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Hard inquiry vs soft inquiry: what is the difference?
Updated November 10, 2026
A soft inquiry is a credit check that leaves your score unchanged, such as checking your own report or a lender looking before it sends you a prescreened offer. A hard inquiry happens when you apply for credit and give a lender permission to pull your report to make a decision. A hard inquiry can lower a score by a small amount for a period of time.
What counts as a soft inquiry?
- You checking your own credit report or score.
- A card company or lender screening you for a prescreened mailing.
- An existing creditor reviewing your account.
- Many employers and landlords, when the check is not tied to a credit application. Ask which kind they run.
- Comparing loan options on sites that say they use a soft check, before you apply anywhere.
Soft inquiries may appear on the copy of the report you see yourself, but other lenders do not see them and scoring models leave them out.
What counts as a hard inquiry?
- Applying for a credit card, auto loan, mortgage or personal loan.
- Asking a card issuer for a higher limit, in some cases.
- Some apartment and utility applications that run a full credit check.
The common thread is your permission to review your credit for a specific application. Lenders that see your report can see hard inquiries, which is why several in a short span can make a file look riskier.
Hard inquiry vs soft inquiry at a glance
| Point | Soft inquiry | Hard inquiry |
|---|---|---|
| Changes your score? | No | It can, by a small amount for a while |
| Seen by other lenders? | No | Yes |
| Needs your application? | No | Yes, tied to a credit application |
| Common examples | Checking your own report, prescreened offers | Card, auto, mortgage and personal loan applications |
Is a hard inquiry bad for credit?
One hard inquiry is a small factor. Payment history and how much of your available credit you use carry far more weight in common scoring models. The effect of an inquiry fades over time, and it eventually drops off the report. Several applications in a short period can add up, though, so space out applications for unrelated credit.
When you shop for one loan of a certain type, such as a car loan or mortgage, scoring models may count several inquiries within a short shopping window as a single one. That allowance does not cover every kind of credit, so compare offers that use soft checks first where you can.
Can I dispute a hard inquiry?
You can dispute a hard inquiry you did not authorize. Get your reports from each bureau, find the inquiry, and contact the company that made it as well as the bureau showing it. Explain that you did not apply and ask for it to be removed. If the inquiry points to an account someone opened in your name, treat it as possible identity theft and act quickly to freeze your credit with each bureau.
An inquiry you did authorize is accurate, so a dispute will not usually remove it. Waiting is the only fix there.
Where SproutBorrow fits
Sending a request through SproutBorrow has no effect on your credit score. Should a partner lender make an offer and you continue with its application, that lender may pull your report with a hard inquiry as part of its own decision, and its offer and disclosures should tell you so.
Questions readers ask
Does checking my own credit hurt my score?
No. Looking at your own report or score is a soft inquiry and does not change your score, however often you do it. Checking regularly is a good habit because it helps you catch errors and accounts you did not open.
How do I know which kind of check a lender will run?
Ask before you apply. Many lenders state on the application page whether they start with a soft check and when a hard inquiry happens. If the page does not say, the lender's customer service team should be able to tell you.
Do hard inquiries ever go away?
Yes. A hard inquiry stays on your report for a limited time and then drops off, and its effect on a score usually fades well before that. Steady payments in the meantime do more for your score than anything else.
Keep reading
Next, read about how credit builder loans work, or about how to pay medical bills you cannot afford.
SproutBorrow refers requests and does not lend. If a small loan still looks right, a single free request, between $100 and $5,000, reaches partner lenders, each setting its own rules and terms.