as part of a background check during the hiring process to evaluate a candidate’s financial responsibility. Insurance companies might also perform soft pulls to generate quotes.

How Soft Pulls Affect Your Credit Score

Soft credit pulls do not negatively impact an individual’s credit score. This is a fundamental distinction from other types of credit inquiries. The reason for this lack of impact is that soft pulls are not associated with seeking new credit, which is a behavior credit scoring models consider.

These inquiries are not typically recorded on your credit report in a way that is visible to other lenders, meaning they do not signal an increased risk of new debt. Consequently, you can check your own credit score as often as desired without concern for it affecting your financial standing.

Soft Pulls Versus Hard Pulls

Distinguishing between soft and hard credit pulls is important due to their differing impacts on your credit score. A hard credit pull, or hard inquiry, occurs when a lender formally checks your credit history after you have applied for new credit. This happens when you seek a mortgage, an auto loan, a personal loan, or a new credit card. Unlike soft pulls, hard inquiries generally require your explicit consent.

Hard pulls can temporarily lower your credit score, usually by a few points. This occurs because they indicate you are seeking new debt, which credit scoring models interpret as a potential increase in credit risk. These inquiries remain on your credit report for up to two years, though their effect typically diminishes after about 12 months. Multiple hard inquiries within a short timeframe, especially for different types of credit, can have a more pronounced negative effect, suggesting a higher level of risk to potential lenders.