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- Checking your own credit score or credit report will not impact your credit score.
- However, hard inquiries pulled by a creditor will impact your credit score.
- Credit monitoring and identity theft protection services can monitor your credit for you.
Your credit score is key to qualifying for a credit card, loan, or apartment rental, among many other things. This three-digit number between 300 and 850 will also determine the interest rates applied to money you borrow, potentially saving or costing you thousands of dollars.
A common myth about checking your credit score
You might have heard that checking your credit causes a drop and may not be closely monitoring your credit for fear that checking it will lower your score. Rest assured that this is not the case.
"There are no penalties associated with checking your own credit score, and you can check it as often as you'd like," says Mark Haywood, a wealth management advisor at Northwestern Mutual.
Keeping tabs on your credit score doesn't hurt your credit. This goes for both checking your credit score and getting your credit report.
Understanding credit inquiries
The reason checking your own credit score does not hurt it becomes clear when we understand the purpose of credit scores.
How inquiries affect your credit score
Credit scores are reflections of specific information on your credit report. They signal to potential lenders our risk level as a borrower, and how likely we are to pay back our debts. The higher the credit score, the more likely we are to pay our debts on time.
Credit-scoring algorithms like FICO and VantageScore calculate our credit scores by looking at factors on our reports such as payment history, credit balances, and length of credit history. Your credit report does not contain any information on how many times you checked your credit score.
Hard vs. soft inquiries on your credit report
Inquiries on your credit report come in two forms: soft inquiries and hard inquiries. Soft inquiries are any inquiries on your credit report unrelated to an application to borrow money.
While the credit report owner can pull soft inquiries, that privilege also extends to third parties checking your credit report for reasons unrelated to credit. Your scores can be pulled for employment applications, insurance risk assessments, and even apartment rental decisions. They can also be pulled by credit companies appraising you for pre-approved offers. They have no bearing on your credit score.
On the other hand, hard inquiries are triggered when you apply for new lines of credit. These will impact your credit.
"When a lender runs your credit, it can impact your score by around five points," says Melissa Cohn, regional vice president at William Raveis Mortgage.
Hard inquiries will slightly lower your credit score because someone who has just taken out a new loan will be riskier than someone who hasn't. While one inquiry might drop your credit score by a few points, multiple hard inquiries will have a more significant impact because multiple new lines of credit signal that you may be having trouble with money management.
One exception to this rule is if you're rate-shopping while applying for a loan, meaning you're applying for multiple loans to see which lender offers the best rates. The credit scoring algorithms give you a 30- to 45-day window where all the resulting hard inquiries you racked up while shopping count as one.
The credit-scoring algorithms stop including a hard inquiry into their calculations when they turn one year old. They fall off your credit report completely after two years.
How to check your credit score safely
You are entitled to a free copy of your credit reports every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com.
You can also check your score after signing into most banking apps and websites, or by using a score estimator like Credit Karma or Credit Sesame. You will have to sign up and create a profile, but you will have access to your credit score as often as you like.
You should never have to pay to check your credit score. There are many free resources for keeping tabs on it, and you're probably dealing with a scam if an unfamiliar service wants money in exchange for access to your score.
The benefits of regularly monitoring your credit
Checking your score on a consistent basis is a good way to assess financial health. Since your credit score is so important for securing loans like mortgages and new lines of credit like rewards credit cards, you'll want to keep tabs on it.
You should regularly check your credit score to monitor your credit status and to catch any instances of identity theft faster — in fact, many of the best identity theft protection services offer credit monitoring capabilities.
As we've established, you can check your credit score as many times as you want, whenever you want. That said, Haywood recommends creating a designated time to check your credit instead of a haphazard approach. "By scheduling a set time, you can ensure consistency — and building or maintaining a good credit score remains a top financial priority," he says.
This may be when you make monthly credit card payments, as many credit card companies show you your credit score. Many apps can also do this for you and notify you of any changes to your credit score. Some of the best credit monitoring services are even free.
