You need a car to get to work. A credit union, your bank and the dealer's lender each want to check your credit before they make you an offer. A coworker says every check will hurt your score, so you should take the first offer. Your cousin says to take out a small loan as well, because a better "credit mix" will help. Both sound like rules. FICO's own pages say something different about each.
Hard inquiries usually cost FICO Scores little, comparing lenders for one mortgage, car or student loan can count as a single inquiry, and credit mix alone isn't worth new debt.
How much does a hard inquiry count, and for how long?
A hard inquiry is a lender's check after you apply for credit, such as a card, a car loan or a mortgage. Asking your card issuer for a higher limit may bring one too. Checking your own report, or getting a prescreened offer, is a soft inquiry and doesn't affect your scores. A landlord's check can be either, so ask first.
FICO says inquiries usually have a small impact: for most people, one more takes less than five points off their FICO Scores. It can cost more if you have few accounts or a short credit history. FICO Scores count an inquiry for 12 months, though it can stay on your report for up to two years. FICO also says opening several new accounts in a short time represents greater risk, and advises applying for new credit only as needed.
Before you apply for a card, look for prequalification. It typically uses a soft inquiry and gives an estimate of your eligibility, not a decision. The application itself usually brings the hard inquiry.
How can I compare loan offers without piling up inquiries?
Example: you shop for a car loan. A credit union checks your credit on day 1, your bank on day 6 and the dealer's lender on day 12. FICO Scores treat those three checks as one inquiry: they're for the same kind of loan, within 14 days. Apply for three credit cards on the same days, and FICO Scores count three inquiries: their grouping covers only mortgage, auto and student loans.
The span depends on the version: any 14 days in older FICO versions, any 45 days in the newest. Each lender chooses its version, so keep loan shopping within 14 days. That also fits VantageScore, which says it counts inquiries made within a 14-day period as one. FICO Scores also ignore mortgage, auto and student-loan inquiries in their first 30 days. For a car loan, the CFPB says, the benefit of shopping will far outweigh any impact on your credit. Getting a mortgage? The CFPB also says to avoid applying for other credit right before or during the process.
Should I take out a loan to improve my credit mix?
Probably not. FICO says a good mix can help, but credit mix is 10% in FICO's published weights, and you don't need one of each type of credit. FICO asks whether a small loan is worth a drop in your score, and answers "probably not." The interest, by contrast, is a certain cost. In the credit-builder loan the CFPB studied, borrowers paid about $54 a month for 12 months, about $648 in all: $600 went into their own savings, and about $48 was interest. Borrow when you need what the loan pays for. Who credit-builder loans help is a different question.
What can I do today?
Get one bureau's free credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com, where each bureau lets you check once a week. It accepts an SSN or an ITIN; don't share your number with us. List each hard inquiry from the last 12 months, with its date.
- If you recognize them all: next to each, write the date it turns 12 months old, when FICO Scores stop counting it.
- If you don't recognize one: contact the company it names first. If it isn't yours, dispute it with that bureau and freeze your credit for free.
Can you plan a car-loan search that counts once?
You'll compare three lenders for a car loan. Which plan makes their three credit checks count as no more than one inquiry in every FICO Score version?
- A. Apply to all three within 10 days ✅
- B. Apply to one lender a month, over three months
- C. Apply on any dates: checks for the same loan always count once
Why: older FICO versions group car-loan inquiries only within a 14-day span, the newest within 45 days, so 10 days fits both; spread over three months, the checks can count separately.
Where do these facts come from?
- CFPB — What is a credit inquiry? (last reviewed September 5, 2025); How will shopping for an auto loan affect my credit? (last reviewed January 30, 2024); What happens when a mortgage lender checks my credit? (last reviewed August 28, 2026); Targeting credit builder loans (July 13, 2020) and its report (July 2020) · Checked October 24, 2026
- FTC — Free Credit Reports (June 2026); Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts (August 2025); AnnualCreditReport.com — FAQs (no date on the page) · Checked October 24, 2026
- myFICO (FICO) — Does Checking Your Credit Score Lower it? (no date on the page); How to Rate Shop and Minimize the Impact to Your FICO® Scores (no date on the page); Types of Credit and How They Affect Your FICO Score (no date on the page); What's in your credit score? (updated October 2026) · Checked October 24, 2026
- Experian — Hard Inquiry vs. Soft Inquiry: What’s the Difference? (September 23, 2026) · Checked October 24, 2026
- VantageScore — The Complete Guide to Your VantageScore 4.0 Credit Score (June 26, 2025); Consumer FAQs (no date on the page) · Checked October 24, 2026