Qualifying
What is a hard inquiry on your credit report?
A hard inquiry (also called a hard pull) is a credit check initiated by a lender when you apply for credit — it appears on your report, is visible to other lenders, and typically lowers your FICO score by 2–5 points. Most hard inquiries stop affecting your score after 12 months and drop off your report after 2 years.
The full picture
What counts as a hard inquiry?
A hard inquiry happens whenever a creditor or lender pulls your credit file to make a lending decision. Common triggers include: applying for a credit card, personal loan, auto loan, mortgage, student loan, or line of credit. Landlord credit checks and some utility account applications also generate hard inquiries. What does NOT trigger a hard inquiry: checking your own credit, pre-approval checks initiated by lenders (these are soft pulls), employment checks, and insurance underwriting in most states.
How many points does a hard inquiry cost?
According to myFICO, a single hard inquiry typically lowers FICO scores by fewer than 5 points for most consumers — commonly 2–5 points depending on your overall credit profile. The impact is smaller for thick files (many accounts, long history) and larger for thin files. Consumers with fewer than six accounts or a short credit history see the largest per-inquiry impact. Importantly, someone with a 760+ FICO who has one hard inquiry will almost always remain in the 'excellent' category.
How long do hard inquiries affect your score?
Hard inquiries stay on your credit report for 2 years from the date of the pull. However, FICO only factors hard inquiries into your score for 12 months. So an inquiry made 13 months ago still shows on your report (visible to lenders) but no longer drags down your score. After 2 years, it falls off completely.
Rate shopping: multiple hard inquiries that count as one
FICO specifically accommodates rate shopping for mortgages, auto loans, and student loans. When you apply with multiple lenders for the same type of loan within a 45-day window, FICO counts all of those inquiries as a single inquiry in its scoring model. This means you can shop 3–5 mortgage lenders without additional score damage beyond the first pull — take advantage of this window when rate shopping.
Hard inquiry vs. soft inquiry
- Hard inquiry (hard pull): Initiated by a lender when you apply for credit. Visible to other lenders, affects your score for 12 months, stays on report 2 years.
- Soft inquiry (soft pull): Initiated by you (checking your own score), pre-approval marketing pulls by lenders, or background checks. NOT visible to other lenders as credit inquiries, does NOT affect your score at all.
- Pre-qualified offers you receive in the mail come from soft pulls — applying for the card turns it into a hard pull.
For more detail on soft vs. hard inquiries, see Hard Inquiry vs. Soft Inquiry.
Multiple applications in a short window add up
While one hard inquiry costs only 2–5 points, six inquiries across different credit types in a short window — credit card, auto, personal loan, etc. — can collectively reduce a score by 15–25 points and signal credit-seeking behavior to future lenders. Sequence applications deliberately rather than applying to everything at once.
Sources
- myFICO states that a single hard inquiry typically affects FICO scores by fewer than 5 points and that the impact diminishes over time, with inquiries no longer factoring into the score after 12 months. — myFICO — Hard Inquiries
- The CFPB explains that hard inquiries remain on credit reports for 2 years and are visible to any lender that pulls your report, while soft inquiries are not visible to lenders evaluating credit applications. — CFPB — Credit Inquiries
- Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), credit bureaus must distinguish between hard inquiries (permissible-purpose credit applications) and soft inquiries, and consumers have the right to dispute unauthorized hard inquiries. — FTC — Fair Credit Reporting Act
- FICO's rate-shopping policy treats multiple mortgage, auto, or student loan inquiries within a 45-day window as a single inquiry — encouraging consumers to comparison-shop without credit score penalty. — myFICO — Rate Shopping
Key takeaways
- A hard inquiry is a lender-initiated credit pull when you apply for credit — costs 2–5 FICO points for most consumers.
- Hard inquiries affect your score for 12 months; they stay visible on your report for 2 years.
- Rate shopping (mortgage, auto, student loans) within 45 days counts as one inquiry under FICO's model.
- Soft inquiries (self-checks, pre-approval marketing) never affect your score and aren't visible to lenders.
- Six inquiries across different credit types in a short window can collectively cost 15–25 points and flag credit-seeking behavior.
- Related: Hard Inquiry vs. Soft Inquiry | How Long Do Hard Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report? | What Affects Your Credit Score?
Published 2026-05-22 · Updated 2026-05-22 · https://clearvaluelending.com/answers/what-is-a-hard-inquiry-on-your-credit-report