Not every hard inquiry on your report is legitimate. Here's how to tell the difference, and what to do about the ones that shouldn't be there.
Hard inquiries are a small but often misunderstood piece of your credit report. Understanding what they are — and when they can legally be challenged — can help you clean up your profile faster.
A hard inquiry happens when a lender checks your credit because you've applied for new credit — a credit card, auto loan, or mortgage. A soft inquiry happens when your credit is checked without a new credit application, such as when you check your own score or a company pre-qualifies you for an offer. Only hard inquiries affect your score, and even then, only modestly.
A single hard inquiry typically costs a few points and falls off your report after two years. The bigger issue is usually volume — several hard inquiries in a short window can signal risk to lenders and compound the score impact. That's why it matters to only apply for credit when you actually need it.
Not every inquiry on your report is valid. Common issues include inquiries you never authorized, inquiries from applications you don't recognize, and inquiries that remain on your report past the two-year mark. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to dispute inquiries you believe are inaccurate or unauthorized.
Disputing an inquiry involves contacting the credit bureau directly (or having your credit repair team do it on your behalf), providing documentation where possible, and following up until the bureau either verifies or removes the item. Bureaus are required to investigate within a set timeframe, and unverifiable items must be removed.
Check your reports regularly so you catch unauthorized inquiries early, and be selective about who you allow to pull your credit — some retail and financing applications trigger inquiries you might not expect.