What Is Hard Credit Inquiry?
Hard Credit Inquiry: A credit check made when you apply for credit, which can lower your score slightly.
Also called: hard pull
A hard credit inquiry happens when a lender checks your credit because you applied for a loan or card. It shows on your credit report for two years and can lower your credit score by a few points for up to a year.
Mortgage shopping is treated differently
Scoring models count multiple mortgage inquiries within a short window as one inquiry, so you can compare lenders. The window is 45 days for newer FICO versions and 14 days for some older ones. Shop within a couple of weeks to be safe.
Soft inquiries
Checking your own credit, prequalification tools and account reviews are soft inquiries. They don't affect your score.
Good to know
Avoid new credit applications (cars, store cards, furniture financing) between pre-approval and closing. Each one prompts questions from the underwriter and may add a new payment to your debt-to-income ratio.