Hard inquiries vs soft inquiries : What is the difference?

Both hard and soft inquiries, also known as credit checks, play a significant role in your credit report. However, it’s crucial to understand the differences between the two and how they impact your creditworthiness. 

Soft Credit Checks:

A soft inquiry occurs when a company or individual accesses limited information from your credit report for promotional offers or screening purposes. These inquiries do not affect your credit score and are visible only to you.

Common instances of soft inquiries include pre-approved credit card or personal loan offers, insurance underwriting, employment verification, landlord screenings, and when you check your own credit report.

Soft inquiries provide insight into your creditworthiness without impacting your credit score, making them a useful tool for various entities to assess your financial profile.

Hard Credit Inquiries:

On the other hand, a hard inquiry appears on your credit report when a lender or financial institution accesses your credit report as part of a credit application process. These inquiries can impact your credit score and are visible to other lenders.

Hard inquiries typically occur when you apply for traditional credit products such as credit cards, mortgages, or auto loans. Each hard inquiry can slightly lower your credit score, although the impact diminishes over time.

It’s important to note that multiple hard inquiries within a short timeframe, usually within 14 days, are often counted as a single inquiry by credit scoring models. This allows borrowers to shop around for the best personal loan policy terms without significantly affecting their credit scores.