How can you get inquiries off your credit report

You'll need to call each company's credit department and provide one of four reasons for removal:

  1. The inquiry was not approved by you
  2. You felt pressured into approving the credit pull
  3. The number of inquiries was more than you expected
  4. Your report got pulled without your knowledge or authorization

If calling doesn't work, you'll need to send a dispute to the credit Bureaus. You can create a dispute using the laws in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

How To Remove Hard Inquiries

If your ID is stolen, you can remove hard inquiries by contacting the credit reporting agencies or the creditor (or w/ a dispute). If you aren't an ID theft vicitim, you'll have to wait 2 years for the hard inquiry to fall off your report.

What Is A Credit Inquiry?

A credit inquiry occurs when a lender looks at your credit report. When you apply for a loan or credit — and the lender checks your credit — it shows on your report as an inquiry. Having too many inquiries can lower your credit score.

How To Get Hard Inquiries Off Your Credit Report

You can remove hard inquiries from your credit report — if they are based on inaccurate information. The process involves disputing the inquiry, and a reputable company like Credit Glory can help. If the information is correct, they fall off your report in 2 years.

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By Stephanie Colestock MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE

August 25, 2022

How can you get inquiries off your credit report
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There are two types of credit inquiries that you may encounter as you enter the credit marketplace. Soft inquiries (also known as soft pulls) occur when a lender pre-qualifies you or requests a limited credit file in order to send you pre-screened or pre-approved offers. These inquiries don’t appear on your credit report and won’t affect your credit score.

The other type is a hard inquiry (also called a hard pull), which occurs when you’re actively applying for certain personal finance products or services. These are added to your credit report and can ding your credit score for a period of time.

Let’s talk about how you can remove those hard inquiries from your credit report.

  • What are inquiries on your credit report?
  • How can I get inquiries removed from my credit report?
  • How to remove inquiries from credit report FAQs

What are inquiries on your credit report?

Any time you apply for a new credit account — such as an auto loan, a mortgage, a credit card or a line of credit — you can expect the potential lender to pull your credit report.

A credit pull is a process that involves requesting a copy of your complete credit history from one or more of the three credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). The effect of this request on your credit depends on how much information is pulled and whether you approved the request.

A hard pull is also known as a hard inquiry, and should only occur with your explicit approval. A record of this request is added to your credit history to show that you were applying for new credit. This inquiry notation will stay on your credit report for up to two years; depending on the credit scoring model used (FICO score, VantageScore, etc.), most inquiries will affect your credit score for up to 12 months.

If you apply for a loan or try to open a new account, the lender may look at how many credit inquiries you’ve had recently. Too many inquiries in a short period of time can be viewed as a red flag, as it may sometimes indicate that a borrower is financially unstable or suddenly needs credit.

Is it possible to remove inquiries from your credit report?

Yes, removing inquiries from your credit report is possible, whether you want to boost your credit score or just limit the appearance of too much credit-shopping.

However, there are really only two instances where inquiries can be removed from your credit report: if they are inaccurate hard inquiries or if they age off. Removing legitimate hard inquiries is all but impossible.

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How can you get inquiries off your credit report

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How can I get inquiries removed from my credit report?

As mentioned, hard credit inquiries will only stay on your credit report for up to two years. After that time, they are designed to fall off automatically and will no longer appear when you or a potential lender view your credit reports.

Removed items from your credit report, such as aged-off inquiries, will disappear and have no effect on your credit score moving forward.

The other option is to request that erroneous inquiries be removed prior to their age-off date. For instance, if a credit card issuer conducts a hard pull prior to offering you an unsolicited credit limit increase, you may be able to get the inquiry removed.

Not sure how to build credit fast? Correcting errors in your credit history is one of the fastest and easiest places to start. Be sure to request a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus; you can do this once a year from AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the only government-approved website for free credit reports, so watch out for lookalikes. Then read through the reports and look for inconsistencies or errors, including on-time payments that were marked as late, incorrect credit limits, accounts that don’t actually belong to you, and hard inquiries that you never approved or requested.

If you do find an error, follow the steps on each of the three credit bureaus’ websites to dispute the record and potentially have it removed. This might involve filing a report online or writing and mailing a dispute letter.

How long does it take to remove inquiries from a credit report?

The time it takes to remove inquiries from a credit report depends on the process you use to remove them.

Credit inquiry removal can take anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks if the credit dispute is accepted. Some credit bureaus may temporarily remove the disputed record while an investigation takes place, and during that time your credit score may momentarily increase.

