Should You Dispute Hard Inquiries on Your Credit Report?

When you apply for new credit, lenders often check your credit history, resulting in a hard inquiry on your credit report. These inquiries are a standard part of the credit application process and help lenders assess your creditworthiness. While a hard inquiry can temporarily impact your credit score, this effect is usually minimal and short-lived, often lasting for up to a year, though the inquiry remains on your report for two years. Multiple recent applications can signal higher risk to potential creditors.

Understanding Hard Inquiries

A hard inquiry, also referred to as a “hard pull” or “hard credit check,” occurs when a lender formally requests to view your credit report for a new credit application. This type of inquiry requires your authorization, typically obtained through your signature on the application. Lenders use these inquiries to evaluate your financial behavior, including payment history and existing debt, to determine your eligibility and the terms of any credit offered.

Hard inquiries are distinct from “soft inquiries,” which do not affect your credit score and occur when you check your own credit report or a company pre-qualifies you for an offer. A single hard inquiry usually causes a small dip of less than five points in your FICO Score, but multiple inquiries in a short period can have a more noticeable effect. Certain types of inquiries, like those for mortgage, auto, or student loans, are grouped and treated as a single inquiry if they occur within a specific timeframe, usually 14 to 45 days, to allow for rate shopping.

When a Hard Inquiry Can Be Disputed

You can dispute a hard inquiry if it appears on your credit report due to specific, unauthorized, or erroneous circumstances, not merely because you were denied credit. A primary reason for dispute is if the inquiry was made without your explicit permission or knowledge. This can occur in cases of identity theft, where someone uses your personal information to apply for credit in your name. Such unauthorized inquiries are a serious indicator of potential fraud.

Another valid reason for dispute arises when an inquiry is a duplicate for a single application. For example, if you apply for a car loan with one dealership, and they submit your application to multiple lenders, resulting in several hard inquiries for the same transaction, these are disputable. A hard inquiry may also be disputed if it results from a data entry error or misidentification by a credit bureau or lender. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides consumers the right to dispute inaccurate or unverifiable information on their credit reports. However, if you legitimately applied for credit and authorized the inquiry, it cannot be removed from your report.

Preparing to Dispute a Hard Inquiry

Before initiating a dispute, gather all necessary information and documentation. Obtain copies of your credit reports from all three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can access these reports for free annually through AnnualCreditReport.com. Review each report to identify the specific hard inquiry or inquiries you intend to dispute.

Note the date of the inquiry, the name of the inquiring company, and any associated account numbers if an account was opened. Collect any supporting evidence that proves the inquiry is erroneous or unauthorized. This evidence might include police reports for identity theft, official correspondence from the lender confirming an error, or documentation showing you did not apply for the credit. Understanding which credit bureau reported the inquiry is important, as you will need to contact each bureau where the inquiry appears.

The Hard Inquiry Dispute Process

Once you have gathered all necessary documentation, you can begin the dispute process with the credit bureaus. Each of the three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—offers various methods for submitting a dispute, including online, by mail, or by phone. When disputing online, you will typically navigate to the credit bureau’s dispute center to submit your claim and upload supporting evidence. For mail disputes, you should send a detailed letter explaining the error, along with copies of your evidence, via certified mail with a return receipt requested.

After submitting your dispute, the credit bureau is required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to investigate the claim within 30 to 45 days. During this period, the bureau will contact the furnisher of the information (the lender) to verify the inquiry’s accuracy. You will receive notification of the investigation’s outcome, which could result in the inquiry being removed if found inaccurate or unauthorized, or the dispute being denied if verified as legitimate. If the dispute is successful, it may take one to two billing cycles for changes to reflect on your credit report.