Credit inquiry review: hard vs. soft, and permissible purpose

Inquiries on your credit report fall into two broad categories, and the distinction matters both for your credit scores and for your rights. Understanding which type of inquiry you're looking at is the first step in deciding whether one may be unauthorized.

Hard inquiries vs. soft inquiries

A hard inquiry generally occurs when a lender reviews your credit in connection with an application you initiated — for a credit card, auto loan, mortgage, or similar. Hard inquiries can affect your credit scores and remain on your report for a period of time. A soft inquiry occurs when you check your own credit, when a lender reviews it for a pre-screened offer, or in similar circumstances; soft inquiries don't affect your scores.

Permissible purpose

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, access to your credit report is generally limited to those with a 'permissible purpose' — such as a lender reviewing an application you initiated, or you accessing your own report. An inquiry without a permissible purpose, or one you didn't authorize, may be grounds to question it.

When you may have grounds to question an inquiry

You may have reason to question a hard inquiry if you don't recognize the creditor, you didn't apply for credit with that company, or you suspect identity theft. In those cases, the inquiry may warrant a dispute or further investigation.

What you should gather

Review your inquiries against a list of applications you've actually made. If you see a hard inquiry you don't recognize, gather any correspondence and be prepared to contact the creditor directly, since an unauthorized inquiry can be a sign of identity theft.

What you can reasonably expect

If an inquiry is unauthorized, a dispute — and possibly a fraud or identity-theft report — may lead to its removal. If the inquiry was for an application you initiated, it's generally accurate and not removable simply because you later changed your mind.

What we cannot do

We can't remove an inquiry you authorized, and we don't encourage disputing legitimate inquiries. If an inquiry stems from identity theft, we'll help you understand the steps, including reporting to the FTC and contacting the bureaus.