What's the difference between a hard inquiry and a soft inquiry?

A hard inquiry happens when you apply for new credit — a card, loan, or mortgage — and a lender pulls your report to make a decision; these can knock a few points off your score and stay visible for two years (though they only affect scoring for about one year). A soft inquiry happens when you check your own credit, a card issuer prescreens you for an offer, or an employer or landlord does a background check; soft pulls never affect your score. So checking your own score is always safe. The practical lesson is to space out applications for new credit, since several hard inquiries in a short window can look risky to lenders and add up. One or two hard pulls a year is normal and barely matters; a half-dozen in a month is a red flag.