How Long Do Hard Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report?
Hard inquiries typically remain on a credit report for two years, then drop off automatically. They are recorded only when a business pulls your full credit report for an application, and scoring models consider them under the new credit factor while they are recent.
This guide is general educational information for U.S. readers. It is not financial advice and does not describe your individual credit file. Figures such as score ranges and timeline estimates are typical examples, not promises.
Key takeaways
- Hard inquiries typically remain on a credit report for two years.
- The two-year period starts on the date the inquiry is recorded, and removal from the file is automatic.
- Access records are kept per credit reporting agency, so one application may appear on one report and not another.
- FICO weights new credit, which includes inquiries, at about 10%; VantageScore uses its own weighting and does not publish fixed percentages.
- Soft inquiries, such as a consumer checking their own report, are not used by scoring models.
- Under the FCRA, a credit reporting agency generally must investigate a dispute within 30 days, extendable to 45 days in certain cases.
Hard inquiries typically remain on a credit report for two years. After that, the record falls off automatically, and scoring models weigh an inquiry mainly while it is recent. A hard inquiry appears only when a lender, landlord, or other business pulls a full credit report as part of an application, and it sits on the file alongside accounts, balances, and payment history.
What a Hard Inquiry Is
A hard inquiry, sometimes called a hard pull, is a record that a business accessed a credit report for a credit-related decision. The three nationwide credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, and each keeps its own file and its own record of who accessed it. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes credit reports as records of how consumers have handled credit, which is why access records appear alongside accounts and payment history.
Typical sources of a hard inquiry include:
- Applications for credit cards, personal loans, or retail financing
- Mortgage preapproval and mortgage applications
- Auto loan, lease, and refinance applications
- Student loan applications
- Some rental applications and utility or phone accounts that require a credit check
Not every credit check is a hard inquiry. Requests a consumer makes to see their own report, promotional preapproval offers, and account reviews by lenders that already hold the account are soft inquiries. Soft inquiries are not shared with other businesses and are not considered by scoring models.
How Long Hard Inquiries Stay on a Credit Report
Hard inquiries typically remain on a credit report for two years. That two-year figure is a reporting convention rather than a scoring rule: the record is a factual note in the file, while the scoring effect is tied to how recent the inquiry is. Experian maintains a consumer education library that covers credit inquiries and how they are recorded.
| Item on a credit report | Typical time it stays |
|---|---|
| Hard inquiry | 2 years |
| Late payment and most other negative information | 7 years |
| Chapter 13 bankruptcy | 7 years |
| Chapter 7 bankruptcy | 10 years |
| Initial fraud alert | 1 year |
| Extended fraud alert | 7 years |
The comparison is useful because inquiries are among the shortest-lived entries in a file. Most negative information, including late payments, stays on a credit report for 7 years. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy stays for 7 years and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays for 10 years. Fraud alerts are not credit events, but they also carry fixed durations: an initial fraud alert lasts 1 year and an extended fraud alert lasts 7 years. A security freeze, by contrast, has no fixed end date, and it is free to place, temporarily lift, or remove under federal law.
When Do Hard Inquiries Fall Off a Credit Report?
The clock starts on the date the inquiry is recorded, which is the date the business accessed the file, not the date the application was approved, denied, or withdrawn. Removal is automatic, and the agencies do not require a consumer request. Because each agency keeps a separate file, an inquiry may appear on one report and not another: a lender may pull only one agency's file, and the record then exists on that report alone.
If an access record is wrong, for example a report shows an application the consumer never made, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives consumers the right to dispute it. Under the FCRA, a credit reporting agency generally must investigate a dispute within 30 days, and the period can extend to 45 days if the consumer provides additional information during the initial 30-day period. The statutory text is available at 15 U.S.C. section 1681.
How Scoring Models Treat New Credit
Hard inquiries are considered under the new credit category of a scoring model. FICO's published factor weights are payment history 35%, amounts owed 30%, length of credit history 15%, new credit 10%, and credit mix 10%. VantageScore uses its own weighting and does not publish fixed percentages. Most credit scores, including FICO and VantageScore, use a range of 300 to 850. The guides on how credit scores are calculated and FICO versus VantageScore cover the factor sets in more detail.
