If someone has ever requested to pull your credit report, it's likely that you were told that it would be a hard check or soft check, leaving you to wonder what the difference is between the two. There is a difference and it is something that should be understood before you allow someone to check your credit at all. So to help you differentiate, let's look more closely at what they are and how they can affect your credit report or credit score.
The differences between a Hard Credit Check and a Soft Credit Check:
Hard Check
A hard check is a little bit more heavy-handed. These inquiries occur when a lender is looking at your credit to decide whether you should receive a loan or credit card that you've inquired about. Hard checks are viewable by others and can sit on your credit report for up to six months, actually lowering your credit score by about 5 points. While this may not seem like a huge penalty, if you have too many hard pulls sitting on your report, those 5 points can add up pretty quickly.
Soft Check
When a company conducts a soft check on your credit report, it means that they are conducting an inquiry of certain information on the report, but don't have access to everything. As a result of a soft check, your score won't be affected at all. Examples of when a soft check might occur are: when companies are checking to see if you qualify for a pre-approved credit card or loan, and when employers are looking at your report - this is considered a soft check.
If someone else looks at your report other than you (i.e. employer), that person will not be able to see who has been looking at your credit report. So the only way that a soft check can affect you at all is how the company will judge you based on the information they see.
Before you agree to any credit check, ask to see if a hard check or a soft check will be conducted - that way you will have more control on your credit score.
