What kind of credit inquiry does not affect my credit score?

When a lender requests a credit report, that request is a credit inquiry. The CFPB says one inquiry from a lender usually has little impact on a score. A check by a creditor that already has an account generally should not hurt the score.

Scoring models also allow comparison shopping. Several inquiries for the same kind of loan are generally counted as one inquiry if they occur within a reasonably short period. The CFPB currently describes same-type requests that fall between 14 and 45 days as generally treated as no more than one inquiry. On the most common models, it says student-loan, auto-loan, and mortgage-related inquiries in the 30 days before scoring have no effect at all. Those day counts are the Bureau's published description of common models, not a single permanent national rule.

Shopping that stretches past 45 days, or shopping for two different products such as a mortgage and an auto loan, generally counts as more than one inquiry and can lower a score. This page does not use a 'soft inquiry' label or invent a window other than the ranges the CFPB describes.