April 19, 2025 · 14 mins read
Santhosh Kumar
Modern financial operations demand good credit scores through which people obtain loans and favourable interest rates and get approved for rental housing. People often wonder if viewing their own CIBIL score adversely affects their credit score rating. People are uncertain whether reviewing their CIBIL score affects it in any way or if CIBIL score evaluation affects it negatively. The short answer is no. This article tells you why checking your credit score does not affect your credit report and gives clear information about credit scoring processes, as well as the difference between soft and hard inquiries and why you need to know your financial information.
Your financial reliability appears through scores that measure your creditworthiness numerically. The calculation of your score depends on payment records combined with credit use and mix, and duration of established credit accounts. The CIBIL score operating between 300 and 900 serves Indian financial organisations and banking institutions to determine the lending risk levels of individual applicants.
It is important to recognise different types of inquiries when assessing credit score monitoring since soft inquiries and hard inquiries represent two separate categories. The process by which you view your credit score and the assessment performed by companies for pre-approval constitute soft inquiries. A genuine credit inquiry occurs through formal credit applications, such as new credit card and personal loan applications, but soft inquiries occur in all other situations. People need to recognise the difference between soft and hard inquiries to break free from the misconception that personal score checks cause reductions.
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Financial responsibility requires people to check their credit reports on a regular basis. Your proactive step to oversee your financial health begins when you perform active checks of your CIBIL score. The following list explains the benefits that result from checking your credit through soft inquiries:
Regular checking of your credit report enables you to detect financial errors quickly. The detected errors will typically be improper data, invalid account status information, and suspicious financial transactions. Early detection of errors lets you fight incorrect information at the credit bureau to avoid score damage.
The digital era exposes people to genuine risks from identity theft along with fraudulent activities. Regular account monitoring enables users to detect suspect financial activities that the account may have suffered from. Notice of unauthorised accounts or inquiries activates your ability to instantly protect your financial reputation.
You need to understand your current credit score to make proper financial decisions in life. First, understanding your credit rating enables you to check your readiness for borrowing and bargain for improved loan terms with lenders who grant mortgages, cars, or new credit cards. Filial security increases when you possess recent information about your credit score because it allows you to enter negotiations with strong confidence. When you have a strong credit history, lenders provide better loan terms, and improved financial terms make themselves available during negotiations.
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People who use credit services often have incorrect beliefs about examining their credit scores. Many people believe that too many self-checks create an impression of financial trouble, which subsequently causes credit scores to decrease. Credit reports forbid action from producing this effect. It is perfectly secure to check your credit score because soft inquiries do not influence your credit scoring calculation.
There is a wide misunderstanding that every credit inquiry causes damage. The impact of hard inquiries on your credit score proves short-term, yet these effects differ clearly from soft inquiry effects. Hard inquiries happen during new credit applications, which result in a few points reduction in your credit score. The educational aspect of soft inquiries makes them informational tools that support your knowledge about your credit status.
The goal of dispelling common myths about credit score checking is crucial because many people choose to keep away from monitoring despite its safety and endorsement. Checking your credit health stands as the most effective way to manage finances properly while preventing harmful surprises that might threaten your financial future.
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People need to learn how soft inquiries differ from hard inquiries as part of their financial knowledge.
1: When lenders retrieve your credit information with a credit application, hard inquiries will result.
2: When lenders examine your credit history for a credit check, it creates only a short-lived, slight reduction in your credit score because it demonstrates your need for more credit.
3: The processing of credit card or loan, and mortgage applications by financial institutions requires hard inquiries for creditworthiness assessment.
4: Several consecutive hard credit checks on your report during a brief period could signal financial trouble, thus harming your credit score.
5: Soft inquiries, such as conducting credit score checks on oneself, do not affect credit scores.
6: Soft inquiries do not include the extension of new credit thus they escape credit score calculations.
7: You can access your credit report whenever needed because the review activity does not affect your creditworthiness.
8: Financial management apps, together with CIBIL-provided online portals, allow you to check your score through the soft inquiry process.
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Soft inquiries don't have an impact on your credit scores because you're not officially applying for credit. So, when you fill out a form to get prequalified for a mortgage, student loan, personal loan, or credit card, there are no strings attached.
Once you take the next step and apply, however, the lender will make a hard inquiry, which will show up on your credit report for others to see and can temporarily lower your credit score.
While checking your own credit score won't change it, there are plenty of other things that can affect your credit score negatively.
Payment history: As long as you make your debt payments on time every month, your payment history, which is the most influential factor in your FICO® Score, will be in good shape. But if one of your payments is 30 days late or more, your credit score can go down. The longer your account is delinquent, the more it can hurt your score. Defaulting on the account can cause severe damage.
Amounts owed: Your total debt burden is a factor here, but your credit utilisation ratio is more important. Your utilisation ratio shows how much of your credit card limits you're using at any given time. If you have a $500 balance on a card with a $1,000 limit, for example, your utilisation rate is 50%. A utilisation rate above 30% will start to hurt your scores, and the lower your rate, the better. Those with the best credit scores tend to have a utilisation rate in the low single digits.
Length of credit history: A longer credit history is better for your credit scores. This factor also includes another calculation called the average age of accounts. So even if you've been using credit for, say, 10 years, the average age of your accounts could be much lower, especially if you've recently opened several new accounts. To avoid lowering your average, try to avoid taking on new credit too often.
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Credit mix: The more types of credit you have—credit cards, personal loans, student loans, auto loans, and mortgage loans—the better it can be for your credit. While having just one or two won't necessarily lower your credit score, it could limit your credit potential.
New credit: Virtually every time you apply for credit, the lender runs a hard inquiry on your credit report. According to FICO, each new hard inquiry can lower your credit score by as much as five points. If you have multiple hard inquiries in a short period, though, it could have a compounding effect and lower your score even more.
