A soft inquiry is recorded on your credit report when an existing creditor reviews your file, a prospective creditor pulls your report for marketing purposes, or you order your own credit report for monitoring purposes.
A common misconception is that these inquiries or soft pulls impact your credit score, but the truth is they have no effect at all. That's right - absolutely zero effect!
On the other hand, hard inquiries stay on your credit report for two years and directly impact your FICO score. The key to understanding the difference between a hard and soft pull lies in remembering that a hard pull only occurs when you apply for credit.
For example, applying for a new credit card, auto loan, or a mortgage will result in a hard inquiry on your credit report. In addition, while soft inquiries are only viewable by you, hard inquiries are viewable by any other party accessing your credit report.
