How Long Until This Hard Inquiry Stops Hurting My Score?
Hard inquiries affect your FICO score for 12 months and stay on your report for 24 months. If you were rate shopping for a mortgage or auto loan, multiple inquiries may count as just one. Use ShopWindow to find out exactly where you stand.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a hard inquiry lower my credit score?
According to FICO, a single hard inquiry typically lowers a score by fewer than 5 points, though this varies based on your overall credit profile. People with thin credit files or many recent inquiries may see a larger impact. The good news: inquiries have less and less effect as time passes, and after 12 months they have zero impact on your FICO score.
What is the FICO rate-shopping window?
FICO recognizes that shopping for the best mortgage, auto loan, or student loan rate is financially smart and shouldn't penalize consumers. Under the current FICO model, multiple inquiries for these loan types made within a 45-day window are grouped and counted as a single hard pull. This window applies to mortgage, auto, and student loan inquiries — not credit cards or personal loans.
Do soft inquiries affect my credit score?
No. Soft inquiries — such as when you check your own credit, a lender pre-approves you for an offer, or an employer runs a background check — do not affect your credit score in any way. They may appear on your personal credit report (the one you pull yourself), but they are never visible to lenders pulling your report and are never factored into scoring models.
Can I dispute a hard inquiry I didn't authorize?
Yes. Under the FCRA, you can dispute any hard inquiry you did not authorize. Write to the bureau listing the inquiry and explain that you did not apply for credit with that lender. You can also contact the lender directly and ask them to request removal. Legitimate inquiries from creditors you did apply with cannot be removed before the 24-month window expires.
When do hard inquiries completely disappear from my report?
Hard inquiries are removed from your credit report 24 months (2 years) after the date of the inquiry. FCRA §605(a)(6) requires bureaus to delete these records after two years. After 12 months, however, they are already excluded from FICO score calculations — so the last 12 months on your report are visible to lenders but have no mathematical impact on your score.