There are two kinds of inquiries (or pulls) that can occur on your credit report: “hard” inquiries and “soft” inquiries. While both types of credit inquiries enable a third party, such as you or a lender, to view the information in your credit report, only hard inquiries can negatively affect your credit score.

Soft inquiry typically occurs when a person or company checks your credit report as part of a background check or to make a pre-screened offer of credit. A soft inquiry may be recorded in your credit report, depending on the credit bureau, but it does not affect your credit score. With this personal loan product from First Federal Bank of Kansas City, a soft credit inquiry occurs when you initially request a rate based on your name, address, and date of birth in order to determine if you are eligible to continue the application and your initial rate.

Hard inquiries generally occur when a financial institution, such as a lender or credit card issuer, checks your credit report when making a credit decision. Hard inquiries will impact your credit score and they may remain on your credit report for two years. With this personal loan product from First Federal Bank of Kansas City, a hard pull occurs after you accept your rate and before you sign your note.