Can You Remove Unauthorized Hard Inquiries From Your Credit Report?

6 Min Read | Last updated: October 15, 2023

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This article contains general information and is not intended to provide information that is specific to American Express products and services. Similar products and services offered by different companies will have different features and you should always read about product details before acquiring any financial product.

Unauthorized hard inquiries can negatively affect your credit score. Learn steps you can take to remove unauthorized hard inquiries from your credit report.

At-A-Glance

When you apply for new credit, your credit report will receive a hard inquiry that can lower your credit score. Typically, this is only by a few points.
A legitimate hard inquiry usually can’t be removed. But it disappears from your credit report after two years and generally only impacts your score for about one year.
However, if you find an unauthorized hard inquiry on your report, you can file a dispute and request that it be removed.

When you apply for new credit, creditors will usually want to take a closer look at your credit history.

While every creditor is different, typically, they will start by doing an initial “soft inquiry,” up front, to see if you meet the initial eligibility requirements before proceeding with the more formal, “hard inquiry.” Hard inquiries usually only take place once you’ve accepted the financial product. A “hard inquiry” allows them to review your credit file to help them consider whether to approve your application and what terms to offer you if they do. Each hard inquiry can cause your credit score to dip – yet another reason to regularly monitor your credit report and credit score.

If you discover an unauthorized hard inquiry, there are steps you can take to file a formal dispute and request that the hard inquiry be removed from your credit report. Here’s what you need to know about how the credit bureaus handle inquiries, the potential impact of certain types of inquiries, and how to request the removal of an unauthorized hard inquiry from your credit report.

Soft Inquiries vs. Hard Inquiries

Before you request to remove any inquiry from your credit report, it’s worth knowing the difference between “soft” inquires and “hard” inquiries.

Soft Inquiry:
A soft inquiry doesn’t impact your credit score. This type of inquiry usually occurs when you check your own credit score. It may also occur if a creditor or lender you’re already doing business with wants to check your score. Sometimes a creditor will do an initial soft check up front before proceeding to the more formal hard check. Soft inquiries are also pulled when you fill out a preapproval application to see if you qualify for a loan, credit card, or new line of credit. If you then accept the loan, credit card, or other financial product, that triggers a hard inquiry, also known as a “hard inquiry” or a “hard pull.”

Hard Inquiry:
A creditor makes a hard inquiry when you make a formal request to borrow money. That is, once you decide to accept the loan or credit card or if you ask to have your credit card limit raised. In some cases, a hard inquiry may occur when you apply for a new credit card or loan, depending on the creditor.

Only hard inquiries can impact your credit score, and federal regulations require any business that wants to make a hard inquiry to first get your permission.

Hard inquiries on your credit report, along with any new accounts you’ve recently opened or loans you’ve received, together account for 10% of your FICO^® score. FICO credit scores are the most widely used by lenders and creditors. Even though a hard inquiry can hurt your credit score, it’s generally only a minor dip. FICO says a single hard inquiry will typically cause a drop of less than five points.¹

How to Remove a Hard Inquiry

When you discover an unauthorized hard inquiry, it’s a good idea to check if your credit report also lists a new credit card or a loan you don’t recognize. That could indicate identity theft – more about that later.

If you see an unauthorized hard inquiry without an associated fraudulent account, you can request that the unauthorized hard inquiry be erased from your account by filing a formal dispute with the credit bureaus.

Because credit reports can contain errors, it’s important to review your reports regularly to ensure accuracy. If you notice a mistake, then you can take steps to dispute your credit report. Here are the main steps:

Get a copy of your credit report.
Look for hard inquiries and make sure you recognize – and authorized – all that you find.
Dispute any unauthorized hard inquiry you find.
Each bureau – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – lets you file disputes through online forms, telephone, or postal mail.
Provide any documents related to the inquiry to support your claims.
Note that typically, it takes 30 days or less to get the results of a dispute investigation.

Did you know?

As an added security measure to help protect against fraud, American Express reports a reference number to credit bureaus – instead of your actual account number.

Multiple Hard Inquiries May Not Affect Your Score

The two most popular credit scoring models, FICO and VantageScore^®, don’t ding you for shopping around for the best loan if it’s within a specific time frame. FICO typically doesn’t factor in similar hard inquiries from different lenders or creditors if they’re made within 30 days. This applies when you’re shopping for car loans, mortgages, and student loans.

A new version of FICO that creditors may use counts all similar inquiries made within 45 days as one hard inquiry – but it usually takes years for lenders to adopt new credit scoring models, so banking on 30 days is safer.

The VantageScore system developed by the three major credit bureaus has a two-week window for similar hard inquires, recording them as only one.² Having multiple credit inquiries past the two-week window may negatively impact your credit score.

Authorized Hard Inquiries Cannot Be Removed

Legitimate hard inquiries can’t be removed from your credit report. But they do fade away. A hard inquiry you authorized will show up on your credit report for 24 months, but it typically only impacts your credit score during the first 12 months.³

Unauthorized Hard Inquiries May Be an ID Theft Warning

Whether you prefer do-it-yourself credit report monitoring or use a credit monitoring service to keep an eye on your reports, it’s important to watch for and act on any unauthorized hard inquiries that show up. That’s because these could be a sign of fraudulent activity or that you’ve been a victim of identity theft.

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Identity thieves usually piece together enough of your personal information to apply for a loan or credit card posing as you, which could trigger a hard inquiry on your report. If that happens, it’s a good idea to contact the lender or credit card issuer ASAP, alert them to the fraud, and follow their directions for shutting down the account.

You may also want to consider placing a fraud alert on your credit report, which makes it harder for thieves to open a new account posing as you. An even stronger protection is to put your credit report under a credit freeze. A freeze prevents any business from making any type of inquiry. When you’re shopping for credit, you can “unfreeze” your credit report to allow an authorized hard inquiry to go through.

The IdentityTheft.gov website, maintained by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), has a free step-by-step guide to help you deal with identity theft.⁴

Frequently Asked Questions

Generally, hard inquiries stay on your report for two years. However, their impact on your credit score typically only lasts for the first 12 months.⁵

While no set number determines how many hard inquiries are too many, a general guideline is that having more than six inquiries within six months could indicate to creditors that you are a higher-risk borrower. There are some exceptions to this, such as if you are rate shopping for one type of loan within a set period of time. This window of time will vary, depending on what credit scoring model is being used.

You can obtain a free credit report once every year from each of the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Additionally, various online credit monitoring applications allow you to view your credit report and score monthly for free. These apps also offer alerts when your score changes.

The Takeaway

Creditors will ask your permission to make a “hard inquiry” check of your credit report when you apply for credit. An authorized hard inquiry stays on your credit report for two years and can have a negative impact on your credit score for up to a year. If you find an unauthorized hard inquiry on your report, you can file a dispute and request it be removed.

¹ “Credit Checks: What are credit inquiries and how do they affect your FICO^® Score?,” MyFico

² “How Rate Shopping Can Impact Your Credit Score,” TransUnion

^3,5 “What Is a Hard Inquiry and How Does It Affect Credit?,” Experian

⁴ “IdentityTheft.gov,” Federal Trade Commission

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Carla Fried is a freelance journalist who has spent her entire career specializing in personal finance. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Money, CNBC.com, and Consumer Reports, among many other media outlets.

All Credit Intel content is written by freelance authors and commissioned and paid for by American Express.

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