How many points does a hard inquiry drop your credit score?

For most people, a single hard inquiry lowers a FICO Score by fewer than five points. The impact is temporary — hard inquiries stop affecting your score after 12 months and fall off your report entirely after two years.

How much does one hard inquiry lower your score?

According to myFICO, one additional hard inquiry takes fewer than five points off your FICO Score for most people. For some consumers — especially those with thin credit files or short histories — the impact can be larger, but a single inquiry is rarely the deciding factor in a lending decision. Hard inquiries account for roughly 10% of a FICO Score.

How long does the impact last?

Hard inquiries appear on your credit report for two years. However, FICO scoring models stop counting an inquiry against your score after 12 months — meaning the temporary dip typically fully reverses within a year. The CFPB notes that the effect on your scores also tends to decrease before the inquiry drops off your report.

When hard inquiries hurt more — and the rate-shopping exception

Multiple applications in a short window — several hard pulls in quick succession signal risk to scoring models and have a compounding effect
Thin or new credit files — a single inquiry represents a larger share of a short credit history, so the impact is proportionally greater
Rate shopping is protected — FICO groups mortgage, auto, and student loan inquiries made within 14–45 days into a single inquiry; comparison shopping those loans does not multiply the point drop
Credit card applications are not bundled — each credit card application is treated as a separate inquiry even if applied on the same day

Hard inquiry impact: the numbers

For most people, one additional hard inquiry will take fewer than five points off their FICO Score; credit inquiries have a small impact overall. — myFICO
Hard inquiries affect FICO Scores for 12 months; they remain visible on your credit report for 24 months. — myFICO
The CFPB states that for rate shopping, credit scoring models treat multiple inquiries for the same type of loan made within 14 to 45 days as a single inquiry. — CFPB

Key takeaways

One hard inquiry typically costs fewer than five points — a minor, temporary impact for most borrowers.
The score effect disappears after 12 months; the inquiry itself clears your report at 24 months.
Rate shopping for mortgages, auto loans, and student loans within 14–45 days counts as one inquiry, not many.
Avoid applying for multiple credit cards in a short period — those inquiries are not bundled.