No. Checking your own credit score does not lower it. When you look at your own credit report, it is recorded as a soft enquiry, and soft enquiries are not shown to lenders and have no effect on your score. You can check as often as you like without doing any damage.
The confusion comes from the other kind of check. When a lender checks your credit file because you have applied for credit, that is a hard enquiry, and hard enquiries can affect your score. Knowing which is which takes the worry out of checking.
Soft Checks vs Hard Checks
Every time someone accesses your credit report, it leaves a mark called an enquiry. But not all enquiries are treated the same:
- Soft enquiry: You check your own credit report or score, or a provider checks it to give you a rate offer. Soft enquiries are recorded on your file but are not visible to lenders and do not change your score.
- Hard enquiry: A lender checks your full credit report after you apply for a loan, credit card or another credit product. Hard enquiries are visible to other lenders and can lower your score, especially if several appear in a short period.
So the simple rule is: checking your own score is always a soft check. Applying for credit is what triggers a hard check. To learn what a score actually measures, read our guide on what a credit score is.
Why Checking Your Score Is Actually a Good Idea
Far from hurting your score, checking it regularly helps you protect it. A quick look at your report lets you spot mistakes, such as a loan you never took out or a repayment marked late that you actually paid on time. Errors like these can drag your score down, and you can only dispute them if you know they are there.
Checking also helps you catch signs of identity theft early. If a stranger has opened credit in your name, it will show up on your report, often before any bill arrives in your mailbox.
How Often Can You Check for Free?
You are entitled to a free credit report every three months from each of the three credit reporting bodies: Equifax, Experian and illion. That means you can check your file up to twelve times a year across the three bureaus without paying a cent.
Many banks and free apps also show you a credit score, and those checks are soft enquiries too, so they will not lower your score either. For the step-by-step process, see how to check your credit score for free.
What Actually Lowers Your Credit Score?
If checking your own score does not hurt it, what does? The main culprits are:
- Missing repayments. Late or missed payments on loans, credit cards and bills are the biggest single drag on a score, and repayment history is generally kept for two years.
- Too many hard enquiries. Applying for several credit products in a short space of time can look risky to lenders. Hard enquiries stay on your file for five years.
- Defaults and serious infringements. An unpaid debt listed as a default stays on your report for five years and can seriously damage your score.
- High credit use. Regularly maxing out cards or using most of your available credit limit can also weigh your score down.
Note that none of these involve you checking your own file. A related myth is that you need a credit card to build a score at all — we covered that separately in do you need a credit card to build a credit score?
Frequently Asked Questions
Does checking my score through my bank’s app lower it?
No. Scores shown by banks and free credit apps are based on soft enquiries, so they never affect your score.
Does a lender’s pre-approval check count as a hard enquiry?
It can. When a lender formally assesses you for credit, including some pre-approvals, it may record a hard enquiry. Ask the lender beforehand whether their check will be recorded as a hard enquiry.
Can I check my score every week?
Yes. There is no limit on how often you can check your own score, and it will not lower it no matter how often you look.
Will my score drop if I check all three bureaus?
No. Your Equifax, Experian and illion scores are separate, and checking any or all of them yourself is always a soft enquiry.
The Bottom Line
Checking your credit score does not lower it — that is one of the most persistent credit myths going around. Your own checks are soft enquiries that lenders never see. What does matter is how you handle credit: pay on time, do not apply for lots of credit at once, and check your report regularly so errors never get the chance to cost you.
