How to Remove Hard Inquiries From a Credit Report

A hard inquiry appears on your credit report when a lender or company reviews your credit history as part of a credit application process. These inquiries occur when you apply for a new credit card, a mortgage, an auto loan, or other forms of credit. While a single hard inquiry usually has a minor and temporary effect on your credit score, multiple inquiries in a short period can signal higher risk to lenders.

Understanding When Hard Inquiries Can Be Removed

The ability to remove a hard inquiry from your credit report depends on its nature. Only hard inquiries affect your credit score and are the subject of removal attempts. A soft inquiry occurs when you check your own credit or when a company pre-qualifies you for an offer without a formal application. Hard inquiries are generated when a lender accesses your credit file after you formally apply for new credit, such as a loan or credit card.

There are two primary scenarios where a hard inquiry might be removed from your credit report. One is an unauthorized inquiry, which appears without your permission or a corresponding credit application. This indicates potential identity theft or an error. The other involves inaccurate inquiries, which contain incorrect information, such as a wrong date, an incorrect creditor name, or a duplicate entry for a single application. To determine if an inquiry falls into these categories, obtain free copies of your credit reports from all three major bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—through AnnualCreditReport.com.

Once you have your credit reports, carefully review each hard inquiry listed. Compare the dates and creditor names on the reports with your personal records of credit applications. If you identify an inquiry that you did not authorize or that contains errors, gather any supporting documentation that can prove its inaccuracy or unauthorized nature. This evidence will be important for the dispute process. If an inquiry is unfamiliar, contact the company listed to verify its legitimacy before initiating a dispute.

Steps for Disputing Inaccurate Inquiries

If you have identified an unauthorized or inaccurate hard inquiry on your credit report, you have the right to dispute it with the credit bureaus. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) governs this process, requiring credit reporting agencies to investigate disputed information. You can dispute an inquiry online, by mail, or by phone with each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

When disputing online, log into the credit bureau’s dispute center, select the specific inquiry you wish to dispute, and provide a detailed explanation of why it is unauthorized or inaccurate. You can upload supporting documents, such as copies of identification, proof of address, and any evidence demonstrating the error. For example, if it’s an unauthorized inquiry, you might state that you never applied for credit with that specific lender.

For disputes submitted by mail, send a clear, concise letter that includes your complete name, address, and telephone number, along with the credit report confirmation number if available. You should clearly identify each disputed inquiry by account number and provide a detailed explanation of the error. Include copies, not originals, of supporting documents, such as a copy of your credit report with the inquiry highlighted, a copy of your identification, and proof of address. Sending the letter via certified mail with a return receipt requested provides proof of delivery.

After you file a dispute, credit bureaus are required to investigate the claim within 30 days. If additional information is submitted during the investigation, this timeframe can extend to 45 days. The bureau will contact the information furnisher to verify the accuracy of the disputed item. If the furnisher cannot verify the information or confirms it is inaccurate, the inquiry must be removed from your report. You will be notified of the investigation’s outcome within five business days of its completion.

Handling Valid Hard Inquiries

Legitimate hard inquiries, which result from a credit application you authorized, cannot be removed from your credit report. If an investigation confirms that an inquiry is valid, it will remain on your report. These inquiries stay on your credit report for a period of two years from the date of the inquiry.

While hard inquiries remain on your report for two years, their impact on your credit score diminishes over time. Most credit scoring models, such as FICO, only consider inquiries from the most recent 12 months when calculating your score. A single hard inquiry causes a small, temporary reduction in your credit score, often fewer than five points. This minor effect recovers within a few months with responsible credit behavior.

Scoring models treat multiple inquiries for certain types of loans differently. For instance, if you are rate shopping for a mortgage, auto loan, or student loan, multiple inquiries within a specific timeframe are counted as a single inquiry. This “rate shopping window” can vary depending on the scoring model used, but it ranges from 14 to 45 days. This allows consumers to compare offers from multiple lenders without unduly penalizing their credit scores for each individual inquiry.