Check Your Credit Report

By Kimberly Lankford

If I request my credit report, will it hurt my credit score?

No. Your request for your own credit information won't affect your score. In fact, it's a good idea to check your credit reports and your score at least once a year to make sure there aren't any errors. You can order a free copy of your report from each of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnions) every 12 months at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Your credit report may include a long list of inquiries from yourself, lenders and prospective employers. But the FICO credit score compiled by Fair Isaac only counts inquiries when you actually apply for a loan.

Now that more people shop online for mortgages and car loans, the scorekeepers realize that you might be applying to multiple lenders at one time to compare rates. As a result, the FICO score ignores all mortgage and auto inquiries made in the preceding 30 days. If clusters of inquiries have been made more than 30 days ago, the score counts all inquiries made within one "shopping period" as a single inquiry. For the older version of the FICO score, this period is any 14-day span. A newer version of the score expands the shopping period to 45 days.