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The Daily Insight Hub

How many points does your credit score go down for an inquiry?

Author

Matthew Harrington

Updated on February 20, 2026

five points
According to FICO, a hard inquiry from a lender will decrease your credit score five points or less. If you have a strong credit history and no other credit issues, you may find that your scores drop even less than that. The drop is temporary.

How can I check my credit score without hurting it?

AnnualCreditReport.com the website to visit to gain access to your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports one time every year. This is a free service. It does not hurt your score. Try to check one report every four months for accuracy.

Is 5 Hard inquiries bad?

Hard inquiries aren’t bad to have — even if they may cause a slight temporary dip in your credit scores — but it can be good practice to know how to minimize the number of inquiries on your credit report. Experts generally recommend only applying for a credit card every six months.

Why did my credit score drop 20 points for no reason?

For various, normal reasons, your credit score may fluctuate a few points here and there. A drop of 15-20 points or more could be due to higher balances reported on one or more of your credit cards – or it could indicate fraud or something negative impacting your credit scores” adds Detweiler.

Can you get hard inquiries removed?

A legitimate hard inquiry usually can’t be removed. But it disappears from your credit report after two years, and typically only impacts your score for about one year. If you find an unauthorized hard inquiry on your report you can file a dispute and request that it be removed.

Is it bad to check your credit score?

Highlights: Checking your credit reports or credit scores will not impact credit scores. Regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is a good way to ensure information is accurate. Hard inquiries in response to a credit application do impact credit scores.

Is it bad to request a copy of your credit report?

Many people are afraid to request a copy of their credit reports – or check their credit scores – out of concern it may negatively impact their credit scores. Good news: Credit scores aren’t impacted by checking your own credit reports or credit scores.

Can a soft check on your credit report affect your score?

If you’re not sure, check with your provider to find out whether they carry out soft or hard checks on your account. ClearScore – Using ClearScore will never affect your credit score. When you register with ClearScore, a soft search will be recorded on your report.

Why is it important to check your credit report?

In fact, regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is an important way to ensure your personal and account information is correct, and may help detect signs of potential identity theft. When you request a copy of your credit report or check credit scores, that’s known as a “soft” inquiry.