Soft Inquiry
By
Kenneth Long on April 8, 2010
A
soft inquiry is an informal classification of a credit check. It includes any type of consumer credit pull in which the score is exempt from penalty. This is the opposite of a
hard inquiry, in which the consumer would normally be penalized for the credit check.
Soft inquiries are automatically recorded whenever a consumer's credit record is reviewed absent of an attempt to obtain debt. In other words, there is no attempt to open a credit account.
For example, if you pull your own credit reports, this is recorded as a soft inquiry. It has no effect on your credit scores. This is true whether you utilize the free Annual Credit Report service or purchase your credit reports from either the credit bureaus or a third party.
A credit check by a potential employer is recorded as a soft inquiry. Here you are not trying to open an account. Instead, you are trying to increase your income. Still, this is recorded since you have a right to know who is checking your credit.
Landlords also normally check an applicant's credit as a condition of renting a house or apartment. Insurance companies may check your credit either to screen out high risk candidates or to determine your rate classification. Both types are soft inquiries.
Soft inquiries remain on your credit report for 2 years, at which time they will be deleted automatically. This is also the same length of time for hard inquiries to remain posted.
There are also 2 instances in which creditors may check your credit and it is still classified as a soft inquiry. The first is an
account review inquiry, in which one of your active creditor accounts periodically checks your credit report for changes in your financial situation. The second is a
promotional inquiry, in which a prospective lender buys a marketing list of consumers from the credit bureau for the purposes of sending you a credit solicitation. Both of these are classified as soft inquiries, since neither represents an attempt to open a new credit account. Of course, a promotional inquiry would be followed by a hard inquiry if you responded to a solicitation by applying for a new account.