Hard Inquires Vs Soft Inquires
Hard Inquires
Hard inquiries (also known as “hard credit check” or “hard pulls”) appear on your credit report when a company pulls your credit report and evaluates it.
Every time you get a hard inquiry, your score can drop by a few points. The reason for this is because applying for different types of credit relatively often could indicate financial instability, and that translates to risk in a lender’s eyes.
Long-term, you do not have to be scared of hard inquires, they are temporary and will automatically be removed from your report in two years.
Short-term, however, if you have a goal in mind like buying a house in the near future, it would not be in your best interest in applying for new credit cards or loans within that time frame.
Need the Inquiry Removed Now?
You can remove inquiries that are not tied to open, positive reporting accounts, prior to the 2-year-aging off time period.
Please note we only recommend disputing hard inquires from closed accounts or denials.
If you dispute an inquiry tied to an open account, the creditor could close the account thinking it was fraudulently obtained.
Soft Inquires
A soft inquiry (also known as a “soft pull”) does not damage your credit score. A soft inquiry is made on your credit report when you pull your own report.
Soft inquiries don’t affect your credit score at all, while each hard inquiry typically knocks a few points off your credit score.
If an online store asks for the last 4 digits of your social security number, they are likely doing a soft inquiry.