Understanding Hard Inquiries on Your Credit Report | Equifax (2024)

FAQs

What is a good number of inquiries on credit report? ›

Since hard inquiries affect your credit score and what is found may even affect approval, you might be wondering: How many inquiries is too many? The answer differs from lender to lender, but most consider six total inquiries on a report at one time to be too many to gain approval for an additional credit card or loan.

How do hard inquiries impact your credit score? A hard credit inquiry could lower your credit score by as much as 10 points, though in many cases, the damage probably won't be that significant. As FICO explains, “For most people, one additional credit inquiry will take less than five points off their FICO Scores.”

However, multiple hard inquiries can deplete your score by as much as 10 points each time they happen. People with six or more recent hard inquiries are eight times as likely to file for bankruptcy than those with none. That's way more inquiries than most of us need to find a good deal on a car loan or credit card.

Soft inquiries do not impact your credit score. Hard inquiries serve as a timeline of when you have applied for new credit and may stay on your credit report for two years, although they typically only affect your credit scores for one year.

Disputing hard inquiries on your credit report involves working with the credit reporting agencies and possibly the creditor that made the inquiry. Hard inquiries can't be removed, however, unless they're the result of identity theft. Otherwise, they'll have to fall off naturally, which happens after two years.

Hard inquiries fall off of your credit reports after two years. But your credit scores may only be affected for a year, according to credit-scoring company FICO®. “Although FICO Scores only consider inquiries from the last 12 months, inquiries remain on your credit report for two years,” the company says.

The most likely reasons are: your balances increased, you recently closed accounts, you applied for new lines of credit, or there is inaccurate or fraudulent information on your account. If your credit score dropped by 40 points, this is likely due to late payments that continue to compound on past-due bills.

Using more of your credit card balance than usual — even if you pay on time — can reduce your score until a new, lower balance is reported the following month. Closed accounts and lower credit limits can also result in lower scores even if your payment behavior has not changed.

Each bureau notes the type of inquiry, date of the inquiry, and who made the inquiry on your credit report. According to Credit.com, Edmunds, and Bankrate, shopping around for the best terms and interest rates for an auto loan or mortgage counts as a single hard inquiry.

Do hard inquiries affect getting a mortgage? ›

Inquiries tell other lenders that you are thinking of taking on new debt. An inquiry typically has a small negative effect on your credit scores. Inquiries are a necessary part of applying for a mortgage, so you can't avoid them altogether. But it pays to be smart about them.

The credit scores and credit reports you see on Credit Karma come directly from TransUnion and Equifax, two of the three major consumer credit bureaus. They should accurately reflect your credit information as reported by those bureaus — but they may not match other reports and scores out there.

FICO^® reports that a hard inquiry will reduce your credit score by five points or less. Your scores should rebound in a few months.

Highlights: Most negative information generally stays on credit reports for 7 years. Bankruptcy stays on your Equifax credit report for 7 to 10 years, depending on the bankruptcy type. Closed accounts paid as agreed stay on your Equifax credit report for up to 10 years.

Generally speaking, there is no set date each month when you can expect your credit scores to be updated. It all depends on when your lender sends information to the credit bureaus, when those bureaus update their reports and when credit scoring companies use those reports to update their scores.

In general, six or more hard inquiries are often seen as too many. Based on the data, this number corresponds to being eight times more likely than average to declare bankruptcy.

How Many Hard Credit Inquiries Is Too Many? There's no hard and fast rule for too many credit inquiries, as the impact of your inquiries on your credit score depends on various factors, such as the type of credit you're applying for, the length of your credit history, and your overall credit utilization.

Avoid new credit applications unless you're seeking a secured credit card (or a credit-builder loan) that specifically aims to bolster your score. After that, wait at least six months between credit card applications so that you have time to improve your credit before a new hard inquiry appears on your credit report.

Unlike hard inquiries, soft inquiries won't affect your credit scores. (They may or may not be recorded in your credit reports, depending on the credit bureau.) Since soft inquiries aren't connected to a specific application for new credit, they're only visible to you when you view your credit reports.