If you want (or need) to just wait for an inquiry to age off of your credit report, you’ll be waiting for two years. Though other reports (like your payment history) age off in seven years, inquiries only stick around for two. Not only that, but they’ll only affect your credit for up to 12 months.

Pros and cons of removing inquiries from your credit report

Pros of removing inquiries from your credit report

There are definitely some benefits to removing inquiries from your credit report.

  • Your score may improve. Hard inquiries will depress your credit score for the first six to 12 months. If you have them removed before then, you may see a quick boost in your credit score.
  • You may boost your creditworthiness. Too many inquiries in a short period of time can make you seem like more of a risk to lenders. When these inquiries are removed, lenders may be less wary about approving you for credit.

Cons of removing inquiries from your credit report

Since inquiries can only be removed from your credit report in a handful of situations, it’s not a very common occurrence. Going through the process does have some downsides, though.

  • Disputes require time and energy. Though you should be conducting credit checks regularly to look for errors, actually disputing the erroneous records you find can be arduous. To remove unauthorized hard inquiries, you’ll need to file a formal dispute and may also be asked to provide evidence of the error.
  • Waiting for inquiries to age off can take years. In the absence of an error, inquiries can only be removed from your credit report with time. These will generally age off of your credit history in just two years, but that can feel like a long time in the interim.

How to remove inquiries from your credit report FAQs

What is the fastest way to remove inquiries from a credit report?

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The fastest way to remove hard inquiries from a credit report is to file a formal dispute. Credit bureaus will sometimes remove the disputed record right away while they conduct an investigation, at which time it will either be reinstated or removed permanently. Even if the inquiry isn't removed right away, the investigation process can be as quick as a few weeks or even just days.

This should only be done if the inquiry in question is being reported in error. If you approved the hard pull, your dispute will be declined and the inquiry will stay on your credit.

Will removing inquiries increase my credit score?

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Not sure how to fix your credit? Credit inquiries that fall off or are removed from your credit report can boost your score overnight.

How can I get inquiries removed from my credit report in 24 hours?

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The only way to get hard inquiries removed from your credit report in a single day is to dispute them as errors. If, while viewing a copy of your credit report, you find a hard pull that wasn't authorized or was requested by a creditor you don't know, filing a formal dispute can be one way to get them off of your credit for good. The credit bureaus may even remove the inquiry immediately while conducting their investigation.

In recent years, credit bureaus have automated and streamlined the dispute process. One of our editors recently disputed an entry on his credit report and received a decision about the disputed item the same day.

Summary of how to remove inquiries from your credit report

Hard inquiries don’t make up a large percentage of your credit history, but they can be one more hurdle in your path to excellent credit and perceived creditworthiness. These reports stay on your credit for up to two years and can affect your credit score for six to 12 months. There are really only two ways to remove inquiries from your credit report: wait for them to age off or, if they are erroneous, file a formal dispute with each of the credit bureaus. This is the fastest and most surefire way to correct your credit history and boost your credit score. However, if you don’t have the time to dispute inquiries on your own, you could always consider utilizing a credit repair company.

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How can you get inquiries off your credit report

What's your credit costing you?

If questionable negative items are hurting your credit, removing them can improve your score. Click below to see how a credit repair company can help!

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How can you get inquiries off your credit report

Stephanie Colestock is a DC-based personal finance writer with nearly 11 years of freelance writing experience. She covers a wide range of finance-related topics and is currently working toward her CFP®️ certification. Her work appears on sites such as Business Insider, MSN, Fox Business, CNET, Investopedia, and more.

Can you remove a credit inquiry from your credit report?

If you find an unauthorized or inaccurate hard inquiry, you can file a dispute letter and request that the bureau remove it from your report. The consumer credit bureaus must investigate dispute requests unless they determine your dispute is frivolous.

What removes inquiries from credit report?

To whom this may concern, I am writing to request the removal of unauthorized credit inquiry/inquiries on my (name of the credit bureau—Equifax, Experian and/or TransUnion) credit report. My latest credit report shows (number of hard inquiries you are disputing) credit inquiry/inquiries that I did not authorize.

Who can remove hard inquiries?

Disputing hard inquiries on your credit report involves working with the credit reporting agencies and possibly the creditor that made the inquiry. Hard inquiries can't be removed, however, unless they're the result of identity theft. Otherwise, they'll have to fall off naturally, which happens after two years.

Can you pay to remove hard inquiries from your credit report?

A legitimate hard inquiry usually can't be removed. But it disappears from your credit report after two years, and typically only impacts your score for about one year. If you find an unauthorized hard inquiry on your report you can file a dispute and request that it be removed.