What we are really talking about when we say, "Does checking your credit score lower it?" are inquiries on your credit report.
These inquiries are as a result of someone or yourself looking at your credit report.
First let's understand what an inquiry is and what types there are.
An inquiry happens when someone, including you, pulls or accesses your credit file.
There are two types of inquiries, a soft inquiry and a hard inquiry.
A hard inquiry happens when you apply for some type of credit.
For example if you are looking to buy a home and you go to the bank, complete an application for a loan, then the bank pulls your credit.
Same thing as if you apply for a car loan or a credit card.
Once you complete the application and the lender or finance company pulls your credit you will then have a "Hard Inquiry".
A hard inquiry doesn't necessarily hurt your credit score or it's negligible if done correctly.
In most cases the impact is minimal and can be as little as 5 point decrease in credit score.
Let's say again that you are looking to buy a home and in doing so you're rate shopping to get the best possible interest rate on your home loan.
You may visit 3 or 4 different mortgage lenders to see what type of rate you can get and each one pulls your credit report.
In this case as long as it is done within a 45 day time frame it is viewed as a onetime event and the answer to the question; "Does checking your credit score lower it?" would be yes, but not enough to really matter.
Now let's talk about soft inquiries.
A soft inquiry has no impact on your credit report.
A soft inquiry happens when you, the owner of the credit report, pull your own report.
In others words, you're not applying for credit, you're just checking your report.
A soft inquiry can also happen when a creditor that you currently have a loan or some type of financing with reviews your credit file.
Many times consumers will see these on their credit report and wonder why they are on the report.
These companies have the legal right under the FCRA, since they extended you credit to review your file; the important thing is there is no impact to the score because this is considered a soft inquiry.
So to answer the question, "Does checking your credit score lower it?" Yes and No.
Hard inquiries are the credit reviews or credit pulls that you want to be careful with.
If you have too many outside of the 45 day window then it can appear as though you are desperate for credit.
One the other hand if you are personally accessing you own report, which we recommend you do at least 4 times per year or once a quarter, there is no impact and more importantly you will be up to date as to what is reporting on your credit report.
These inquiries are as a result of someone or yourself looking at your credit report.
First let's understand what an inquiry is and what types there are.
An inquiry happens when someone, including you, pulls or accesses your credit file.
There are two types of inquiries, a soft inquiry and a hard inquiry.
A hard inquiry happens when you apply for some type of credit.
For example if you are looking to buy a home and you go to the bank, complete an application for a loan, then the bank pulls your credit.
Same thing as if you apply for a car loan or a credit card.
Once you complete the application and the lender or finance company pulls your credit you will then have a "Hard Inquiry".
A hard inquiry doesn't necessarily hurt your credit score or it's negligible if done correctly.
In most cases the impact is minimal and can be as little as 5 point decrease in credit score.
Let's say again that you are looking to buy a home and in doing so you're rate shopping to get the best possible interest rate on your home loan.
You may visit 3 or 4 different mortgage lenders to see what type of rate you can get and each one pulls your credit report.
In this case as long as it is done within a 45 day time frame it is viewed as a onetime event and the answer to the question; "Does checking your credit score lower it?" would be yes, but not enough to really matter.
Now let's talk about soft inquiries.
A soft inquiry has no impact on your credit report.
A soft inquiry happens when you, the owner of the credit report, pull your own report.
In others words, you're not applying for credit, you're just checking your report.
A soft inquiry can also happen when a creditor that you currently have a loan or some type of financing with reviews your credit file.
Many times consumers will see these on their credit report and wonder why they are on the report.
These companies have the legal right under the FCRA, since they extended you credit to review your file; the important thing is there is no impact to the score because this is considered a soft inquiry.
So to answer the question, "Does checking your credit score lower it?" Yes and No.
Hard inquiries are the credit reviews or credit pulls that you want to be careful with.
If you have too many outside of the 45 day window then it can appear as though you are desperate for credit.
One the other hand if you are personally accessing you own report, which we recommend you do at least 4 times per year or once a quarter, there is no impact and more importantly you will be up to date as to what is reporting on your credit report.