Hard inquiry

What It Means

A hard inquiry is the record left on your credit reportCredit reportA record of how you've borrowed and repaid, kept by credit bureaus and sold to lenders, landlords, insurers and others who decide whether to deal with you. See more when a lender checks it because you applied for credit, such as a card, a car loanCar loanAn installment loan used to buy a vehicle, repaid in monthly payments over a set term, with the vehicle as collateral. See more or a mortgageMortgageA loan used to buy or refinance a home, secured by the home itself and repaid in monthly installments over a set term. See more. According to myFICO, it can stay on your report for up to two years, but FICO ScoresFICO scoreA credit score made by the company FICO from your credit report; base FICO Scores, including the widely used FICO Score 8, run from 300 to 850. See more only count inquiries from the last 12 months. For most people, one extra inquiry takes less than five points off their FICO Scores. It sits in the "new credit" part of a FICO Score, which makes up 10% of the score.

How People Say It

• "Will applying for this card do a hard pull?"
• "The dealership ran my credit three times."
• "I've got two hard inquiries from last spring."

The Breakdown

A short example. Marcus wants a car loan. Over two months he applies at a bank, a credit union, a dealership and an online lender, spacing them out while he thinks it over. He also applies for two store cardsStore credit cardA credit card offered by a retailer, either usable only at that store or co-branded with a card network, often with store discounts and a higher APR. See more to get the sign-up discount at checkout.

Where it goes wrong. myFICO says FICO Scores treat several mortgage, auto or student loanStudent loanMoney borrowed to pay for college or career school, repaid with interest after you leave school; it comes from the federal government or a private lender. See more inquiries inside a short rate shopping window as one inquiry, because you're shopping for one loan. That window is 45 days in newer FICO versions and any 14-day span in older ones. Stretching the car loan search over two months can push it outside the window for some score versions. The store cards are separate applications for new credit, and each one adds its own inquiry.

What to watch for

• Do your car, mortgage or student loan shopping within about two weeks, so it fits even the older 14-day window.
• Ask whether a quote needs a hard inquiry or only a soft one.
• Apply for new cards only when you want the card.
• Check your report for inquiries you don't recognize, which can be a sign someone applied in your name.

Good to Know

The figures here are myFICO's and apply to FICO Scores; other scoring models, such as VantageScoreVantageScoreA credit scoring model from the company VantageScore; version 4.0 runs from 300 to 850 and gives payment history the most weight, at 41%. See more, weigh recent credit their own way. myFICO puts new credit, where inquiries count, at 10% of a FICO Score, well behind payment historyPayment historyThe record in your credit reports of whether you paid each credit account on time, late or not at all; it's about 35% of a FICO Score. See more at 35%. An inquiry you didn't authorize can be disputed with the bureau that lists it, and may point to identity theft, so check the rest of the report too.

Related Terms and Categories

• Soft inquiry

  A credit check that isn't tied to an application, such as checking your own report or a preapproved offer; it doesn't affect your credit scores.

• Credit report

  A record of how you've borrowed and repaid, kept by credit bureaus and sold to lenders, landlords, insurers and others who decide whether to deal with you.

• Credit score

  A three-digit number calculated from your credit report that lenders use to judge how likely you are to repay; common models run from 300 to 850.

• FICO score

  A credit score made by the company FICO from your credit report; base FICO Scores, including the widely used FICO Score 8, run from 300 to 850.

• Mortgage

  A loan used to buy or refinance a home, secured by the home itself and repaid in monthly installments over a set term.

• Car loan

  An installment loan used to buy a vehicle, repaid in monthly payments over a set term, with the vehicle as collateral.

Debt and credit