How many times can you check your credit score without hurting your credit

Q: Can you really check your credit score without hurting it?

Good news: Credit scores arent impacted by checking your own credit reports or credit scores. In fact, regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is an important way to ensure your personal and account information is correct, and may help detect signs of potential identity theft.

February 15, 2022 |3 min read

Table of Contents Show

Understand how often you should check your credit reports and why it’s important
How Many Times a Year Should You Check Your Credit Reports?
How to Request Your Credit Reports
Why Should You Check Your Credit Reports Frequently?
Start Monitoring Your Credit for Free Today
Can you really check your credit score without hurting it?
How many times can your credit be checked before it affects your score?
How often is too often to check your credit score?
How many times can you check your credit score for free?

Understand how often you should check your credit reports and why it’s important

February 15, 2022 |3 min read

Whether you realize it or not, your credit reports contain a lot of details about your financial life. And when you apply for things like a credit card or a job, lenders and others may use that information to make decisions. So it’s important to make sure the information is correct.

But credit reporting errors can happen, so it’s a good idea to regularly check your credit file. Getting into the habit of checking can help you act quickly if you find mistakes or you’re the victim of identity theft. Traditionally, you can check your credit reports at least once a year from the three major credit bureaus that compile them. But there are also ways to access your reports more frequently. Read on to learn more.

How Many Times a Year Should You Check Your Credit Reports?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recommends checking your credit reports at least once a year. The agency says it’s also a good idea to check your credit reports before taking out a loan, before applying for a new job, and to protect against identity theft.

How to Request Your Credit Reports

You can request a free copy of your credit report from each major credit bureau—TransUnion®, Equifax® and Experian®—once a year by phone, mail or online. You can find out more at AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling 877-322-8228. And you can either check your credit reports from the three bureaus all at once or spread them out throughout the year. If you reach the limit, you can request additional reports, although you may have to pay for them.

The CFPB says you’re entitled to free credit reports at other times too. These include the following:

If an “adverse action” is made against you because of information in your credit report, you’re entitled to request and receive a copy of that report. Keep in mind that you would need to make the request within 60 days of receiving the adverse action notice. An adverse decision could be a lender denying your credit application, an employer deciding not to hire you or an insurer deciding not to provide you with coverage.
You believe your credit reports contain errors due to fraud, or you’ve requested one relating to a fraud alert placed on your credit file.
You’re unemployed and plan to apply for a job within the next 60 days.
You receive public welfare assistance.
Your state’s laws allow you to request a free credit report.

Why Should You Check Your Credit Reports Frequently?

Your credit reports are updated about once a month with data the credit bureaus have received. Credit reports may contain information about your credit card accounts, loans and credit applications you’ve submitted.

If you find errors in your credit file, it could mean you’ve been a victim of identity theft. Any incorrect information may hurt your credit scores, which are calculated based on what’s in your credit report. And a lower credit score might make borrowing more expensive or prevent you from getting credit. If you find an error, you may want to dispute the information.

Start Monitoring Your Credit for Free Today

It’s possible to check your credit reports more often. One way to monitor your credit is with CreditWise from Capital One. CreditWise gives you free access to your TransUnion credit report as often as you log in to your CreditWise account. Plus, you can check your VantageScore® 3.0 credit score for free any time.

And the CreditWise Simulator can give you an idea about how different financial decisions might affect your credit score. For instance, the tool may help simulate how your credit score might change if you pay off a credit card balance. Best of all, using CreditWise won’t hurt your credit score. That’s because it uses soft inquiries to monitor things. CreditWise is free for everyone, not just Capital One cardholders.

You can sign up for CreditWise today to keep a closer eye on your credit report and score.

Learn more about Capital One’s response to COVID-19 and resources available to customers. For information about COVID-19, head over to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Government and private relief efforts vary by location and may have changed since this article was published. Consult a financial adviser or the relevant government agencies and private lenders for the most current information.

We hope you found this helpful. Our content is not intended to provide legal, investment or financial advice or to indicate that a particular Capital One product or service is available or right for you. For specific advice about your unique circumstances, consider talking with a qualified professional.

Capital One does not provide, endorse or guarantee any third-party product, service, information, or recommendation listed above. The third parties listed are solely responsible for their products and services, and all trademarks listed are the property of their respective owners.

The information contained herein is shared for educational purposes only, and it does not provide a comprehensive list of all financial operations considerations or best practices.

Your CreditWise score is calculated using the TransUnion® VantageScore® 3.0 model, which is one of many credit scoring models. It may not be the same model your lender uses, but it can be one accurate measure of your credit health. The availability of the CreditWise tool depends on our ability to obtain your credit history from TransUnion. Some monitoring and alerts may not be available to you if the information you enter at enrollment does not match the information in your credit file at (or you do not have a file at) one or more consumer reporting agencies.

The CreditWise Simulator provides an estimate of your score change and does not guarantee how your score may change.

Can you really check your credit score without hurting it?

Good news: Credit scores aren't impacted by checking your own credit reports or credit scores. In fact, regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is an important way to ensure your personal and account information is correct, and may help detect signs of potential identity theft.

How many times can your credit be checked before it affects your score?

A single hard inquiry will drop your score by no more than five points. Often no points are subtracted. However, multiple hard inquiries can deplete your score by as much as 10 points each time they happen.

How often is too often to check your credit score?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests checking your credit reports once a year, at a minimum. Credit expert John Ulzheimer suggests a cadence of once a month. Until the end of 2023, you can get your reports for free every week from the three major credit bureaus by using AnnualCreditReport.com.