Hard vs. Soft Credit Inquiries

Every time your credit is checked, one of two things happens: a hard inquiry or a soft inquiry.

Hard inquiries Triggered when you apply for credit — a card, an auto loan, a mortgage, an apartment in some jurisdictions. Hard inquiries stay on your report for two years and factor into scoring for the first twelve months.

Soft inquiries Triggered by pre-qualification checks, your own report requests, employer background checks, and existing lender account reviews. They do not affect your score and are visible only to you.

Rate shopping FICO and VantageScore both cluster multiple hard inquiries for the same loan type (auto, mortgage, student) within a short window and count them as one. That's why you can shop lenders without stacking hits.