Does Checking Your Credit Score Lower It? (2024)

Monitoring your credit is one of the most important financial habits you can build. It allows you to address errors, respond to fraudulent activity and gain insight into how your behaviors impact the health of your credit.

You may have heard that checking your credit score will lower it, but this is a myth. Let’s take a look at where this myth comes from and when a credit check can hurt your score.

The Difference Between Your Credit Score and Credit Report

There are three credit bureaus that produce credit reports: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. When you open a credit card or loan, the lender will report activity to at least one credit bureau, which will then add it to your credit report. Your credit reports show both current and past credit accounts, as well as legal judgments like liens and bankruptcies.

A credit score is a three-digit number that ranges from 300 to 850. The score is determined by an algorithm that takes all the items on your credit report into account. The higher the score, the more responsible you appear as a borrower.

There are two main companies that produce credit scores: FICO and VantageScore. FICO is responsible for 90% of all credit scores used by lenders, but VantageScore is more common with free credit scoring websites. Both companies use similar scoring models to determine your scores, so there should only be a slight discrepancy between a FICO score and a VantageScore.

There are dozens of credit score iterations, and which one is used depends on the type of lender looking at it. For example, the credit score an auto lender sees may be slightly different than the one a mortgage lender sees.

How Often Can I Check My Credit Score?

You can check your credit score as often as you want. If you sign up for an account with a free site, you’ll receive regular score updates via email—sometimes as often as every week.

A basic rule of thumb is to view your credit score at least once every few months, especially if you’re in the process of building your credit. A recent study by Consumer Reports found that 34% of users had an error on their credit report. If you can catch a credit mistake early, you may be able to avoid problems like getting denied for a loan or apartment lease.

When Does a Credit Check Hurt Your Score?

When you check your own credit score, it has no impact because it only counts as a soft inquiry. But when a lender or credit card company pulls your credit score, it’s a different story.

There are two ways a company can pull your credit information: a soft inquiry and a hard inquiry. A soft inquiry is most often used when a lender wants to preapprove you for a loan or credit card and has no visible impact on your score. Employer credit checks also show up as soft inquiries.

A hard inquiry occurs when you’re directly applying for a loan or credit card and will impact your credit score. Landlord credit checks are often considered hard inquiries, too. A hard inquiry will officially stay on your credit report for two years but will only affect your score for one year—typically between one and five points.

Why It’s Important to Check Your Credit Score

Viewing your credit score can alert you to potential problems, like a fraudulent account opened in your name or a bill you forgot about that went to collections.

If you check your score regularly, you can deal with these problems as they come up. If you don’t check your credit score until you’re applying for a mortgage or other major loan, you may discover a huge mistake that takes weeks to fix.

How to Check Your Credit Score

There are a number of credit scoring sites you can use to check your credit score for free. You typically have to create an account to receive a credit score and be notified of any new accounts or score changes.

Many banks and credit card providers have free credit score services, including these eight providers:

Is It Worth Paying for a Credit Score?

Sites like MyFICO provide access to your FICO credit score when you sign up for a monthly membership. The monthly fee ranges from $19.95 to $39.95 a month. Unlike free credit score sites that only show one score, you’ll see the FICO scores used by auto lenders, mortgage lenders and other lenders that use industry-specific scoring models.

Access to those scores is typically not worth the monthly fee because there’s usually little difference between credit scores. Don’t sign up for a paid service if you’re worried about your credit score. Instead, use a free monitoring tool, minimize your credit card use and pay all your bills on time. Those strategies will help you improve your score and qualify for lower interest rates.