Does a soft credit inquiry affect my credit score?
A soft inquiry generally does not affect your credit score the way a hard inquiry can. Whether a soft pull is available depends on the lender and the credit service being used.
Credit · Written by Anil Aggarwal, Realtor® | Mortgage Loan Officer · Updated August 8, 2026
Soft inquiries are typically used for pre-qualification style reviews, while a full mortgage application usually involves a hard inquiry.
Multiple mortgage-related hard inquiries in a short shopping window are commonly treated as a single event by scoring models, but the details vary by model and version.
Ask what type of inquiry will be used before you authorize a credit review.
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