How Often Can You Check Your Credit Score?
Checking your credit score is an essential step in maintaining financial health and making informed decisions. However, it’s important to understand how often you can check your credit score without negatively impacting your creditworthiness. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how often you can check your credit score and the potential effects of frequent inquiries.
1. Free Annual Credit Reports
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you are entitled to a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – once a year. You can access these reports at AnnualCreditReport.com. Checking your credit score through these free annual reports won’t affect your credit score, as it’s considered a soft inquiry.
2. Monthly Monitoring
If you want to keep a closer eye on your credit score, you can check it monthly without any negative impact. Many credit monitoring services offer free or low-cost monthly credit score checks. These services often provide a soft inquiry, so your credit score won’t be affected. However, some services may use a hard inquiry to check your score, which could slightly lower your score temporarily.
3. Hard Inquiries
Hard inquiries occur when you apply for credit, such as a loan or a credit card. These inquiries can lower your credit score by a few points. It’s important to limit the number of hard inquiries you have on your credit report. Generally, it’s recommended to have no more than two hard inquiries within a two-month period.
4. Checking Your Credit Score from Lenders
When you check your credit score through a lender, it’s considered a soft inquiry and won’t affect your score. This is because lenders use your credit score to make a decision on your application, and they don’t want to see your score decrease due to multiple inquiries.
5. Checking Your Credit Score from Credit Card Companies
Similarly, when a credit card company checks your credit score, it’s considered a soft inquiry and won’t affect your score. This is because credit card companies use your credit score to determine whether you’re a good candidate for a credit card and to set your credit limit.
6. The Bottom Line
In conclusion, you can check your credit score as often as you’d like without negatively impacting your score, as long as you stick to soft inquiries. However, it’s important to limit the number of hard inquiries you have on your credit report, as these can lower your score temporarily. Regularly monitoring your credit score can help you identify potential issues and take steps to improve your financial health.