You could also lump checking your credit score into a larger monthly session where you go over all your finances. "You can use part of this time to check your credit score, review your credit/debit card statements, make any necessary adjustments to your budget, and reevaluate your financial goals," Haywood says.
Checking your score frequently may also be necessary if you're actively working to improve your credit or planning to take out additional credit in the next 24 months, such as an auto loan or a mortgage. If neither of these situations applies to you, Taylor Kovar, CEO and founder at 11 Financial, says that checking your score two to four times a year is probably sufficient.
What can hurt your credit score?
While too many hard inquiries will damage your credit score, there are other behaviors you should avoid if you want to build credit.
Missed payments: A missed payment can result in a delinquency on your credit report. "This negative impact has the potential to grow the longer the bill remains unpaid and the higher the amount owed," Haywood says.
Using too much credit: Your credit utilization ratio is the amount of credit you're currently using on your revolving credit accounts compared to your total available credit. "Your credit card balance should not exceed 30% of the available limit on a credit card," Haywood explains. The lower your utilization ratio, the better.
Canceling credit cards: Canceling existing credit cards may seem like a good idea if you can't control your spending. However, eliminating a line of credit reduces the total available credit, making it harder to keep your credit utilization down. If you're struggling with spending, consider destroying your physical card (you can freeze it in a block of ice if you're worried you might need it) and deleting your payment information from anywhere it is saved instead of closing the account.
FAQs
Does checking my credit score lower it?
No, checking your own credit score does not lower it. Your check is considered a soft inquiry and does not impact your credit score at all.
How often can I check my credit score without affecting it?
You can check your credit score as much as you want without any negative impact. Checking your credit score keeps you updated on your credit status and can help you spot any fraud issues early enough to catch them.
Can checking my credit help prevent identity theft?
Yes, regularly checking your credit is the best way to prevent identity theft. With regular checks, you can see suspicious activity soon enough that it doesn't do permanent damage to your credit.
Should I pay for a credit score?
You should never pay for your credit score. There are so many ways to check your credit score for free that there is no reason for you to pay. If a service is asking you to pay for your credit score, it may be a scam.
Where can I safely check my credit score?
You can check your credit score through the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion), credit monitoring services(Credit Karma or Credit Sesame), and financial institutions where you have an account. Some credit card issuers offer free credit score access to customers.
Senior Personal Finance Reporter and Spokesperson
Jennifer Streaks is a personal finance expert who writes about credit for Business Insider. She has covered financial topics for over a decade, writing about her own experiences and sharing her expertise to give consumers actionable financial advice.Along with exploring credit scores, credit reports, and how to build credit, Jennifer analyzes how current economic trends impact everyday people and offers her expert advice on budgeting, saving, and growing wealth in today’s economy. She regularly appears as an on-air financial commentator on programs like Good Morning America, CBS, and MSNBC.ExperienceBefore joining Business Insider, Jennifer was a financial contributor for CNBC and covered personal finance, entrepreneurship, tech, and the economy for Forbes. Her work has appeared in TheGrio, Black Enterprise, and USA Today.Jennifer is also the author of "Thrive! ... Affordably: Your Month-to-Month Guide to Living Your Best Life Without Breaking the Bank." The book offers advice, tips, and financial management lessons geared toward helping the reader highlight strengths, identify missteps, and take control of their finances.Jennifer’s most important financial advice to her friends is to always have an emergency fund.ExpertiseJennifer’s expertise includes:
- Credit scores
- Credit history
- Credit reports
- Budgeting
- Saving
- Housing
- Retirement
- The economy
- Financial trends
EducationJennifer earned an MBA from The Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business and completed the Wharton Seminar for Business Journalists.Jennifer is based in New York City.
When she's not writing about business trends for The Economist, or legal trends for the American Bar Association Journal, Terri spends her time covering trends in buying and selling homes, mortgages, home improvement, and home products. She has bylines at Realtor.com, Bob Vila, Apartment Therapy, The Spruce, Real Simple, Real Homes, Yahoo, The Daily Beast, Investopedia — and several other companies that you've probably heard of.
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