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when do hard inquiries fall off

Hard inquiries usually stay on your credit report for up to 2 years , but their impact on your credit score typically fades after about 12 months.

When Do Hard Inquiries Fall Off?

Quick Scoop

  • Hard inquiries fall off your credit report after 24 months from the date of the pull.
  • Most major scoring models (like FICO) generally only factor them into your score for the first 12 months , so the “sting” is mostly in that first year.
  • You usually can’t remove a legitimate hard inquiry early ; you can only dispute ones that are fraudulent or erroneous.
  • Multiple inquiries for the same type of loan (auto, mortgage, some student loans) in a short window are often treated as one for scoring, to allow rate shopping.

How the Timeline Works

Think of a hard inquiry as a small “footprint” on your credit file:

  1. Day 0 – Lender does a hard pull when you apply for credit (card, auto loan, mortgage, etc.).
  1. Months 0–12 – It can slightly lower your score (often just a few points), and lenders may pay attention if there are many inquiries in a short time.
  1. Months 12–24 – It usually no longer affects your score under many scoring models, but it still shows on your report.
  1. After 24 months – The hard inquiry automatically falls off your credit report and disappears completely.

Does Your Score Go Up When They Fall Off?

  • When a hard inquiry ages past 12 months , many scoring models stop counting it, so its effect is often already gone before it actually drops off the report.
  • When it falls off at 24 months , you might not see a big jump , because by then the impact was typically minimal or zero.

Example:
If you applied for a credit card 18 months ago, that inquiry is likely not hurting your score much (if at all) anymore, and it will disappear entirely in about 6 months.

Hard vs. Soft Inquiries (Quick Note)

  • Hard inquiry – Happens when you apply for new credit, can slightly affect your score, and stays on your report for up to 2 years.
  • Soft inquiry – Happens with things like checking your own credit or pre-qualification offers, does not affect your score , and may only be visible to you.

What You Can Do If You’re Worried About Inquiries

  • Check for errors or fraud : If you see an inquiry you don’t recognize, you can dispute it with the bureaus and the creditor.
  • Limit new applications : Space out applications and only apply when you genuinely need credit. This keeps your report looking more stable to lenders.
  • Rate shop smartly : For auto loans, mortgages, or some student loans, do your applications within a short window (roughly 14–45 days) so they’re treated as one inquiry for scoring purposes.

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TL;DR: Hard inquiries fall off your credit report after 2 years , but most of the score impact usually disappears after about 1 year.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.