A credit inquiry is a lender's check of a credit file; a hard inquiry is recorded and visible to others, while a soft inquiry is not.
A credit inquiry is a lender’s check of a credit file; a hard inquiry is recorded and visible to others, while a soft inquiry is not.
Also called: Credit check.
How it works#
A hard inquiry follows a genuine application, a soft one comes from pre-qualification checks and from viewing your own file. How much a hard inquiry matters and how long it stays visible differs substantially between countries and bureaus. In Germany the decisive distinction is between a rate enquiry and a credit application, because only the second is stored as a marker.
Not to be confused with#
A credit inquiry is not the same as a hard pull: it is the umbrella term and splits into a hard pull and a soft pull. Only that distinction says whether the check is visible to others and whether it affects the score.
In German#
The German term is Bonitätsanfrage. German version of this term
Related terms#
- Credit score: A credit score is a number a bureau uses to express how likely a person is to meet their payment obligations.
- 5/24 rule: The 5/24 rule is a US issuer policy: an applicant who has opened five or more card accounts in the past 24 months is declined for certain cards.
- Hard pull: A hard pull is a check of a credit file made because a lending decision is pending. It is recorded, visible to other lenders and counts towards the score.
- Credit limit: A credit limit is the maximum balance a card account may carry between statements.
- Soft pull: A soft pull is a check of a credit file with no lending decision pending. Only the person concerned can see it, and it has no effect on the score.
Articles that use this term#
TopicEvery article and term onCards and money.