Does Checking Your FICO Fair Isaac Score Hurt Your Credit?

Checking your own FICO score does not lower your credit because the inquiry is a soft pull, which the FICO model treats as invisible to lenders and therefore has no effect on your score; only hard inquiries - such as a loan or credit‑card application - can cause a temporary dip of a few points, typically visible for 12 months and remaining on your report for 24 months (MyFICO explains this distinction).

Soft pulls are the type of inquiry you generate when you look at your own FICO score, when an employer runs a background check, or when a card issuer shows you a pre‑approval. They never appear on your credit report and they never change your FICO score, so you can monitor your credit risk without any downside.

Hard pulls occur when a lender actually processes a credit application. The inquiry shows up on your report, can shave a few points off your FICO score, and the effect is strongest during the first 12 months (the inquiry stays on the report for 24 months). Repeated hard pulls in a short window can compound that temporary dip, as explained in FICO score factors explained.

• Lenders hard‑pull your credit whenever you submit a formal application for new credit such as a credit card, auto loan, personal loan, or mortgage.
• Pre‑approval or rate‑shopping checks usually use soft pulls, so they don't affect your score until you accept an offer, at which point a hard pull occurs.
• Requests to raise an existing credit line may be soft or hard; most major banks perform a hard pull unless they explicitly state otherwise.
• Debt‑consolidation or refinance applications always generate a hard inquiry because they create new credit terms.
• Checking your own FICO score through a consumer website or app triggers a soft pull, never a hard one.

Multiple hard inquiries pull your FICO score down because each is recorded as a separate event; a typical drop ranges from five to ten points per inquiry, and the effect is larger for thin credit files. Soft inquiries - like checking your own score - never affect the number.

The score hit is most pronounced during the first 12 months; after that the inquiries stay on your report for 24 months but cease to influence the calculation. For a deeper dive on the timing, see FICO's explanation of inquiry impact.

When you rate‑shop, multiple hard inquiries that occur within the same scoring window count as one inquiry, so they typically don't drag down your FICO score.

FICO groups inquiries by loan type (auto, mortgage, student) and by a time window that ranges from 14 to 45 days depending on the version. Any hard pulls for the same purpose inside that window are merged, and only the oldest one influences the score. The merged inquiries still appear on your credit report for 24 months, but they affect your score for only 12 months.

Key points to remember:

• Rate‑shopping only helps when you're applying for the same kind of credit (e.g., three auto loans). Different loan types still generate separate hard pulls.
• The 'shopping window' varies: older FICO models use 14 days, newer models extend up to 45 days.
• Only the earliest hard inquiry in the window is counted; subsequent ones are ignored for scoring.
• If you spread applications beyond the window, each hard pull will lower your score by up to five points per inquiry.

So, if you apply for several mortgages within a two‑week period, treat them as a single hard pull. Once the window closes, additional applications will be counted individually. FICO's official guidance on inquiry treatment

Hard inquiries remain on your credit report for 24 months and influence your FICO score for the first 12 months; soft inquiries never appear on the report and do not affect the score. After a year the impact fades, but the record stays visible for another year, which matters for lenders reviewing your history (see the 'soft pulls vs hard pulls' section for more on the difference).

• Day 0: Lender initiates a hard pull; score may drop 5‑10 points.
• Month 1 - 12: Hard inquiry counts toward your score; its effect diminishes over time.
• Month 13 - 24: Inquiry stays on the report for reference only; no longer affects the score.
• Soft pull: No entry on the report; you can check your own FICO score anytime without risk.

Checking your FICO score without a hard pull is simple: use a soft‑inquiry tool that never touches your credit file. The most reliable option is the free soft‑pull service on thecreditpeople.com.

1. Open a browser and navigate to thecreditpeople.com.
2. Create an account or log in with your existing credentials; the site verifies your identity with soft inquiry only.
3. Once logged in, select 'View My FICO Score.' The dashboard shows your current FICO score instantly, with no hard pull and no impact on your credit file.

After you've checked the score, you can repeat the process any time - soft pulls don't stack, and they disappear from your report after 12 months, keeping your credit untouched.

Most free credit apps only produce soft inquiry/pull when you check your FICO score, so your credit isn't affected; a hard inquiry/pull appears only if you click through the app to apply for a loan or credit‑card and the lender runs the check.

Those hard inquiry/pull entries stay on your report for 24 months and can lower your FICO score for up to 12 months, which you'll revisit in the 'what to do about unauthorized hard pulls' section. For a deeper dive on how inquiries work, see understanding FICO score inquiries.

Applying for three credit cards in one week usually triggers three hard pulls, which can knock 5‑10 points off your FICO score per inquiry.

Each hard pull stays on your credit report for 24 months and continues to affect the score for up to 12 months, unlike the soft pulls you get from self‑checks.

John applied for Card A on Monday, Card B on Thursday, and Card C the next Tuesday; his score dropped about 18 points, began climbing back after a few months, and will show the three hard inquiries for two years (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains hard inquiry impact).

Here are the free services that actually deliver a true FICO Score right now:

• Discover Credit Scorecard - provides a FICO Score 8 from Experian, free for anyone who signs up, no credit‑card requirement.
• Experian Free FICO Score - shows a FICO Score 8 from Experian after creating a free Experian account; credit report access included.
• Chase Credit Journey - offers a FICO Score 8 from FICO® (Experian) to all Chase online banking users, even without a Chase credit card.
• Citi Credit Score - gives a FICO Score 8 (Experian) at no charge to Citi online banking members; a Citi credit‑card or checking account is required.

• Use only soft pulls for self‑checks; they never affect your FICO score.
• When rate shopping, cluster hard pulls within a 14‑ to 45‑day window so FICO treats them as one inquiry (see the 'rate shopping' section).
• Keep hard pulls under three per year; each can drop the score 5‑10 points for up to 12 months.
• Immediately dispute any unauthorized hard pull; a timely challenge can remove it from your report.
• Monitor your credit report; hard inquiries disappear after 24 months and no longer influence the score (FICO explains inquiry impact).