One kind of credit check will impact your credit score. The other won’t. There’s a common misconception that any credit check lowers your credit score and hurts your ability to get approved for loans and new lines of credit, but this is only sometimes true. There are two types of credit checks—hard and soft inquiries—and which one an account manager performs depends on what the information is being used for. Hard inquiries can hurt your score, while soft inquiries don’t make any difference.
What is a soft credit inquiry?
Does a credit check automatically hurt your credit score? A soft inquiry (or soft pull) occurs when your credit report is not being used to make a lending decision. A soft inquiry will not be logged as a new credit line application, so it doesn’t impact credit score. When you check your own credit report, this is a soft inquiry as well. Another common example is a credit inquiry that’s part of a pre-employment background check. It doesn’t matter how many soft inquiries you have because they don’t show up on your credit report and they don’t impact your credit score at all.
What is a hard credit inquiry?
Hard inquiries (or hard pulls) are the credit checks that lenders conduct when they’re making a lending decision about you. When you apply for a mortgage, car loan, credit card, or even a home rental, the lender runs a hard credit check.
Take Control of Your Credit Report
Check your credit report at least once per year to ensure that your information is accurate. Your credit report contains information on all of your credit accounts, and lenders will use the data to assess your financial responsibility. Your report is also what determines your credit score, so you want to make sure there aren’t any mistakes.
Connect with Scorewell today to discuss how to identify and correct errors on your credit report and get you on the way to achieving your highest possible credit score.
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