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Who Can Access Your Credit Report and Why an Inquiry Appears

This guide presents selected U.S. government consumer education from CFPB. References to “we” or “us” in the source material refer to the issuing agency. Source dates and links appear below.

How can I find out who has accessed my credit report?

When you request a copy of your credit report, you will see a list of anyone who has requested your credit report within the past year, including lenders, credit card companies, or landlords who have requested your report. This list will also include any employers or prospective employers who have requested your report within the past two years for employment purposes.

Consumer reporting companies must follow legal restrictions when they share your credit report with others, but generally can share your data with entities like lenders, landlords, and employers. Learn more about who can see your credit report by checking out our list of consumer reporting companies.

Who can request to see my credit report?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows a credit reporting company to send your credit report to creditors, government authorities, landlords, employers, insurance companies, and others it believes will use the report for a permissible purpose under the statute such as:

  • A credit transaction, such as offering credit, reviewing an account, or collecting on an account
  • Offering insurance coverage or setting insurance premium charges
  • Employment purposes, including prospective employment or promotion, reassignment, or retention in your current job. You must provide written consent before a prospective or current employer can get a copy of your credit report
  • Determining eligibility for government benefits or licenses
  • A legitimate business need in connection with a transaction that you initiated, such as a rental application

The FCRA also permits a credit reporting company to send your credit report in response to:

  • Court orders, grand jury subpoenas, or for certain child support awards and enforcement purposes
  • Potential investors or servicers, or current insurers of credit portfolios
  • Written instructions from you

In a process called prescreening, the FCRA also permits prospective creditors or insurers to access certain information in your credit file in order to make you a firm offer of credit or insurance. You can opt out of prescreening.

No one should request your credit report without a valid purpose allowed by the law. Anyone who uses or obtains a copy of your credit report under false pretenses may be subject to civil and criminal penalties. If you have a problem with credit reporting, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB.

What is a credit inquiry?

An inquiry is a request to look at your credit report for the purpose of determining your eligibility for credit, employment, housing, insurance, or other purpose.

Credit inquiries generally fall into one of two categories.

Hard inquiries

These are often inquiries by lenders after you apply for credit to help them decide whether they will approve your loan or credit. These inquiries will impact your credit score because most credit scoring models look at how recently and how frequently you apply for credit. Hard inquiries can be seen on your report when others purchase your credit report from the credit reporting company.

Soft inquiries

These are reviews of your credit file, including reviews of existing accounts by lenders or insurance companies, prescreening inquiries by prospective lenders, employment screening of your credit reports, and your requests for your credit reports. These will not affect your credit scores. Soft inquiries are shown only to you when you review your own credit report; they are not visible when others purchase your credit report.

You have the right, as a consumer, to review your credit reports once per year. Doing so will not affect your credit scores. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the nationwide credit reporting companies grant you access to your credit reports every week if you request it.

When will my lender run or obtain a copy of my credit report?

A lender will run a credit check or get a copy of your credit report when you apply for credit, just before you close on a loan, or as part of managing existing credit accounts. If you’re simply asking about rates, they can’t pull your credit report.

Lenders usually run a credit check when you apply for a new loan, such as a new credit card, auto loan, mortgage, or other consumer loan. This type of credit inquiry is known as a “hard inquiry” or “hard pull” and will impact your credit score.

Other examples when lenders may run a credit check include:

  • To determine how much they’re willing to lend you if you’re seeking a mortgage pre-approval
  • To evaluate whether to approve or deny a request to increase your credit limit
  • To assess your creditworthiness when refinancing an existing loan
  • To monitor changes in your credit profile or determine your eligibility for a prescreened credit offer
  • Just before you close a loan

Keep in mind that when an existing lender pulls your credit, it’s a soft inquiry, and it won’t impact your credit score.

What kind of credit inquiry has no effect on my credit score?

A single credit inquiry from a lender will have little impact on your credit score.

Credit scoring models also take into account that consumers shop around for the best rate on a loan or credit, and they don’t penalize you for comparison shopping. When a lender requests a copy of your credit report, it’s called a credit inquiry. Scoring models generally count multiple credit inquiries as one credit inquiry as long as they take place within a reasonably short period of time.

In general, credit inquiries within 14 to 45 days of each other for the same type of loan will be treated as no more than a single inquiry. For the most common credit scoring models, student loan, auto loan and mortgage-related inquiries that occur 30 days prior to scoring have no effect at all on your credit score. In addition, when your existing creditors check your credit report, it should not hurt your score.

If your comparison shopping goes beyond 45 days – or if you’re shopping for two different types of loans such as a mortgage loan and an auto loan – it generally counts as multiple credit inquiries, and it can negatively impact your credit score.

When can a credit card company look at my credit reports?

A card issuer can look at your full credit report when you apply for a credit card or if you’re a customer.

When you apply for a credit card or a line of credit, the card issuer or lender will review your credit to understand how recently and how frequently you apply for credit. This is known as a hard inquiry. It will appear on your credit report and may impact your credit score.

If you are a customer of the card issuer, they can look at your credit report at any time for account management purposes. This is known as a soft inquiry, which doesn’t impact your credit score.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit card companies can only pull credit reports for their current customers or those who fill out a credit card application. If you are not a customer, the company must have your permission to pull your credit, which you give when you apply for a credit card.

Sources and publication details

The federal agency source text is U.S. government work in the public domain. Fynoptic selected, adapted, and formatted it for this guide. No agency endorsement is implied. Follow the linked sources for current program details and the rules applicable to your circumstances.

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