What Is a Soft Inquiry?

What Is a Soft Inquiry?

A soft inquiry, also called a soft credit check, is a type of credit inquiry that doesn't affect your credit scores. Soft inquiries don't impact your credit scores because they're not tied to official applications for new credit. Instead, they occur when you or another party looks at your credit report.

Here are some specific examples of when a soft inquiry may occur:

• You check your own credit
• One of your current creditors checks your credit
• You apply for preapproval for a credit card or personal loan
• A company checks your credit to see if you qualify for preapproval offers

Tip: While soft inquiries don't impact your credit scores, they still appear on your credit report. However, they will only appear on credit reports you check yourself; they will not appear on credit reports creditors, employers and other entities check.

Learn more: Can Someone Check My Credit Without Permission?

Soft Inquiry vs. Hard Inquiry

If you submit an application for new credit, such as a loan or credit card, the loan or card issuer will typically request a hard inquiry to check your credit. Hard inquiries stay on your credit report for two years, but their impact on your credit scores is typically minimal and may only last a few months.

By contrast, a soft inquiry may occur if someone checks your credit report (including yourself) but you didn't submit a new application for credit. Soft inquiries aren't an indicator of greater risk and thus don't impact your credit scores.

Tip: Some applications can result in either a hard or soft inquiry, including renting an apartment. In these situations, you could ask the company whether it will use a hard or soft pull to check your credit.

Learn more: Hard Inquiry vs. Soft Inquiry: What's the Difference?

How Do Soft Inquiries Impact Credit Scores?

Credit scoring models generate your credit scores by analyzing the information in your credit report. Soft inquiries don't have any impact on your credit scores since they aren't related to applications to borrow money.

In contrast, hard inquiries may remain on your credit reports for two years and they can impact your credit scores. That said, the impact is typically small, and credit scores tend to rebound within a few months if no new negative information gets added to your credit report. Scoring models usually only consider hard inquiries from the previous 12 months when calculating your scores.

Note: Multiple recent hard inquiries can do more damage to your credit scores. However, credit scoring models often combine (or "deduplicate") multiple inquiries from a 14- to 45-day period—depending on the credit scoring model—to avoid punishing consumers who are rate shopping for installment loans such as mortgages and auto loans.

Learn more: How Multiple Credit Applications Affect Your Credit Score

Can You See Soft Inquiries on Your Credit Report?

You can view the soft inquiries on your credit reports. If you want to get copies of your credit reports, you can request one free copy from each major credit bureau (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) every week at AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also check your Experian credit report for free anytime.

Keep in mind that your three credits reports could contain different inquiries. That's because an inquiry is only added to the credit report that was checked. For example, if you check your Experian credit report only, the soft inquiry won't be added to your Equifax or TransUnion credit reports.

Does a Credit Freeze Affect Soft Inquiries?

No, a credit freeze typically doesn't block soft inquiries. Soft inquiries may still occur when you check your own credit, when existing lenders review your account or when companies send you preapproved credit offers. If you plan to apply for new credit, however, you'll need to temporarily lift your freeze so lenders can complete a hard inquiry.

Should You Worry About Inquiries?

In general, hard inquiries only play a minor role in your credit scores, and fear of a hard inquiry shouldn't keep you from applying for credit when you need to open a new account.

Soft inquiries are even less worrisome because you could have dozens, or even hundreds, of soft inquiries in your credit reports—and they still won't impact your credit scores.