In a Nutshell
Hard inquiries happen when you apply for credit. You generally can’t remove legitimate hard inquiries early, but you can dispute and remove inquiries that are fraudulent or reported by mistake. If you see an inquiry you don’t recognize, review your reports and follow the steps below to address it.You can’t erase legitimate hard inquiries from your credit reports, but you can remove ones that don’t belong.
Legitimate inquiries will age off naturally, typically after two years. And you may be able to get credit bureaus to remove incorrect or fraudulent ones with credit disputes.
A hard inquiry is a credit check that appears when you apply for credit, such as a credit card, auto loan or mortgage. Managing inquiries — especially limiting multiple applications in a short period — can support overall credit health.
We’ll explain how hard inquiries work, how to handle unfamiliar inquiries, and how to remove hard inquiries from credit report entries when they’re the result of fraud or error.
- What is a hard inquiry?
- How to remove hard inquiries from your credit reports
- FAQs about removing hard inquiries from your credit reports
What is a hard inquiry?
A hard inquiry, also known as a hard pull, appears on your credit reports when you authorize a lender or creditor to review your credit as part of an application.
You’ll typically see hard inquires when you apply for a credit card, auto loan, mortgage or other financing. An inquiry usually has a small, short-term effect, and they typically remain on your credit reports for about two years before dropping off.
Remember that you have many different credit scores, and that they can differ based on factors such as the credit-scoring model used, timing of the information reported and what credit information each bureau has.
You can check for recent hard inquiries in your Credit Karma account using information from your VantageScore 3.0 reports from Equifax and TransUnion.
How to remove hard inquiries from your credit reports
If a hard inquiry is legitimate — meaning you applied for credit and authorized the pull — it usually can’t be removed early. It should fall off your reports within a couple of years.
But if an inquiry looks fraudulent or was reported in error, removal requires a formal dispute and verification by the credit bureau and the company that initiated the inquiry.
Here are steps to take if you believe a hard inquiry on your reports is incorrect or fraudulent.
1. Review your credit
Check your credit reports from the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Find the hard inquiries section (often labeled “requests viewed by others” or “regular inquiries”) and note the creditor name and date.
Think back to recent applications or places you may have given permission for a credit check, such as an auto dealership or an online lending marketplace. Some companies appear under a parent or affiliate name, which can make a legitimate inquiry look unfamiliar at first.
2. Look for unauthorized or incorrect hard inquiries
If you didn’t apply for credit or authorize a pull, treat the inquiry as potentially fraudulent or a reporting error.
- Not all unfamiliar inquiries are fraudulent. A broker or marketplace may submit applications to multiple lenders to shop your rate, and a creditor may appear under a corporate or affiliate name. Both can result in authorized inquiries you didn’t immediately recognize.
- If you suspect fraud, act quickly. Contact one of the nationwide credit bureaus to place a fraud alert. That bureau must notify the others to place an initial fraud alert on your credit report. Review your accounts for unfamiliar activity, and decide whether a credit freeze or credit lock makes sense for you. You can also report identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov and notify the creditor’s fraud department so they can investigate.
3. If warranted, file a dispute with the corresponding credit bureau
If you spot an unauthorized credit inquiry, you can file a dispute with the bureau that lists it. You can usually dispute online, by phone or by mail.
Clearly identify the inquiry by listing the company name and date. Explain why it’s unauthorized or inaccurate and include copies of any supporting documents. Keep records of what you send and the responses you receive.
The bureau will contact the company that reported the inquiry and review your information. If the investigation confirms the inquiry wasn’t authorized or was reported in error, the bureau should remove it from that report.
Credit Karma members can dispute certain errors on their TransUnion credit report through Credit Karma’s Direct Dispute™ tool. Whether an item is updated depends on the bureau’s investigation and the information provided by the company that reported it.
What’s next
Hard inquiries are only one part of your credit profile. Spacing out applications, paying on time and keeping balances low can help your scores over time. Credit Karma offers free credit monitoring, which can alert you to new inquiries so you can act quickly if something looks off. You can also review your VantageScore 3.0 TransUnion and Equifax credit reports and see your hard inquiries in your Credit Karma account.
FAQs about removing hard inquiries from your credit reports
Hard inquiries typically stay on your credit reports for two years. Their effect on your credit scores usually fades as they age.
A hard inquiry occurs when you apply for credit and authorize a lender to review your reports. A hard inquiry usually has a small effect on your credit scores. A soft inquiry happens in situations such as checking your own scores or receiving a prescreened offer and does not affect your credit scores.
There isn’t a single number. The impact depends on the scoring model and your overall credit profile. For many people with established credit, one hard inquiry has a small effect. Several inquiries in a short time can have a larger impact, though some scoring models may group certain loan-shopping inquiries into a single event when they occur within a defined window.