Checking your own credit score does not lower it

When you look at your own credit score — whether through your bank, a credit card issuer, or a free service — that inquiry does not affect your score. These are called soft inquiries, and they leave no mark on your credit report. Only hard inquiries, which happen when a lender or creditor pulls your report to decide whether to lend you money, can lower your score by a few points.

The confusion exists because credit scoring models do count hard inquiries as a small negative factor. But checking your own score is not a hard inquiry. You can monitor your credit as often as you want without penalty.

Key Takeaways

  • Soft inquiries — when you check your own score — do not lower your credit rating at all.
  • Hard inquiries happen when a lender pulls your report to make a lending decision, and these can drop your score by a few points.
  • You can check your score for free once per year from each of the three major credit bureaus through AnnualCreditReport.com.
  • Multiple hard inquiries within a short window (usually 14 to 45 days) for the same type of credit often count as a single inquiry.

The difference between soft and hard inquiries

A soft inquiry happens when you or an existing creditor checks your report for informational purposes. These include checking your own score, a credit card company reviewing your account, or an employer running a background check. Soft inquiries appear on your credit report but are visible only to you — lenders cannot see them.

A hard inquiry occurs when you apply for credit: a mortgage, car loan, credit card, or personal loan. The lender pulls your full credit report to decide whether to lend to you and at what rate. Hard inquiries are visible to other lenders and can lower your score by a few points, typically 5 to 10 points per inquiry. The impact fades over time and usually disappears after 12 months.

The scoring model treats hard inquiries as a signal that you are actively seeking new credit, which suggests slightly higher risk. But one or two hard inquiries have minimal impact on most people's scores. The damage is greater if you have many hard inquiries in a short period.

Where to check your score without penalty

You have the right to one free credit report per year from each of the three major bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Visit AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site authorized by federal law, to request your reports. This is a soft inquiry and will not affect your score.

Many banks and credit card companies also offer free credit score monitoring to their customers. Check your online account or call the customer service number on your card. These are soft inquiries as well. Credit Karma, Discover, and Capital One also offer free score tracking to anyone, regardless of whether you have an account with them.

If you use a paid credit monitoring service, that check is still a soft inquiry. The cost is for the service itself, not because checking costs money — it does not.

When hard inquiries happen and how they affect your score

Hard inquiries appear on your report when you submit a formal application for credit. This includes applying for a credit card, mortgage, auto loan, personal loan, or even a store card. The lender must have your permission to pull your report, which you give by signing the application.

A single hard inquiry typically lowers your score by a small amount — often 5 to 10 points, though this varies by scoring model and your overall credit profile. The impact is temporary. Hard inquiries stay on your report for two years but stop affecting your score after about 12 months.

If you are rate-shopping — applying for a mortgage or car loan with multiple lenders in a short window — the scoring models treat multiple inquiries as a single inquiry if they happen within 14 to 45 days (the window depends on the scoring model). This is built in to protect people who need to compare rates.

Why monitoring your score regularly is actually helpful

Checking your own score regularly helps you spot errors or fraud. If you see a hard inquiry you did not authorize, that may signal identity theft. If your score drops unexpectedly, you can investigate the cause — a missed payment, a high balance, or a reporting error.

Monitoring also lets you track the impact of your own financial decisions. Paying down debt, reducing credit card balances, or making on-time payments will raise your score over time, and you can see that progress.

Because soft inquiries do not hurt your score, there is no downside to checking it monthly or even weekly if you want to. Many people check before applying for new credit so they know what score range to expect and which lenders might approve them.

What actually lowers your credit score

Hard inquiries are only one small factor in your score. Much larger impacts come from missed or late payments, high credit card balances relative to your limits, collections accounts, and negative public records like judgments or tax liens. A single hard inquiry is unlikely to be the reason your score dropped.

If your score fell after you checked it, the cause was something else — usually a payment that reported late, a balance that increased, or a negative item that appeared on your report. Check your full credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com to see what is actually on file.

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 lower it. The hard inquiry happens only when you submit an actual application to a lender. Knowing your score beforehand helps you understand what to expect.

Do credit card companies hurt my score when they check my account?

No. When your existing creditor reviews your account — called a soft pull — it does not affect your score and is not visible to other lenders. Only hard inquiries from new credit applications show up to other lenders.

How many hard inquiries is too many?

One or two hard inquiries have minimal impact. Multiple inquiries in a short time (especially for different types of credit) can lower your score more noticeably. If you are rate-shopping for a mortgage or car, apply within 14 to 45 days so the inquiries count as one.

Can I remove a hard inquiry from my credit report?

Hard inquiries stay on your report for two years, but you can dispute one if it was made without your permission. Contact the bureau in writing with proof you did not authorize it. Authorized inquiries cannot be removed before two years pass.

Should I check my credit score before applying for a mortgage?

Yes. Checking your own score is free and does not hurt you. Knowing your score helps you understand what mortgage rates you might may have access to for and whether you should wait to apply or work on improving your score first.