How Long Do Hard Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report?

Hard inquiries are a common part of seeking new credit. Understanding their presence on your credit report and their impact on your credit score is important for financial health. This helps consumers make informed decisions about applying for new credit.

What Hard Inquiries Are

A hard inquiry occurs when a lender or creditor formally requests to review your credit report after you apply for new credit. This typically happens when you seek a loan, such as a mortgage, auto loan, or personal loan, or when applying for a new credit card. The inquiry signals to other potential lenders that you are actively seeking additional credit.

Hard inquiries are distinct from “soft inquiries,” which do not affect your credit score. Soft inquiries occur when you check your own credit report, or when a company pre-screens you for a promotional offer without you initiating a formal application. These checks are for informational purposes or pre-qualification.

How Long Hard Inquiries Appear on Your Report

Hard inquiries generally remain visible on your credit report for two years from the date of the inquiry. While listed for this duration, their impact on your credit score is typically much shorter, usually fading after about one year.

Most credit scoring models, such as FICO, only factor inquiries from the past 12 months into their calculations. This means that while the inquiry is still visible for two years, its negative influence on your score diminishes significantly after the first year.

How Hard Inquiries Affect Your Credit Score

Each hard inquiry typically results in a small, temporary reduction in your credit score, often by fewer than five points. The exact number of points can vary depending on your overall credit history and the specific scoring model used. For individuals with a limited credit history or few accounts, the impact might be slightly more noticeable.

While a single inquiry has a minor effect, multiple hard inquiries within a short timeframe can have a more significant, compounding impact. This is because several applications for new credit in a brief period might suggest a higher risk to lenders. The negative effect of hard inquiries diminishes over time, generally becoming negligible after approximately one year.

Strategies for Managing Hard Inquiries

Consumers can adopt several strategies to manage hard inquiries and minimize their effect on credit scores. It is advisable to apply for new credit only when genuinely necessary, avoiding impulsive applications for products you do not immediately need. This mindful approach helps limit the number of inquiries on your report.

When shopping for major loans, such as mortgages, auto loans, or student loans, credit scoring models typically account for “rate shopping.” Multiple inquiries for the same type of loan within a specific window, usually between 14 and 45 days, are often counted as a single inquiry for scoring purposes. This allows consumers to compare offers from various lenders without multiple significant score impacts.

Regularly checking your credit reports from all three major bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—is important for accuracy. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each bureau annually. If you discover an unauthorized or erroneous hard inquiry, you have the right to dispute it with the credit bureau under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). You can initiate a dispute by contacting the creditor who made the inquiry and also the credit bureaus.