Checking your own credit score does not lower it
When you check your own credit score or credit report, the inquiry does not damage your credit. This is called a soft inquiry or soft pull, and it has no effect on your score. Credit bureaus and lenders treat it differently from the inquiries that do affect your rating.
The confusion often comes from the fact that some inquiries do lower your score — but those are inquiries made by lenders or creditors when you apply for credit, not when you look at your own information. Understanding the difference between these two types of inquiries is the key to knowing when your score is actually at risk.
Key Takeaways
- Checking your own credit score through your bank, credit card company, or a credit bureau website is a soft inquiry and does not lower your score.
- Hard inquiries — made by lenders when you apply for a loan, credit card, or mortgage — can lower your score by a few points and stay on your report for up to two years.
- Multiple hard inquiries within a short time frame (usually 14 to 45 days) for the same type of credit often count as a single inquiry, so rate shopping does not multiply the damage.
- You can check your credit report for free once per year from each of the three major bureaus through AnnualCreditReport.com, and checking it does not affect your score.
The difference between soft and hard inquiries
A soft inquiry happens when you check your own score, when a company you already do business with reviews your credit, or when an employer or landlord checks your background. Soft inquiries are invisible to lenders and do not appear on the version of your credit report that lenders see. They have zero impact on your score.
A hard inquiry happens when you apply for a credit product — a mortgage, auto loan, personal loan, credit card, or sometimes even a rental application. The lender pulls your full credit report to decide whether to lend to you. Hard inquiries show up on your credit report and can lower your score by a few points, usually between 5 and 10 points per inquiry. The impact fades over time, and the inquiry itself drops off your report after two years.
The reason hard inquiries matter is that they signal to other lenders that you are actively seeking new credit. Multiple hard inquiries in a short window can suggest financial stress or risky borrowing behavior, which is why lenders care about them.
When checking your score is actually safe
You can check your credit score as often as you want without any penalty. Many banks and credit card companies now offer free credit score monitoring to their customers — this is a soft inquiry every time you log in and look at it. Credit monitoring services like Credit Karma, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion also let you check your score for free, and these checks do not lower your rating.
You are also may have access to to one free credit report per year from each of the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — through AnnualCreditReport.com. Requesting your report this way is a soft inquiry and does not affect your score. Many people space these requests out (one bureau every four months) to monitor their credit throughout the year.
The only time checking your credit matters is if you are about to apply for a loan or credit card. In that case, checking your own score beforehand does not hurt you, but the lender's hard inquiry when you submit your application will. There is no benefit to avoiding the hard inquiry by not checking your score first — the damage only happens when the lender pulls your report, not when you do.
How hard inquiries actually affect your score
A single hard inquiry typically lowers your score by a small amount — often 5 to 10 points, though the exact impact varies by scoring model and your overall credit profile. The effect is temporary. After a few months, the impact shrinks, and after two years, the inquiry no longer appears on your report at all.
Multiple hard inquiries in a short time frame can add up, but credit scoring models account for rate shopping. If you apply for several mortgages, auto loans, or credit cards within 14 to 45 days (the window varies by scoring model), those inquiries often count as a single inquiry for scoring purposes. This is intentional — the scoring models recognize that you are comparing rates, not desperately seeking credit.
Hard inquiries from different types of credit are not grouped together. If you apply for a mortgage and a credit card on the same day, those are two separate inquiries and both will affect your score. But if you apply for three mortgages within two weeks, they may count as one.
What actually damages your credit score
Hard inquiries are a minor factor in your credit score. The things that damage it far more are missed payments, high credit card balances, collections accounts, and late payments. A single missed payment can lower your score by 100 points or more, depending on your current score and payment history. That is why monitoring your credit report for errors or signs of fraud is far more important than worrying about the soft inquiries you make yourself.
If you see a hard inquiry on your credit report that you did not authorize, that is a sign of potential fraud or identity theft. You should dispute it with the credit bureau and contact the lender to ask why they pulled your report. Unauthorized hard inquiries are one of the few reasons to be concerned about inquiries on your report.
Why you should check your credit regularly
Checking your own credit score and report regularly is actually a good practice for protecting yourself. Your credit report can contain errors — wrong account information, accounts that do not belong to you, or duplicate entries. These errors can lower your score unfairly. The only way to catch them is to look at your report.
Checking your report also helps you spot signs of identity theft or fraud early. If you see accounts you did not open or inquiries you did not authorize, you can dispute them and take steps to protect yourself before the damage gets worse. This is one of the few situations where acting quickly actually matters.
Because checking your own score is a soft inquiry with no impact on your rating, there is no downside to doing it. Many people check their score monthly or quarterly as part of their financial routine. This does not hurt your credit — it helps you stay aware of what lenders see.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will checking my credit score before applying for a loan hurt me?
No. Checking your own score is a soft inquiry and does not affect your rating. The hard inquiry that lowers your score only happens when the lender pulls your report after you submit an application. Checking your score beforehand causes no damage.
How many times can I check my credit report for free?
You can request one free credit report per year from each of the three major bureaus through AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also check your score for free through your bank, credit card company, or credit monitoring services like Credit Karma. These checks do not lower your score.
If I apply for multiple credit cards at once, will it hurt my score more?
Multiple applications for the same type of credit within 14 to 45 days usually count as a single hard inquiry for scoring purposes. However, each application still appears on your report separately. The score impact is typically small and temporary, fading over a few months.
Can I remove a hard inquiry from my credit report?
Hard inquiries stay on your report for two years, but their impact on your score fades much faster — usually within a few months. You cannot remove a legitimate hard inquiry, but you can dispute unauthorized inquiries with the credit bureau and the lender if you did not authorize the application.
What should I do if I see an inquiry I did not authorize?
Contact the credit bureau in writing to dispute the inquiry and ask them to investigate. Also contact the lender directly to report that you did not apply. If the inquiry is fraudulent, it may be a sign of identity theft — consider placing a fraud alert or credit freeze on your accounts.