FRU News · Answers
Will a Credit Check Hurt My Credit Score?
The difference between a soft pull and a hard pull, how long each counts, and how mortgage inquiries in a short window count as one.
47 sec · Captions available on the player · Presented by AI-generated presenters, with every line taken from the FreeRateUpdate page it answers.
Source: FreeRateUpdate answer page, Sept. 29, 2026; myFICO and CFPB
Transcript
This is FreeRateUpdate News. I'm Edmund Ledger. Today's question: will a credit check hurt your credit score?
Not for an initial quote. Lenders usually use a soft pull at that stage, and it doesn't affect your score.
The hard pull comes with a full application. For most people, it takes less than five points off a FICO score.
An inquiry stops counting after twelve months, and comes off your report after two years.
Shopping several lenders doesn't multiply the damage. Mortgage inquiries in a short window count as one.
Lenders don't all use the newest scoring model, so do your comparing within about two weeks.
I'm Edmund Ledger, for FreeRateUpdate News.
What the charts show
Two on-screen visuals. A table comparing soft and hard pulls: a soft pull happens at an early quote or pre-qualification and has no score impact; a hard pull comes with a full application, usually costs under 5 points, counts for 12 months and stays on the report for 2 years. A bar chart of the shopping window in which mortgage inquiries count as one: 14 days for older FICO versions and 45 days for newer versions.