A hard inquiry stays on your credit report for 3 years at Equifax and 6 years at TransUnion. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) lists credit inquiries by lenders among the negative information the bureaus may keep only for a set period (FCAC, how long information stays on your credit report). This page explains what that record means for later applications; it’s one of our guides to credit scores in Canada.
Retention at each bureau
| Bureau | How long a hard inquiry stays |
|---|---|
| Equifax | 3 years from the date of the inquiry |
| TransUnion | 6 years |
Equifax’s own dispute page says an inquiry purges from its file automatically, counted from the date of the inquiry (Equifax). The record is of the check itself, so it stays whether the application was approved, declined or withdrawn.
Because the two bureaus keep separate files, an inquiry appears only on the report of the bureau the lender checked. A lender that checks both leaves an inquiry on each. Equifax vs. TransUnion covers the other ways their files differ.
A credit card application in March creates an inquiry that comes off an Equifax report in March 3 years later. If the issuer checked TransUnion instead, the inquiry stays for 6 years.
The record vs. the effect on your score
The retention period is how long the inquiry is visible. How much it counts in your score is a separate question, and one the bureaus don’t answer in detail: the FCAC notes that “Credit bureaus and lenders use different formulas to calculate your score, but they don’t share the exact details.” What the FCAC does say is that inquiries “affect your credit score,” and that many inquiries close together may make lenders think you’re urgently seeking credit or spending beyond your means.
So two things are true at once. A lender reading your report sees every hard inquiry still inside its retention period, and the scoring formula weighs how often you’ve applied for new credit. A burst of applications is more noticeable than one, whichever lens the lender uses. Why a credit score drops covers how inquiries compare with other causes of a drop, and credit score ranges shows what a few points mean for where your score sits.
Which checks count
Only hard inquiries, the ones from applications for credit, are kept for these periods where lenders can see them. A soft credit check, such as checking your own report or an existing lender updating its records, shows only on your own copy and doesn’t affect your score. That page lists what triggers each kind of check.
Several quotes for one loan
Quotes from several lenders for the same mortgage or car loan, gathered within two weeks, are grouped into one inquiry under the FCAC’s rule of thumb, so a comparison doesn’t multiply the record; soft vs. hard credit checks explains that grouping and why card applications aren’t covered. Before a mortgage, the credit score needed for a mortgage covers what lenders look at.
Can a hard inquiry come off early?
An inquiry from an application you made stays for the full period. An inquiry you didn’t authorize is a different matter: it may be a sign that someone applied for credit in your name, and you can dispute it with the bureau that shows it. How to dispute a credit report error covers the steps, including contacting the lender that made the inquiry.
Related pages
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them on September 25, 2026. How we check facts.
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: How long information stays on your credit report