How Long Do Credit Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report (and How Many Points Will It Cost You)?

Last updated 07/09/2026 by

Lacey Stark

Fact checked by

Andrew Latham

Summary:

A credit inquiry is a record of someone checking your credit, and only the hard kind, triggered when you apply for credit, affects your score.

A few details decide how long it lingers and how much it costs you.

How long they last: A hard inquiry stays on your report for a set window, then drops off on its own.
Score impact: The effect is small and fades long before the inquiry disappears.
Soft inquiries: Checking your own credit or prequalifying never costs you points.
Rate shopping: Multiple loan checks in a short window count as a single inquiry.

Applying for a credit card, car loan, or mortgage means agreeing to a credit check, and it is fair to wonder what that check does to your score.

The effect is smaller and shorter than most people expect, and knowing the exact timeline lets you apply for what you need without second-guessing every application.

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How long do credit inquiries stay on your credit report

A hard credit inquiry stays on your credit report for up to two years, but it affects your credit score for a much shorter time.

FICO scores only count hard inquiries from the past 12 months, while VantageScore looks back 24 months, so the drop usually fades within a few months even though the record lingers.

Soft inquiries, like checking your own credit, are different: they can appear on your report but never affect your score at all.

Hard inquiries vs soft inquiries

The difference between the two comes down to whether you applied for credit and whether a lender can see the check. Only hard inquiries move your score.

Inquiry type	Affects your score?	Visible to lenders?	Common examples
Hard inquiry	Yes, usually by fewer than 5 points	Yes	Applying for a loan, credit card, mortgage, or apartment
Soft inquiry	No	No, only you can see it	Checking your own credit, prequalification, employer or promotional checks

How much a hard inquiry lowers your score

A single hard inquiry typically lowers your credit score by fewer than five points, according to FICO, and often by none at all.

Inquiries are one of the smallest factors in your score, well behind payment history and how much of your available credit you use.

If your credit is already healthy, one inquiry rarely changes a lending decision. The impact is larger only when your file is thin or your credit is weak to begin with.

How multiple inquiries and rate shopping work

Several hard inquiries in a short time hurt more, because each one costs points and a cluster can signal risk to lenders.

There is a built-in exception for rate shopping. When you compare offers for the same type of loan, such as a mortgage, auto loan, or student loan, scoring models count the batch as a single inquiry.

Scoring model	Rate-shopping window	Inquiries counted in score
FICO (newer versions)	45 days	Prior 12 months
FICO (older versions)	14 days	Prior 12 months
VantageScore	14 days	Prior 24 months

This bundling applies only to loan shopping. Credit card and personal loan applications each create their own separate hard inquiry every time.

How to limit the impact of hard inquiries

A little planning keeps inquiries from stacking up when you need your score highest.

Use prequalification, which is a soft pull, to check your odds before a full application.
Cluster loan-shopping applications into a two-week window to have them counted as one.
Space out credit card applications, since each one is a separate hard inquiry.
Avoid new applications in the months before financing a major purchase.
Check your own reports regularly, which is always a soft inquiry.

Pro Tip: Checking your own credit never costs you points.

Pulling your own reports or using a credit monitoring service is always a soft inquiry, so you can review your score as often as you like. Use that to watch the inquiry section for pulls you did not authorize, which can be an early sign of identity theft.

Can you remove a hard inquiry from your credit report

You cannot remove a legitimate hard inquiry. Because you authorized the credit check by applying, an accurate inquiry stays for up to two years and then drops off automatically.

You can remove an inquiry you did not authorize, such as one from fraud or identity theft, by disputing it with the credit bureaus.

If an unauthorized inquiry appears on more than one report, dispute it with each bureau separately, since correcting an inaccurate hard inquiry at one does not fix the others.

Key takeaways

A hard inquiry stays on your credit report for up to two years.
FICO counts inquiries from the past 12 months; VantageScore looks back 24 months.
A single hard inquiry usually costs fewer than five points and fades within months.
Soft inquiries, including checking your own credit, never affect your score.
Loan rate-shopping within 14 to 45 days counts as one inquiry, but credit cards do not bundle.
Only unauthorized or fraudulent inquiries can be disputed off early.

Frequently asked questions

How many hard inquiries are too many?

There is no fixed cutoff, but FICO reports that people with six or more inquiries can be up to eight times as likely to declare bankruptcy as those with none. Apply only for credit you need, and space applications out when you can.

Does checking my own credit hurt my score?

No. Checking your own credit is a soft inquiry, which never affects your score. You can review it as often as you want, including through a monitoring service.

Do hard inquiries hurt more with a thin credit file?

Yes. If you have few accounts or a short history, a hard inquiry carries more weight than it would on an established file. Established, healthy credit absorbs a single inquiry with little effect.

To keep an eye on your inquiries and the rest of your file, you can compare credit monitoring services and review your reports on a regular schedule.