Definition
A soft inquiry is a request for a credit report through a credit reporting agency that has no impact on credit scores.
Analysis
Soft inquiries are automatically recorded on a credit report even though they are not included in risk scoring models. As opposed to hard inquiries, soft inquiries do not necessarily indicate an attempt to obtain debt.
Soft inquiries can be any type of credit check that does not penalize the consumer. These can include:
- Promotional inquiries
- Account review inquiries
- Employer inquiries
- Insurance inquiries
- Landlord inquiries
- Self credit pulls
Soft inquiries will remain on a credit report for up to 2 years as do all inquiries.
