How Long Do Hard Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report?

Credit inquiries play a significant role in how lenders assess an individual’s financial responsibility. When seeking new credit, understanding the different types of inquiries and their implications for your financial standing is important.

Understanding Hard Inquiries

A hard inquiry, also known as a “hard pull” or “hard credit check,” occurs when a lender reviews your credit report to make a lending decision. This type of inquiry happens when you apply for new credit, such as a mortgage, an auto loan, a personal loan, or a new credit card. Lenders use these inquiries to evaluate your creditworthiness and determine the risk associated with extending credit to you.

When you authorize a lender to access your credit report for such applications, a hard inquiry is recorded by the credit bureaus. This action signals to other potential lenders that you are actively seeking additional credit. In contrast, a soft inquiry, or “soft pull,” occurs when a person or company checks your credit report without you applying for new credit. Examples include checking your own credit score, pre-approved credit card offers, or background checks by employers.

Hard Inquiry Duration and Credit Score Impact

A hard inquiry remains on your credit report for up to two years from the date of the inquiry. While it stays visible for this period, its impact on your credit score is much shorter. The influence of a hard inquiry on your score diminishes after the first six to twelve months.

Each hard inquiry can cause a small, temporary dip in your credit score, often by a few points. This minor reduction is more pronounced for individuals with fewer accounts or a shorter credit history. For those with a well-established credit history and multiple credit accounts, the impact of a single inquiry is often minimal and temporary.

Multiple inquiries in a short period, especially for different types of credit, can signal higher risk to lenders and potentially lead to a larger cumulative score reduction. However, credit scoring models account for “rate shopping” for specific loans, such as mortgages or auto loans, by treating multiple inquiries within a specific timeframe as a single inquiry.

Monitoring and Disputing Hard Inquiries

Regularly monitoring your credit reports is a good practice to ensure accuracy and identify any unauthorized activity. You can access your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—periodically. Reviewing these reports allows you to identify any hard inquiries that you did not authorize or that appear to be incorrect.

If you discover an unauthorized or inaccurate hard inquiry on your credit report, you have the right to dispute it with the respective credit bureau. The dispute process involves contacting the credit bureau in writing and providing documentation to support your claim. You will need to explain why the inquiry is unauthorized and may be asked to provide evidence. The credit bureau will then investigate your claim within a set timeframe, and remove the inquiry if it is found to be erroneous or unauthorized.