Does requesting my credit report hurt my credit score? | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2024)

FAQs

Does requesting my credit report hurt my credit score? | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? ›

Checking your own credit report is not an inquiry about new credit, so it has no effect on your score. In fact, reviewing your credit report regularly can help you make sure the information the credit reporting companies share with lenders is accurate and up-to-date.

Good news: Credit scores aren't impacted by checking your own credit reports or credit scores. In fact, regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is an important way to ensure your personal and account information is correct, and may help detect signs of potential identity theft.

A Consumer Statement will not change accurately reported information and is unlikely to impact your credit scores; however, providing details for a lender or creditor to see may help them better evaluate your credit behavior.

Making multiple credit applications can negatively impact your credit score. To minimise the potential impact of hard credit checks, you can check your Equifax credit report before applying for a loan or credit.

AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site to get your free annual credit reports. This right is guaranteed by Federal law. You can verify this is the official site by visiting the CFPB's website. Don't be fooled by look-alike sites.

No, requesting your credit report does not hurt your credit score. You can check your credit at no charge at annualcreditreport.com . You can review your credit report online for free once a week, from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion).

A soft credit inquiry, also called a soft credit check or soft pull, is usually done by you or another authorized person, like an employer. Soft credit inquiries don't affect your credit score because you're not actually applying for credit, and these types of inquiries don't necessarily require your permission.

We often get asked 'does checking your credit score lower it? ' The answer is no. You can check your own credit score and credit report as many times as you like – it will never have a negative impact on your score.

If you check your credit score yourself, it doesn't lower it. But if a lender or credit card issuer does, it might. Either way, you'll see an “inquiry” on your credit report. It means that someone — you or a lender — pulled your credit.

In many cases, a hard credit inquiry will only drop your score by about five points — and soft credit inquiries won't affect your score at all.

Is it safe to request a credit report online? ›

AnnualCreditReport.com is authorized by federal law and safe to use — as long as you ensure you're on the correct site. Double-check the URL when you type it, to be sure you have not made a typo. Some other sites have similar-sounding names, so check that the URL matches and the site looks as expected.

Don't be fooled by look-alikes.

Lots of sites promise credit reports for free. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only official site explicitly directed by Federal law to provide them.

Checking your own credit report or score won't affect your credit scores. It's an example of a soft inquiry—a request for credit info that does not affect credit scores.

Checking your own credit score is considered a soft inquiry and won't affect your credit scores.

You have the right to request one free copy of your credit report each year from each of the three major consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. You may also be able to view free reports more frequently online.

Making a late payment

Your payment history on loan and credit accounts can play a prominent role in calculating credit scores. Even one late payment on a credit card account or loan can result in a credit score decrease, depending on the scoring model used.