Checking your own credit report does not lower your FICO score

When you look at your own credit report or credit score, it has no effect on your FICO score. This is called a soft inquiry or soft pull, and credit bureaus do not count it against you. You can check your Experian report, your TransUnion report, your Equifax report, or all three, as many times as you want without any penalty.

The confusion comes from the fact that some credit checks do lower your score — but only when someone else pulls your report without your permission, or when you explore for new credit. Those are called hard inquiries or hard pulls, and they are different from checking your own information.

Understanding the difference matters because it means you can monitor your own credit health without worrying about damage. Many people avoid checking their reports out of fear, which actually works against them — you cannot spot errors or fraud if you never look.

Key Takeaways

  • Checking your own credit report or score is a soft inquiry and does not lower your FICO score, no matter how many times you do it.
  • Hard inquiries — when a lender or creditor pulls your report — can lower your score by a few points, but soft inquiries never do.
  • You can check your credit report free once per year from each bureau at AnnualCreditReport.com, and checking it regularly helps you spot errors and fraud.
  • Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax are the three major credit bureaus, and your score may differ slightly across them because they use different data.

The difference between soft and hard inquiries

A soft inquiry happens when you check your own credit, when a company you already do business with reviews your account, or when an employer or landlord checks your credit with your permission. These inquiries are invisible to lenders and do not appear on the version of your credit report that others see. They have zero impact on your FICO score.

A hard inquiry happens when you explore for a credit card, a loan, a mortgage, or sometimes a rental process. The lender pulls your full credit report to decide whether to lend to you. Hard inquiries show up on your credit report and can lower your FICO score by a few points — usually between 5 and 10 points per inquiry. The effect is temporary; the impact fades over time and disappears after about 12 months.

The reason hard inquiries matter is that they signal to lenders that you are seeking new credit. Multiple hard inquiries in a short time can suggest financial stress, which is why lenders care. Soft inquiries signal nothing — they are just you looking at your own information.

Why you should check your credit report regularly

Checking your own credit report is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself, and it costs nothing. You are may have access to to one free credit report from each of the three major bureaus — Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax — every 12 months. You can get all three at once by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com, or you can space them out throughout the year.

When you check your report, look for accounts you do not recognize, addresses where you have never lived, or inquiries from companies you never applied to. These can be signs of identity theft or fraud. You should also look for errors — a missed payment you actually made, a debt listed twice, or an account that was closed but still shows as open. Errors happen more often than people realize, and they can lower your score unfairly.

If you find an error, you can dispute it directly with the bureau. The bureau has 30 days to investigate and correct it if it is wrong. If you find fraud, you can place a fraud alert on your report, which tells lenders to verify your identity before opening new accounts in your name.

How to check your Experian account without harming your score

You can check your Experian report in several ways. The free method is to go to AnnualCreditReport.com and request your Experian report along with the others. You will need to verify your identity by answering security questions based on your credit history.

Experian also offers a free credit monitoring service called Experian Go, which shows you your credit score and report details. Signing up for this service is a soft inquiry and will not hurt your score. Some banks and credit card companies also offer free credit monitoring through Experian as a cardholder benefit — check with your bank to see if you have access.

If you pay for a credit monitoring service, that is also a soft inquiry. You are the one pulling your own information, so it never counts against you. The only time your Experian report matters to your FICO score is when someone else — a lender, landlord, or employer — pulls it because you asked them to or because you applied for something.

Why your score might differ across the three bureaus

Your FICO score may be slightly different when you check it through Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax. This happens because the three bureaus do not always have the same information about you. A creditor might report to all three, or to only one or two. A payment might be recorded at one bureau but not yet at another. An old account might still appear at one bureau but have been removed from another.

These differences are normal and usually small — often just 10 to 20 points apart. If the differences are large, it could mean an error at one of the bureaus, or it could mean fraud. If you see a big gap, check all three reports carefully to see where the difference comes from.

You do not need to worry about which score is "the real one." Lenders use different versions of the FICO score depending on what they are lending for — a mortgage lender uses a mortgage-specific score, a credit card company uses a credit card score, and so on. What matters is that you monitor all three bureaus so you catch errors or fraud at any of them.

What actually lowers your FICO score

Your FICO score goes down when you miss a payment, carry high credit card balances, explore for multiple new credit accounts in a short time, or have negative marks like collections or late payments on your report. Checking your own credit does none of these things.

Hard inquiries from lenders do lower your score slightly, but only when you explore for new credit. If you are shopping for a mortgage or car loan, multiple inquiries within 14 to 45 days (depending on the type of loan) usually count as one inquiry, so you can shop around without extra damage. But checking your own report — as many times as you want — never counts as an inquiry at all.

The bottom line: monitoring your credit is free, safe, and something you should do regularly. There is no downside to checking your own information.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many times can I check my credit report before it hurts my score?

You can check your own credit report as many times as you want with no impact on your score. Checking your own information is always a soft inquiry. The only limit is that you get one free report per bureau per year from AnnualCreditReport.com; additional checks may cost money depending on the service.

Does checking my credit score on my bank's app lower my score?

No. If your bank or credit card company shows you your credit score as a cardholder benefit, that is a soft inquiry and does not affect your score. You are looking at your own information, so it never counts against you.

What if a company checks my credit without my permission?

If a company pulls your credit report without your permission, that is usually a hard inquiry and can lower your score. You have the right to dispute unauthorized inquiries with the bureau. If you see inquiries you do not recognize, contact the bureau and the company that pulled the report to find out why.

Will checking my credit hurt my chances of getting a loan?

Checking your own credit will not hurt your chances. Only hard inquiries from lenders matter, and those happen when you explore. Lenders expect to see that you checked your own report — it is responsible behavior. What hurts your chances is having late payments, high debt, or too many recent hard inquiries from other lenders.

Can I check my credit for free more than once a year?

You get one free report per bureau per year from AnnualCreditReport.com. Some credit monitoring services offer free credit scores and reports outside of that, and checking through those services is also free and does not hurt your score. You can also check your score through your bank or credit card company if they offer it as a benefit.