Regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is a good way to ensure information is accurate. But can checking your credit hurt your credit scores? [Duration: 00:54]
Many people are afraid to request a copy of their credit reports – or check their credit scores – out of concern it may negatively impact their credit scores.
Good news: Credit scores arent impacted by checking your own credit reports or credit scores. In fact, regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is an important way to ensure your personal and account information is correct, and may help detect signs of potential identity theft.
Checking your credit score frequently is actually a smart financial move. Despite common misconceptions, monitoring your credit score often does not hurt your credit. In fact doing so can help you catch any errors, signs of fraud, and opportunities to improve your credit health.
Why Checking Your Credit Score Is Important
Here are some key reasons why you should check your credit score regularly
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Ensure accuracy – Reviewing your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus regularly lets you verify all the information is correct. If you spot any errors, you can get them fixed quickly before they cause bigger issues.
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Detect fraud – Frequently checking your credit can help you identify any suspicious activity like accounts you didn’t open. This allows you to address fraud ASAP and minimize damage.
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Track improvements – Checking your credit score often lets you monitor your progress as you work to increase your score. You can see the positive impact of good credit habits.
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Catch problems early – Staying on top of your credit helps you detect issues like missed payments before they escalate and do serious damage to your score,
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Make better financial decisions – Knowing your credit score empowers you to make smart money moves, like timing applications for new credit.
Monitoring Your Credit Score Does Not Hurt It
Despite some lingering misconceptions, checking your own credit score does NOT damage your credit whatsoever. Here’s why:
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When you check your credit score yourself, it’s considered a “soft inquiry” which does not affect your score.
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Only “hard inquiries” from lenders when applying for credit temporarily impact your score.
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Soft inquiries show up on your credit report but don’t get factored into your score calculation.
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You can check your credit as frequently as you want without consequence. Daily, weekly, monthly – your choice!
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In fact, checking often is recommended by credit experts to stay on top of your credit health.
How to Check Your Credit Score for Free
Thanks to recent regulation, it’s easier than ever to monitor your credit score for free:
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AnnualCreditReport.com – Provides your free credit reports from all three bureaus once per year.
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Bank and lender accounts – Many offer free score access as an account-holder perk.
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Credit monitoring services – Some provide score updates with free trials or as a paid service.
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Credit card statements – Your statement may show your score each month.
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Free score access websites – Several sites like Credit Karma offer free scores.
It’s ideal to check scores from all three credit bureaus as there may be variations. Checking different scoring models like FICO vs. VantageScore can provide a fuller picture as well.
How Often Should You Check Your Credit Score?
Credit experts generally recommend checking your credit score at least every few months, and more frequently in certain situations:
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At least once per year – The bare minimum to review accuracy and check for fraud.
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Before applying for new credit – Spot issues that could derail your approval odds in time to fix them.
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When monitoring improvement progress – If actively trying to raise your score, check it regularly to gauge your efforts.
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After noticing a drop in score – Determine the cause of a decline so you can address it.
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When anticipating a major purchase – Check well in advance for a mortgage, auto loan, etc. to ensure your score is in good shape.
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During life changes – Monitor closely after events like marriage, divorce, having a baby, etc. that can impact your credit.
Tips to Avoid Overusing Credit Checks
While checking your credit score often is wise, you’ll want to avoid going overboard and impacting your credit in these scenarios:
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Don’t apply for or open tons of new accounts in a short period of time. The hard inquiries will accumulate and can lower your score.
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Be mindful of free vs. paid score services. Paid ones often enroll you in credit monitoring that results in a hard inquiry.
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If rate shopping for a major purchase like a mortgage, do it within a short window of time so the hard inquires get grouped and don’t excessively ding your score.
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Don’t obsessively check your credit score multiple times per day as it likely won’t change that rapidly anyway.
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Consider checking your credit reports more often than your scores to reduce hard inquiries from scoring services.
The Takeaway
Checking your credit score frequently is a smart money move with many benefits and no negative impact. While you don’t need to go overboard, monitoring your credit often helps you maximize your credit health.
Use free resources wisely, check reports from all bureaus, and aim to review your credit a few times per year at minimum or more often when actively using credit. With some diligence, you can catch errors, prevent fraud, monitor changes, and keep your credit score headed in the right direction!
