About 10 percent of your credit score is determined by the number and presence of credit inquiries. But only certain types of credit inquiries will hurt your score. Let’s take a look at the difference between hard inquiries and soft inquiries.

Hard Credit Inquiries

Hard credit inquiries are the only type of credit inquiry that will hurt your credit score. Your score will be hurt only by inquiries made by lenders for the purpose of determining whether to extend a loan or credit card to you. These are called hard inquiries. The credit bureaus see too many inquiries as potentially risky, figuring you might be preparing to go on a credit card spending spree.

This is particularly harmful if your credit history is limited and/or young. If you are 18, have never had a loan or credit card, and apply for three credit cards, your score will be in the trash. If you have had a solid credit history for 20 years and apply for three credit cards, you score will not drop as much. And if you only apply for one credit card, your score will not drop much at all.

Some things to keep in mind about hard credit inquiries:

• Only inquiries within the past year will affect your score, though they will stay on your credit report for two years.
• Credit bureaus make exceptions for people who are shopping around for the best home loan or car loan, counting all loan officer inquiries within a 30-day period as just one inquiry.
• Having one or two inquiries during the past six months is not going to hurt your credit score by more than a few points, so long as you have a solid credit history.

Soft Credit Inquiries

Your score also will not be hurt if you pull your own credit report, or if someone else pulls your credit report for non-lending reasons. If you request your own score, the inquiry will show up on your credit report as a “soft” inquiry. Unlike “hard” inquiries (those pulled by lenders for the purpose of determining creditworthiness), soft inquiries do not affect your credit score.

Other credit inquiries that do not hurt your credit score (“soft inquiries”) include:

• Inquiries from landlords determining whether to rent you a home.
• Inquiries from employers who are pulling your credit report to determine whether they want to offer you a job.  (If you are in the job market, be sure to read about credit scores and jobs.)

And even hard inquiries do not affect your score for long. Credit inquiries affect your score for only one year, although they stay on your credit report for two years.

What makes up a credit score? Part I: Your payment history.

What makes up a credit score? Part II: Outstanding debt.

What makes up a credit score? Part III: The age of your credit.

What makes up a credit score? Part IV: The type of credit you have.