What is a Soft Credit Inquiry or “Soft Credit Pull”?
Soft credit inquiries/pulls have no impact on your credit score. If there are soft inquiries listed on your report, keep in mind that they’re only visible to you - lenders won’t be able to see these inquiries, so they’ll have no influence on your perceived creditworthiness from their point of view.
There are two types of soft credit checks:
- Marketing pre-screen credit checks: The result of the marketing pre-screen credit checks companies use to pre-approve you for their products. Example: Pre-approval letters for loans or credit cards you receive in the mail
- Consumer-initiated inquiries: Example: Checking your credit score through Equifax, Experian, or Transunion or Checking your rates for personal loans.
Common Soft Credit Inquiry triggers may include:
- Employment verifications
- Background checks
- Using a third party to check your credit history/report
- Promotional mail-in offers
- Insurance quotes