What is a difficult Inquiry?

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What Is a Hard Inquiry?

A hard credit inquiry could take some points off your score for a short period, however the soft inquiry won’t impact it.

By NerdWallet. Follow NerdWallet on social media for news and updates

Feb 3, 2023

Edited by Kathy Hinson Lead Assigning Editor Personal financial, credit scoring, financial management and debt Kathy Hinson leads the core personal finance team at NerdWallet. Prior to joining NerdWallet, she worked for 18 years working at The Oregonian in Portland in roles including copy desk chief and team director of design and editing. Previous experience included copy and news editing for many Southern California newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and journalism at The University of Iowa.

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Hard inquiries are a way for a review of your credit score, usually to determine the viability of your loan or credit application. It could take some points off your credit score but it’s not permanent.

When you check your credit yourself, it’s a soft credit inquiry or soft credit check, and it doesn’t affect your score.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act places restrictions on when and why your credit report could be inspected.

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What is a tough question?

An inquiry that is also known as an ‘hard pull’ or a credit check, needs your permission. It occurs when you apply for credit for example, a mortgage credit card, auto loan or student loan as well as a personal loan. It doesn’t happen when you’re seeking pre-qualification to determine whether or not to apply.

The information is then added to your credit report, which means anyone who looks up your credit can see it. A hard inquiry will remain in your credit file for some time, but it ceases to affect your credit score in less than one year.

How does a hard inquiry affect the credit rating of yours?

One single hard inquiry can shave as much as 5 points off of you FICO score. With the most widely used FICO model the inquiries that are made within a 45-day time frame are considered as one inquiry when you are ” ,” such as for student, mortgage or auto loans. The older FICO models as well as VantageScore which is FICO’s rival, can also combine inquiries for rate shopping, but within a 14-day period. A VantageScore spokesman said a hard inquiry can cut up to 10 points off of a VantageScore.

The majority of card issuers or lenders will pull a credit report from only any of three credit bureaus- Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. So the inquiry will appear on only one of your credit reports. However, this is not the case with a mortgage, when the three credit bureaus are usually scrutinized.

It is wise to avoid making hard inquiries. Before you apply for credit, you should be as certain as you can you’re likely to be accepted so that you don’t risk losing score points and not get the approval you desire. Avoid applying for credit in a hurry. Consider whether a discount or bonus you are hoping to get is worth the potential ding to your credit score. If you’re in the market some points, it might not be a big deal. However, if you have low credit scores beware.

What is an inquiry that is soft?

Soft inquiries, also referred to as soft pulls or credit checks, may occur without you even knowing about them. If you’ve ever received a credit-card invitation in the mail, chances are the credit card company did an informal credit check to determine if you be eligible. The same goes for other types of loan offers or when the mortgage broker or lender performs a pre-qualification or preapproval.

Employers can also conduct a background check on you, including a look at your credit report that has been modified. Although they require your permission to review the credit history of yours, this is still not an investigation that is considered to be hard because it isn’t for the purpose of deciding whether to extend your credit.

The most important thing is that it’s a soft inquiry, so it won’t affect your score. You can get your upon request from a personal finance website such as NerdWallet. Also, you can get your reports from three major credit bureaus. The reports are free and up to the date of 2023, you’re entitled to one from each bureau each week.

When you look at your own credit report you’ll find the soft inquiries mentioned, however those don’t show up on the reports that creditors view.

Learn: How work in Canada

Soft or hard inquiry?

Some inquiries can be either soft or hard. If you are renting a vehicle or apply for a rental apartment and sign up for internet or cable TV or open an account with the bank, or someone just needs to verify your identity, you could be confronted with a hard inquiry or a soft one. The only way to know beforehand is to ask the potential landlord or service provider.

Finally, if you believe a hard inquiry is in your credit report, but shouldn’t be then have other information that is inaccurate. It’s definitely worth looking into because it could suggest fraud or .

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