Because there are so many variables that go into calculating your credit score, it's impossible to determine exactly how much damage a negative item may cause to your score. But if you notice your credit score drop and are wondering why, look at these areas to find the likely reason.
You can check your credit score as often as you want without hurting your credit, and it's a good idea to do so regularly. At the very minimum, it's a good idea to check before applying for credit, whether it's a home loan, auto loan, credit card, or something else.
When you do this, you can help make sure there aren't any problems that could make it difficult to get approved for a new loan or credit account. Checking at least a few months in advance can also give you time to address anything that could be hurting your credit score.
It's also a good idea to check your credit report at least once a year. While your credit score is a numerical snapshot of your overall credit health, your credit report provides the actual information used to calculate your score.
As you check your credit report, look out for anything you don't recognise. If you find something odd, contact the lender to make sure it's legitimate. Sometimes, a lender may operate under a different name and report a name you're not familiar with to the credit bureaus; if you're applying for a car loan, the dealership may submit a credit application to multiple lenders.
If you find information you believe is inaccurate or even fraudulent, report it to the credit bureaus. You can get a free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus weekly through AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also get your Experian credit report online anytime for free.
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Historically, it's been difficult to get access to your credit score for free. But it's gotten much easier in the past few years.
Your credit score is not impacted when you check it to stay updated with your credit profile.
Here’s how to check your credit score in 3 simple steps:
Step 1: Navigate to the ‘Credit Score form’ to get started.
Step 2: Enter basic details, such as name, gender, mobile number, and email address, and click on the 'Get Free Credit Score' button.
Step 3: After successful verification through the OTP sent to your mobile number, you will receive credit scores from multiple credit bureaus.
To download the Credit Health Report, you can subscribe to a one-time, monthly, or yearly plan by making the payment online. Your CHR is password-protected, and your Date of Birth (DDMMYYYY format) is the password of your Credit Health Report.
it is a complete credit bureau that reports the analysis for organisations as well as individuals. The credit score ranges from 300 to 850; 720 or above is an excellent score. In the case of any entity or company, the credit score is known as a performance score. TransUnion credit members include all the major financial institutes, lenders, NBFCs, banks, etc.
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Equifax gives portfolio scores and risk scores along with credit scores that usually range from 1 to 999 for individuals. working as an approved credit rating agency since 2010, equifax provides different reports like portfolio management, industry diagnosis, credit fraud, or risk management report in the case of companies.
Established in the year 2010, Experian conducts an analysis of companies and individuals for their credit reports. The score ranges from 300 to 900, and it only takes 20 days to get a report.
Approved by RBI (Reserve Bank of India), CRIF Highmark also conducts analysis for the credit rating of corporates and individuals. The credit rating ranges from 300 to 850.
The following practices will help you maximise your credit monitoring outcomes because soft inquiries do not harm your credit:
1: A periodic review of CIBIL scores should be conducted at least once every six months. Diligent, regular monitoring lets you identify fraudulent activities and inconsistent records as soon as possible.
2: You should always retrieve your credit report from authorised and legitimate sources that guarantee its reliability. The method protects users from encountering fraudulent situations while maintaining information accuracy.
3: You should make and maintain individual records of your credit report changes over time. Your ability to monitor both your credit score and a full report will show you financial behaviour patterns and their effects.
4: Report any detected incorrect information to credit bureaus so they can examine and modify your report.
5: You should learn how factors impact your credit score through education. Acquiring knowledge about these credit score elements gives you control over financial choices that build your solid financial ground.
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The main advantage of checking your own CIBIL score is safety, in addition to benefits for your financial well-being. Checking your own CIBIL score constitutes an important step for financial health because it cannot reduce your credit score under any condition. This opportunity enables you to review your credit report accuracy while you also check for unauthorised changes to your financial data to maintain reliable information in your report. Your continued credit monitoring exercises will make you better able to handle your finances to obtain needed credit and develop a robust financial future.
Knowledge about soft/hard inquiry differences and regular credit monitoring value helps consumers maximise all the benefits that come from being financially aware. A clear understanding of soft inquiries enables you to improve your financial behaviour so you can manage your credit score without worries. Knowledge functions as a powerful tool that serves you best in financial health management.
Anyone accessing or already borrowing credit from financial institutions should constantly remain aware of market changes because ignorance leads to poor decisions. Valid information serves as the bedrock for stable finances that need proactive strategies for management. Each time you request a soft inquiry, you build your financial future by maintaining correct and truthful documentation of responsible financial practices.
The practice of checking your own CIBIL score gives you complete control of your financial future in a secure way. The CIBIL score is an essential resource that reveals your credit condition and lets you spot mistakes promptly while it helps make sound financial choices. Use this practice as your base to reach your future financial objectives without any hesitation.
Looking at your credit score might change your credit rating. If you find mistakes while checking your credit score, you can report them right away to fix them. Also, if your credit score is not good, you can take steps to make it better.
To minimise hard inquiries, it is best to steer clear of pending credit applications and avoid opting for multiple credit applications.
It is a good idea to check your credit score every month, particularly if you are just starting to use credit. If you have been managing your credit well for the past few months, you can check it every 2 to 3 months.
You can check your credit score safe. There is spam-free credit management app that provides free CIBIL and Experian credit scores along with an easy-to-understand credit report.
Soft inquiries don't have an impact on your credit scores because you're not officially applying for credit. So, when you fill out a form to get prequalified for a mortgage, student loan, personal loan or credit card, there are no strings attached.
You can check your credit score as often as you want without hurting your credit, and it's a good idea to do so regularly. At the very minimum, it's a good idea to check before applying for credit, whether it's a home loan, auto loan, credit card or something else.
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