Can Credit Inquiries Be Removed From Your Credit Report?

Having too many credit inquiries on your credit report can negatively impact your credit score. This is because lenders may view multiple inquiries in a short period as a sign you are desperately seeking new credit, making you a risky borrower. Fortunately, you may be able to remove erroneous and fraudulent inquiries from your report. Here’s what you need to know.

What Are Credit Inquiries?

A credit inquiry is a request made by a lender to check your credit report when you apply for credit, There are two main types of inquiries

• Soft inquiries – Also called soft pulls, these are credit checks you initiate to check your own credit report and score. They don’t affect your credit.

• Hard inquiries – Also called hard pulls these happen when you apply for new credit like a credit card, loan, or mortgage. Each hard inquiry causes a small, temporary drop in your credit score.

Too many hard inquiries in a short timeframe can indicate higher credit risk to lenders and further lower your credit score. Generally, more than 2-3 hard inquiries within 12 months is considered excessive.

How Long Do Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report?

Hard inquiries can remain on your credit report for up to two years, although they impact your score less and less over time. Typically, they only affect your score significantly for the first year.

Soft inquiries don’t get recorded on your credit report at all.

When Can Inquiries Be Removed?

You cannot remove legitimate hard inquiries early. They will fall off your report naturally after two years.

However, you may be able to remove inquiries that are fraudulent, inaccurate or obsolete. Here are some cases when you can dispute inquiries:

• Unauthorized hard inquiry – This occurs when someone accesses your credit report illegally. This could point to identity theft.

• Duplicate inquiry – Sometimes an inquiry gets reported twice accidentally.

• Rejected application – If a lender rejects your application, the inquiry shouldn’t be counted.

• Expired inquiry – Most inquiries should disappear after two years. If not, you can dispute inquiries older than 24 months.

• Inquiry for an account that was never opened – The inquiry should be removed if no account was opened.

• Impermissible use – Certain legal exceptions allow you to remove an inquiry, like viewing your report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

How to Remove Inquiries From Your Credit Report

If you find any unauthorized, inaccurate or obsolete inquiries, here are steps to remove them:

1. Obtain your credit reports – Get free reports from AnnualCreditReport.com to review all inquiries.

2. Identify any incorrect inquiries – Note any you don’t recognize or believe are inaccurate.

3. Contact the lender (optional) – You can contact the lender that made the inquiry to investigate it or confirm it’s in error.

4. Dispute the inquiries – Initiate disputes with each credit bureau reporting incorrect inquiries. Provide any supporting documentation you have.

5. Review report updates – Within 30 days, the bureaus must investigate and delete any inquiries confirmed as inaccurate or obsolete based on investigation and law.

6. Consider adding a fraud alert – If you find unauthorized hard inquiries indicating identity theft, consider placing a free 90-day fraud alert on your credit file.

7. Keep checking reports – Verify the disputed inquiries have been updated or deleted accordingly on your credit reports.

Maintain a Healthy Credit Report

Here are some tips to keep your credit report in good shape:

• Check your credit reports from each bureau annually for errors – it’s free.

• Limit credit applications to 2-3 per year to minimize hard inquiries.

• When rate shopping, apply for all credit within a 45-day window so inquiries are minimized.

• Opt out of pre-approved credit card offers to reduce soft inquiries from marketing.

• Set up credit monitoring to stay on top of any changes or errors on your report.

• Act promptly to dispute any unauthorized or inaccurate items found.

While you can’t remove legitimate hard inquiries early, monitoring your credit report closely gives you the chance to clear up any errors. Limiting applications and being selective about when you apply for new credit can also minimize unnecessary inquiries. With a clean credit report, you can keep your credit score optimized.