A soft credit check doesn’t affect your credit score and only you can see it. A hard credit check is recorded on your report where every lender can see it, and it does affect your score. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) defines the two this way (FCAC, improving your credit score):
- “Hard inquiries, also called hard hits, are credit checks that appear on your credit report. They affect your credit score. Anyone who views your credit report will see these inquiries.”
- “Soft inquiries, also called soft hits, only appear on the version of your credit report that you can see. They don’t affect your credit score.”
This page covers what triggers each and how they’re counted. It’s part of our guides to credit scores in Canada.
Soft vs hard credit check comparison
| Soft credit check | Hard credit check | |
|---|---|---|
| Affects your credit score | No | Yes |
| Who can see it | Only you, on your own copy of the report | Anyone who views your report |
| How long it stays | Not shown to lenders | 3 years at Equifax, 6 years at TransUnion |
| Typical triggers | Checking your own report or score; an existing lender updating its records | Applying for a credit card, loan, line of credit or mortgage |
What triggers a hard credit check
A hard check happens when a lender looks at your report to decide on an application. The FCAC’s examples are:
- credit card applications
- mortgage applications
- credit and loan applications, such as car loans, personal loans and lines of credit
- some rental applications
- some employment applications
Because rental and employment checks can go either way, the landlord or employer can tell you which kind of check it runs.
Consent
In most provinces, a business needs your consent before it checks your credit, and signing a credit application gives that consent. The FCAC adds that this consent “usually lasts for as long as you keep the account open.” In Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan, a business “only needs to tell you they’re checking your credit report” (FCAC, credit report and score basics).
What triggers a soft credit check
The FCAC’s examples of soft inquiries are:
- requesting your own credit report (or score), whether from Equifax, TransUnion or a free credit score service
- a company checking your report to update its records for an account you already have with it, such as an internet or telephone company
The FCAC states it plainly: “Checking your own credit report or score doesn’t affect your credit score.” Reviewing your own report as often as you like carries no cost to your score.
Rate shopping for a mortgage or car loan
Comparing offers from several lenders for the same mortgage or car loan doesn’t have to mean several separate hits. The FCAC’s guidance: “when shopping for a car loan or mortgage, get quotes from different lenders within a 2-week period. Credit bureaus treat these as 1 inquiry.”
The FCAC describes this for car loans and mortgages only. Credit card applications are each their own inquiry, so several card applications close together each show up on your report. How long to wait between credit card applications covers spacing them out, and the credit score needed for a mortgage covers what mortgage lenders look at beyond the inquiries.
How many hard checks is too many?
There is no published cut-off. The FCAC says “It’s normal to apply for credit occasionally,” but that too many inquiries made too close together may make lenders think you’re urgently seeking credit or spending beyond your means. How much a single inquiry moves your score depends on the scoring formula and the rest of your file, and the bureaus don’t publish those formulas; how credit scores are calculated explains the factors they share.
Context matters to a lender reading the report too: one mortgage inquiry and one car loan inquiry tell a different story from several card applications in a few months.
How long a hard inquiry stays
A hard inquiry stays on your report for 3 years at Equifax and 6 years at TransUnion (FCAC). How long a hard inquiry stays on your credit covers the difference between the record and its effect on your score.
An inquiry you didn’t authorize
An authorized inquiry from an application you made stays for its full retention period. An inquiry you don’t recognize is different: it may mean someone applied for credit in your name. The usual steps are to note the lender and date, contact that lender, and dispute the inquiry with Equifax and TransUnion if it wasn’t yours. How to dispute a credit report error walks through filing with each bureau, and the FCAC’s page on errors and fraud covers fraud alerts.
The bottom line
Checking your own credit is a soft inquiry and doesn’t cost you points. Hard inquiries come with applications for credit, stay on your report for years, and are counted by lenders who see them; shopping for one mortgage or car loan within two weeks counts as one inquiry, while each credit card application counts on its own.
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