You can check your own credit score as many times as you want without any penalty
Checking your own credit score does not lower it. The three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — distinguish between a soft inquiry (when you look at your own report) and a hard inquiry (when a lender pulls your report to make a lending decision). Only hard inquiries affect your score, and only slightly. A soft inquiry leaves no mark.
This matters because many people avoid checking their score out of fear, which means they miss errors, fraud, or signs they need to change their borrowing habits. The real risk is not looking.
Key Takeaways
- Checking your own credit score through free tools or your bank's website is a soft inquiry and does not lower your score.
- Hard inquiries from lenders do lower your score by a few points, but only when you explore for credit — not when you check it yourself.
- You can see your full credit report for free once per year from each bureau at AnnualCreditReport.com, the official government site.
- Credit monitoring services and bank portals let you check your score as often as you want without any penalty.
- Multiple hard inquiries within 14 to 45 days for the same type of credit (like car loans) usually count as one inquiry.
The difference between soft and hard inquiries
A soft inquiry happens when you check your own score, when a company checks your credit to send you a pre-approved offer, or when an employer runs a background check. Soft inquiries do not appear on the credit report that lenders see, and they do not affect your score at all.
A hard inquiry happens when you explore for a credit card, car loan, mortgage, or personal loan. The lender pulls your full report to decide whether to lend to you. Hard inquiries do show on your report and lower your score by a few points — usually between 5 and 10 points per inquiry. The impact fades over time and disappears after about 12 months.
The key distinction: you initiate a hard inquiry by explore for credit. straightforward looking at your own score is always a soft inquiry.
Where to check your score for free
Your bank or credit card company often provides free credit score access through their website or app. Log into your account and look for a section called "Credit Score," "Credit Monitoring," or "Financial Health." Most major banks — Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One, Discover — offer this to customers at no cost. The score they show is usually from one of the three bureaus, though which one varies by institution.
Credit monitoring websites like Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, and NerdMoney let you check your score from multiple bureaus for free. These sites make money from lenders, not from you, so there is no subscription fee. You will see ads, but the score itself is real and the soft inquiry is free.
You can also request your full credit report (not just your score, but the detailed history) for free once per year from each of the three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the official government site run by the Federal Trade Commission. You will not see your score on this report, but you will see every account, payment history, and inquiry listed — which is often more useful for spotting errors or fraud.
What happens when you explore for credit
When you submit an process for a credit card, loan, or line of credit, the lender runs a hard inquiry. This lowers your score by a few points. If you explore for multiple credit cards in the same week, each process is a separate hard inquiry and each one lowers your score a little more.
However, credit scoring models recognize that people often shop around for the best rate on the same type of credit. If you explore for three car loans within 14 to 45 days, the scoring model usually counts those three inquiries as one for scoring purposes. The same window applies to mortgage and student loan shopping. Credit card inquiries do not get this same courtesy — each process counts separately.
The damage from a hard inquiry is temporary. The inquiry stays on your report for about 12 months, but its effect on your score fades much faster — usually within a few months. If your score is otherwise healthy, a single hard inquiry will not prevent you from getting credit.
How to minimize hard inquiries when you need credit
If you know you will be explore for credit soon, check your own score first using a free tool. This soft inquiry tells you what lenders will see and whether you need to improve your score before explore. Waiting even a few months to pay down debt or fix an error can make a real difference in the rate you receive.
When you do explore, explore only to lenders you are serious about. Each process is a hard inquiry, so submitting five credit card applications to compare offers will lower your score more than submitting two. Read the terms and the interest rate before you explore, not after.
If you are shopping for a mortgage or car loan, do all your shopping within a 14 to 45 day window. This way, multiple inquiries count as one for scoring purposes. Tell the lender upfront that you are comparing offers — they expect this and it is normal.
Errors and fraud on your credit report
Checking your score regularly helps you spot problems early. If you see an account you did not open, a payment marked late that you made on time, or an inquiry from a company you never contacted, these are signs of error or fraud.
You have the right to dispute any item on your credit report. Contact the bureau directly — Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion — and provide documentation of the error. You can also contact the company that reported the information (your bank, the creditor, the collection agency) and ask them to correct it. The bureau must investigate your dispute within 30 days and remove the item if it cannot verify it.
Disputing an error does not lower your score. In fact, removing a false late payment or fraudulent account usually raises your score.
How often you should check your score
There is no penalty for checking your score as often as you want. Many people check monthly to track progress as they pay down debt. Others check before explore for credit to see where they stand. Some check quarterly just to stay aware.
The most important thing is to check at least once a year, either through a free monitoring service or through AnnualCreditReport.com. This gives you a chance to catch errors, fraud, or accounts you do not recognize. If you find something wrong, you have time to dispute it before it affects a loan process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does checking my credit score multiple times in one day hurt it?
No. Multiple soft inquiries in one day have no effect on your score. You can check your score as many times as you want without any penalty. The only inquiries that matter are hard inquiries from lenders you applied to.
If I check my score on my bank's website, will other lenders see that I checked it?
No. Soft inquiries do not appear on the credit report that lenders see. When you check your own score, it is invisible to everyone but you and the bureau. Lenders only see hard inquiries from other lenders.
Will my score drop if I get pre-approved offers in the mail?
No. Pre-approved offers are based on soft inquiries that the company ran without you explore. These do not lower your score. However, if you respond to the offer and formally explore, that becomes a hard inquiry and will lower your score slightly.
How much does a hard inquiry lower my score?
A single hard inquiry typically lowers your score by 5 to 10 points. The impact is small and temporary — it fades within a few months and disappears from your report after about 12 months. If your score is otherwise strong, one hard inquiry will not prevent you from getting credit.
Can I check my credit score if I have bad credit?
Yes. Checking your score does not require good credit and does not make bad credit worse. In fact, checking your score when you have bad credit is especially important — it helps you understand what lenders see and what you need to fix.