How Long Do Hard Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report?

Credit inquiries are a record of when your credit report has been accessed by a third party. These inquiries play a part in assessing your financial risk, offering a snapshot of your recent credit-seeking activities. They provide lenders with insights into your borrowing behavior and overall creditworthiness.

Lifespan of Hard Inquiries

A hard inquiry generally remains on your credit report for up to two years from the date of the inquiry. While present for this duration, their influence on your credit score typically lessens significantly or disappears much sooner. FICO, for example, primarily considers inquiries from the most recent 12 months when calculating scores. This timeframe allows potential lenders to see recent applications for new credit, which helps them gauge your current financial seeking behavior.

The presence of a hard inquiry indicates that a lender has reviewed your credit report in response to an application you initiated. Although they stay on your report for two years, their impact on your credit score often diminishes within a few months.

Their Impact on Credit Scores

Hard inquiries can cause a slight, temporary dip in your credit score, though the effect is usually minimal for most individuals. A single hard inquiry typically results in a drop of five points or less from your FICO score. This impact is generally short-term, with scores often recovering within a few months through responsible credit behavior.

The influence of hard inquiries on your score is relatively minor compared to other factors, such as payment history, which accounts for a much larger portion of your credit score calculation. Multiple hard inquiries in a short timeframe can have a compounding effect, potentially signaling higher risk to lenders. However, credit scoring models like FICO and VantageScore account for “rate shopping,” where multiple inquiries for the same type of loan within a specific period are often treated as a single inquiry. This allows consumers to compare offers for mortgages, auto loans, or student loans without significant score penalties, provided these inquiries occur within a designated window, typically 14 to 45 days depending on the scoring model.

Distinguishing Inquiry Types

Credit inquiries are categorized into two main types: hard inquiries and soft inquiries. A hard inquiry occurs when you formally apply for new credit, such as a loan, credit card, or mortgage, and a lender accesses your credit report to make a lending decision. These inquiries appear on your credit report and can temporarily affect your credit score. Examples include applying for a new credit card, an auto loan, or a personal loan.

Soft inquiries do not impact your credit score. They occur for informational purposes and are not tied to a specific application for new credit. Common instances of soft inquiries include checking your own credit score or report, pre-approved credit offers from lenders, or background checks by employers or landlords. Both types of inquiries may appear on your credit report for up to two years, but only hard inquiries are visible to other lenders and affect your score.

Reviewing Your Credit Report

Regularly reviewing your credit report is a practical step to monitor your financial information, including hard inquiries. You are entitled by federal law to a free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three major nationwide credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The most direct way to obtain these reports is through AnnualCreditReport.com, the official website.

When you access your credit report, navigate to the section detailing inquiries. You will find a list of entities that have accessed your report, along with the date of the inquiry and the type of inquiry. This section helps you verify that all hard inquiries are legitimate and authorized. Identifying any unfamiliar or unauthorized inquiries allows you to dispute them with the credit bureau.