Hard inquiries typically remain on your credit report for up to two years before they fall off naturally
. However, their impact on your credit score usually lasts for only about one year; after that, they no longer affect your score even though they are still visible on the report
. In summary:
- Duration on credit report: Up to 2 years
- Impact on credit score: Usually only for 12 months (1 year)
- Score effect: Typically a small drop of about 5 points per inquiry, with less impact if you have a strong credit history
If you apply for multiple loans of the same type within a short window (usually 14 to 45 days), these inquiries are often treated as a single inquiry for scoring purposes
. Removing legitimate hard inquiries before they naturally fall off is generally not possible, except in cases of errors or unauthorized inquiries, which you can dispute with the credit bureaus
. Therefore, you can expect a hard inquiry to stay on your credit report for two years but only affect your credit score for about one year.