Impact of soft and hard inquiries on credit scores
When you request a copy of your credit report or check credit scores, that’s known as a “soft” inquiry. Other types of soft inquiries result from companies that send you promotional credit card offers and existing lending account reviews by companies with whom you have an account. Soft inquiries do not affect credit scores and are not visible to potential lenders that may review your credit reports. They are visible to you and will stay on your credit reports for 12 to 24 months, depending on the type.
The other type of inquiry is a “hard” inquiry. Those occur after you have applied for a loan or a credit card and the potential lender reviews your credit history.
Hard inquiries do affect credit scores, but if you’re making a large purchase – such as buying a house or securing a mortgage – and shopping around for the most competitive rates, multiple hard inquiries are generally treated as one hard inquiry for a given period of time, typically 14 to 45 days. That allows you ample time to check different lenders and find the best loan terms for you. This multiple-hard inquiry exception generally does not apply to credit cards. Find out more information on hard inquiries and your credit.
Getting your credit reports
You’re entitled to a free copy of your credit reports every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. You can also create a myEquifax account to get six free Equifax credit reports each year. In addition, you can click “Get my free credit score” on your myEquifax dashboard to enroll in Equifax Core Credit™ for a free monthly Equifax credit report and a free monthly VantageScore® 3.0 credit score, based on Equifax data. A VantageScore is one of many types of credit scores.
When checking your credit report, it’s important to make sure all your personal information, such as your name and addresses, is accurate and there isn’t information you don’t recognize. In addition, make sure your account information is accurate and complete. Do the account balances, credit limits, and payment history look accurate? Is there account information listed that you don’t believe is yours?
If you see account information that you believe is inaccurate or incomplete on your credit reports, contact the lending company directly. You can also file a dispute with the credit bureau providing the credit report. At Equifax, you can create a myEquifax account to file a dispute. Visit our dispute page to learn other ways you can submit a dispute.
How long Hard Inquiry Stays on YOUR Credit Report (& how long a Hard Pull affects YOUR credit score)
FAQ
Does checking your credit score often affect it?
Good news: Credit scores aren’t impacted by checking your own credit reports or credit scores. In fact, regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is an important way to ensure your personal and account information is correct, and may help detect signs of potential identity theft.
Is it true that every time you check your credit score it goes down?
Checking your credit score won’t lower it, but there are a number of factors, in addition to hard credit checks, that can lower your score. The VantageScore® 3.0 scoring model, which Chase Credit Journey® uses, is made up of six factors: Payment history: tracks whether your payments are made on time.
How frequently should I check my credit score?
It is advisable to check your CIBIL score at least once a month to track your credit health and identify any potential errors or fraud.
Will 3 inquiries hurt my credit score?
Although a single hard inquiry might only hurt your credit scores a little, multiple hard inquiries could increase the impact. And an application can lead to a hard inquiry even if the creditor denies your application.Aug 30, 2024
Does checking your credit affect your credit score?
Checking your own credit doesn’t affect it. But your score could go down if someone else checks it. That would happen if you applied for a loan, credit card or perhaps an apartment. How many points does your score go down for an inquiry?
Does checking my credit score lower my score?
Does Checking My Credit Lower My Score? No, checking your credit score does not lower it. When you check your credit score, it’s considered a soft inquiry that won’t affect your credit score. Anytime your credit is checked, an inquiry is noted on your credit report.
How often should you check your credit score?
You can check your credit score as often as you want without hurting your credit, and it’s a good idea to do so regularly. At the very minimum, it’s a good idea to check before applying for credit, whether it’s a home loan, auto loan, credit card or something else.
Should you check your credit score regularly?
Checking your credit score regularly is essential if you’re working on building or rebuilding your credit history. As you look for opportunities to improve your credit, here are some tips to help you get started: Get caught up on overdue payments, if applicable, and pay all of your debts on time every month going forward.
Should you check your credit score before applying for credit?
Knowing your credit score can keep you from needlessly losing points by applying for products you won’t qualify for. Also, knowing where you stand gives you the opportunity to polish your credit score before you apply for credit. Is checking my credit score free?
How does a credit inquiry affect my credit score?
Anytime your credit is checked, an inquiry is noted on your credit report. Depending on who is checking your credit and why it’s being checked, this inquiry will be classified as either a soft inquiry or hard inquiry. Soft inquiries don’t affect your credit scores, but hard inquiries can.