How Long Do Hard Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report?

How Long Do Hard Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report? Find Out Now.

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Introduction

A hard inquiry is a type of credit check that happens when you apply for certain types of financial products, like a credit card or loan. Hard inquiries show up on your credit report and can stay there for up to two years.

Hard inquiries can negatively impact your credit score, but they only make up 10% of your overall score. Additionally, hard inquiries only impact your score for one year, so their effect on your credit will lessen over time.

Still, it’s important to be mindful of hard inquiries because too many can signal to lenders that you’re desperate for credit or may be a higher-risk borrower. So, if you’re planning on applying for a major loan in the near future, it’s best to avoid unnecessary hard inquiries by holding off on other types of credit applications.

How Long Do Hard Inquiries Stay on Your Report?

Hard inquiries will stay on your credit report for 24 months. This is regardless of whether you were approved for the credit card or not.

What is a hard inquiry?

A hard inquiry—also called a hard pull—is a detailed check of your credit history that happens when a lender looks at your credit report before approving you for a loan or extending you a line of credit. Hard inquiries are generated whenever you apply for new credit and can occur even if you don’t ultimately get the loan or credit line.

Hard inquiries stay on your credit report for two years but only impact your score for the first year. They are also only 10% of your total score, so if you have a high credit score, one or twohard inquiries probably won’t make much difference.

If you have several hard inquiries in a short period of time, however, that could signal to lenders that you’re desperate for money or overextending yourself financially, which could lead to them denying your loan or offering you less favorable terms.

How long do hard inquiries stay on your report?

Hard inquiries will stay on your credit report for two years. But, the good news is that after 12 months, they will only impact your score for one year.

After that, you can take steps to remove hard inquiries from your credit report if they’re inaccurate or if you have too many.

How do hard inquiries affect your credit score?

When you apply for a new credit card, loan, or service, the lender will check your credit report as part of their decision-making process. This is called a hard inquiry, and it can temporarily cause your credit score to drop.

Hard inquiries stay on your report for two years, but only impact your score for the first year. And, after six months, they have no effect at all.

Still, it’s important to be mindful of hard inquiries when you’re shopping for new credit, so you don’t end up with too many and damage your score unnecessarily.

How to Remove Hard Inquiries from Your Report

Hard inquiries stay on your credit report for two years but only impact your score for the first 12 months. So, if you have a hard inquiry on your report, it will impact your score for up to one year. After that, it will still show on your report for two years but won’t have any impact on your score. You can get hard inquiries removed from your report by dispute them with the credit bureau.

What is a good faith dispute?

A good faith dispute is a formal request to have an inquiry removed from your credit report if you believe it is inaccurate or unfair. You can dispute an inquiry by writing a letter to the credit bureau that issued the report. Be sure to include all relevant information, such as the date of the inquiry, the name of the company that made the inquiry, and your contact information.

How to remove hard inquiries with a good faith dispute

If you notice a hard inquiry on your credit report that you believe to be inaccurate, you can file a dispute with the credit bureau. This is known as a good faith dispute, and it is a way to have inaccuracies removed from your report.

To file a good faith dispute, you will need to contact the credit bureau directly and provide documentation that supports your claim. This can include a letter from the creditor stating that the inquiry was made in error, or other documentation that supports your claim. Once the credit bureau receives your dispute, they will investigate your claim and determine whether or not to remove the hard inquiry from your report.

Conclusion

Hard inquiries can stay on your credit report for up to two years. However, they will only have a negative impact on your credit score for the first 12 months. After that, they will only be used to determine your creditworthiness if you apply for new credit within that 24-month period.