Soft Inquiry

Think: good cop/bad cop. A hard inquiry involves getting out the bright lights (and maybe the rubber hose and the phone book). The light inquiry involves getting the suspect their favorite snack and trying to trick them into giving up information.

Only here, we're not talking interrogations. We're talking about credit inquiries.

A hard inquiry involves a lender who is seriously thinking about giving you a loan. They need to know about your credit history. So they review a copy of your credit report.

Soft inquiries are more informal. You check your own credit report because you're bored on a Saturday afternoon. An employer checks as part of their hiring due diligence. A credit card company checks as part of a pre-approval for an offer they plan to give you.

The main difference: hard inquiries show up on your credit report...soft inquiries don't. The hard inquiries represent a serious attempt on your part to get a loan. You are looking to borrow money, which impacts your credit score. The soft inquiries don't involve a direct attempt on your part to get money. Therefore, they don't count against you on your credit score.