Do inquiries hurt a credit score?

Soft inquiries DO NOT affect your credit scores. Here are some examples of what would be considered soft inquiries:

• When you pull your own credit.
  
• When one of your existing creditors does a periodic review of your credit. This is called an account review.
  
• When a creditor has purchased your name from the credit bureaus for the purposes of sending you some sort of credit solicitation in the mail. This is called a promotional inquiry.
  
• When an employer checks your credit before hiring you.
  
• When you apply for auto insurance.
  
• When a landlord checks your credit

Hard inquiries DO affect your score. A hard inquiry occurs when you apply for a loan, a credit card, or any type of credit. Here are some examples of what can cause a hard inquiry to show up on your credit report:

• When you apply for a mortgage or home equity line of credit.
  
• When you apply for an auto loan.
  
• When you apply for a credit card.
  
• When you apply for a student loan.
  
• When you fill out and return pre-approved credit offers that you receive in the mail.
  
• When you apply for instant credit offers at the shopping mall.
  
• When you apply for credit on the internet.
  
• When you opt to become pre-qualified for any type of loan.