Do you lose points when you check your credit score?

Checking Your Credit Score: Does It Hurt Your Credit?

The question many people ask is: Does checking my credit score hurt my credit score? The short answer is no, not typically. But the longer answer requires understanding the difference between "soft" and "hard" inquiries.

Regularly monitoring your credit health is a vital practice, helping you identify potential problems early and maintain financial wellbeing. Fortunately, this responsible self-monitoring doesn't negatively affect your credit rating. When you check your credit score through authorized channels like your bank's website, a credit monitoring service you've subscribed to, or an annual free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com, you're initiating what's called a "soft inquiry."

Soft inquiries are invisible to lenders. They don't impact your credit score and don't appear on your credit report. Think of them as a behind-the-scenes peek at your own financial data. This means you can freely check your score as often as your chosen service allows, without worrying about damaging your creditworthiness.

In contrast, "hard inquiries" have a different impact. These occur when a lender checks your credit report to assess your risk before extending credit. Examples include applying for a loan, credit card, mortgage, or even a new phone plan with a credit check. These hard inquiries do temporarily lower your credit score, though the effect is usually minimal and temporary. Multiple hard inquiries within a short period, however, can signal increased risk to lenders and might lead to a more noticeable score decrease.

Therefore, the key takeaway is this: Checking your credit score directly through reputable and authorized sources will not hurt your credit. The act of responsibly monitoring your credit is actually beneficial to your financial health. Conversely, applying for numerous loans or lines of credit in a short time frame is what will negatively impact your score. So check your score often – it’s a smart financial practice – but be mindful of the applications for new credit that trigger those hard inquiries.