Hard Inquiry: Meaning, vs. Soft Inquiry, How It Affects Your Credit

What Is a Hard Inquiry?

By Kristi Waterworth – Updated Sep 14, 2025 at 11:36 PM

Key Points

Hard inquiries drop your credit score by about five points but can boost it if new credit is issued.
Rate shopping for loans within a 14-45 day window counts as a single hard inquiry.
Soft inquiries, unlike hard ones, do not impact your credit score.

Whether you're applying for a new credit card or a loan, creditors need to know how well you handle credit. That's why they look at your credit reports and credit scores. One factor that affects your credit score is the number of recent hard inquiries listed on your reports. Find out what a hard inquiry is and how it fits into the borrowing process.

Loading paragraph...

Person with coffee cup and laptop with credit score showing. — Image source: Getty Images.

Loading image...

Loading paragraph...

Loan Default

When you stop making payments on a loan, the loan is in default. However, there can be other considerations depending on the type of debt.

Loading paragraph...

How to Consolidate and Refinance Your Student Loans

Student loan consolidation allows you to roll your student loans into one, but it's not the same as refinancing.

How to Invest in Stocks: 5 Steps to Get Started

Are you ready to jump into the stock market? We've got you. Build long-term wealth using The Motley Fool's market-beating method.

Accounts That Earn Compounding Interest

Interest compounds when interest payments also earn interest. Learn how to get compounding interest working for your portfolio.

What is a Fiduciary?

A fiduciary is someone who manages money, assets, or property for a client or beneficiary.

Loading hub_pages...

Loading paragraph...

About the Author

Kristi Waterworth has been a contributing real estate and financial expert at The Motley Fool, covering real estate, investing, and personal finance topics, since 2020. Kristi has been interviewed by various TV media outlets and podcasts for her real estate investing expertise – from residential real estate to digital real estate and everything in between. Kristi’s journalist career spans over 25 years, and she has written about real estate investing, homeownership, and home construction specifically for the last decade. She was also previously a licensed Realtor and general building contractor before the Great Recession and housing market collapse. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American history from Columbia College in Missouri.

TMFMaldivesBlue

@MaldivesBlues

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.