Two features of that category matter for inquiries. First, scoring models look at new credit with an emphasis on recency, so an inquiry recorded last month is treated differently from one recorded nearly two years ago. Second, auto, mortgage, and student loan inquiries made within a short shopping window are commonly grouped and counted as a single inquiry, so comparing several lenders does not multiply the record for scoring purposes even though each access record still appears on the file.
Inquiries are one input among many. Payment history and amounts owed carry far more weight in FICO scoring, which is why the guides on payment history and credit utilization describe the categories that account for most of the calculation.
Hard Inquiries Compared With Soft Inquiries
- Who can see it. Hard inquiries may be visible to other businesses and are used in scoring; soft inquiries are not shared with lenders and are not used in scoring.
- What causes it. A hard inquiry follows an application for new credit; a soft inquiry follows a consumer's own request for their report or a business's review of an account it already holds.
- How long it stays. Hard inquiries typically remain for two years; soft inquiries may appear on the report a consumer requests and are handled differently by each agency.
- Common labels. Reports often separate the two, listing hard inquiries as regular inquiries or requests and soft inquiries in a separate section.
Reading Inquiries on a Credit Report
The FCRA gives consumers the right to a free credit report from each nationwide agency every 12 months, and the three agencies currently provide free reports weekly through AnnualCreditReport.com. Inquiries usually appear in their own section, so they can be reviewed separately from accounts, balances, and public records. Credit reports explains the parts of the file, and credit profile covers how those parts fit together.
An access record a consumer does not recognize is worth checking against the applications they actually submitted. Identity theft is one reason a business might pull a file without the consumer's knowledge, and reports can be filed at IdentityTheft.gov and with the IRS using Form 14039. Identity theft covers the reporting steps, and security freeze explains the free federal freeze. Section 605A (15 U.S.C. section 1681c-1) covers fraud alerts, and section 605B (15 U.S.C. section 1681c-2) covers identity theft report blocking.
Watching the Two-Year Window
Because inquiries are dated, they age out in the order they were added, and a report reviewed over time shows both new access records and older ones dropping away. Credit checks, credit monitoring, and credit lock describe the tools involved in that process, while credit scores collects the scoring material and length of credit history explains how older accounts are measured.
Broader context comes from federal data. The FCRA was enacted in 1970 and amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act in 2003. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 and began operating in 2011. The Federal Reserve publishes consumer credit statistics, including its G.19 release on total outstanding consumer credit, which tracks aggregate borrowing rather than individual files.
The Short Version
Hard inquiries typically remain on a credit report for two years. They are recorded per agency, counted under the new credit factor, and treated with an emphasis on recency while they are present. They are among the shortest-lived entries in a file, and removal happens without any action by the consumer once the two-year period ends.
This page is for education only and is not financial advice.
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Frequently asked questions
How long do hard inquiries stay on your credit report?
Hard inquiries typically remain on a credit report for two years. After that period, the record is removed from the file automatically, and no request from the consumer is required.
When do hard inquiries fall off a credit report?
They fall off when two years have passed from the date the inquiry was recorded, which is the date the business accessed the file rather than the date of the application decision. Because each of the three nationwide agencies keeps its own file, one report may show the inquiry for a longer or shorter time than another.
Do hard inquiries last longer than late payments?
No. Hard inquiries typically last two years, while most negative information, including late payments, stays on a credit report for 7 years. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy stays for 7 years and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays for 10 years.
Does checking my own credit report count as a hard inquiry?
No. Requests a consumer makes to see their own report are soft inquiries. Soft inquiries are not shared with lenders and are not considered by scoring models, while hard inquiries are recorded when a business pulls a report for an application.
Do multiple auto or mortgage inquiries each count in scoring?
Scoring models commonly group multiple auto, mortgage, or student loan inquiries made within a short shopping window and count them as one inquiry for scoring purposes. Each access record still appears on the credit report for two years.
Related guides
- How Credit Scores Are Calculated
- Fico Vs Vantagescore
- Length Of Credit History Explained
- Credit Score Ranges Explained