{"id":208702,"date":"2026-02-18T14:53:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T22:53:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/?p=208702"},"modified":"2026-02-17T14:57:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:57:36","slug":"soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/","title":{"rendered":"Soft Inquiries: How They Impact Credit Scores &#038; Loans"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Soft inquiries, also known as soft pulls, are when someone\u00a0looks up your personal or business credit score on your credit report with one of the three credit bureaus to see how\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/what-being-creditworthy-means-how-to-improve-yours\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">creditworthy<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0you are. Soft pulls are normally done when you apply for a\u00a0job,\u00a0when\u00a0a company or research firm is interested in marketing to you, or any other number of reasons.\u00a0They can also be done by a lender when\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0simply exploring your options.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A soft inquiry shares the following information with the person pulling it:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Business and personal information including a business address, name, and any available contact information<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Summaries of credit accounts including lines of credit, business loans, and credit cards, but not the full details<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A history of payments and whether\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0on time or late<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The credit score range of the company or individual<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Financial issues and concerns like\u00a0previous\u00a0bankruptcies, liens, and judgements<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Because the person having a soft inquiry done does not have to approve it, there is no impact on\u00a0their\u00a0credit score like\u00a0with a\u00a0hard inquiry. Hard inquiries mean a person or\u00a0business is applying for financing,\u00a0which could be a loan, a credit card, leases on vehicles,\u00a0etc.\u00a0and\u00a0one party needs to verify\u00a0that\u00a0the borrower is\u00a0a low risk\u00a0to sell\u00a0to, lend to, contract with, or hire. Soft inquiries are\u00a0generally\u00a0for\u00a0research purposes versus approvals\u00a0like a preapproved insurance policy, loan, or credit card.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0F<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">un fact: Soft pulls can be done even when you have a credit freeze as there is no impact on the person or business\u2019s credit score. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.equifax.com\/personal\/help\/article-list\/-\/h\/a\/access-view-frozen-locked-credit-report\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Equifax gives some reasons why here<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0S<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">oft inquiries are essentially the same for businesses and consumers, so we\u2019re going to focus on business soft pulls for this guide. These are normal and likely won\u2019t impact you.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In fact, soft inquiries\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0show up publicly, so\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0likely the\u00a0only one, aside from the credit bureaus and company doing the pull, that knows one was done.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Companies That Do Soft Pulls<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:360,&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Companies and organizations that do soft pulls include:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Government agencies and\u00a0courts that\u00a0need access to information.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Investors, owners, and co-owners in a business.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Financial institutions including\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">online lenders<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, credit unions, and banks.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Credit card companies and the issuers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Insurance companies.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"6\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Employers and anyone running background checks.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"7\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Business service providers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"8\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Marketing companies.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"9\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Utility companies.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"10\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Landlords.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"11\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Machinery and vehicle lenders.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"12\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Accountants and financial planners.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"13\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Credit builders.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Anyone that would be interested\u00a0in getting an estimate of how creditworthy you are will be likely to do a soft\u00a0pull\u00a0so they know what their risk level is if they lend\u00a0to you,\u00a0sell to you, hire you, or want to market a product or service to you.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 aria-level=\"2\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Reasons Soft Pulls Are Done<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245418&quot;:true,&quot;134245529&quot;:true,&quot;335559738&quot;:360,&quot;335559739&quot;:120}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Government agencies will do soft pulls to verify eligibility,\u00a0when doing background checks for employment,\u00a0etc. Even the IRS\u00a0will do soft pulls\u00a0when they need your information to\u00a0collect on\u00a0back taxes,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.experian.com\/blogs\/ask-experian\/why-is-there-an-inquiry-from-the-irs-on-my-credit-report\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">according to Experian<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. A court may want to do a soft pull before they decide how to divide assets, what is available to cover a judgement in the case of a company being sued, or before a liquidation in a bankruptcy case.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sometimes you or a co-owner may be curious about your own credit score and\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want to pay for\u00a0a report, or a potential investor is researching companies before they reach out to you.\u00a0\u00a0This\u00a0is especially true for business owners applying for financing like a\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/small-business-loans\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">small business loan<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0and wanting\u00a0to get better terms. When you have time to increase your\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/personal-business-credit-score-difference\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">personal and business credit score<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, you can\u00a0check your\u00a0report\u00a0and make changes to\u00a0increase your creditworthiness\u00a0in order to\u00a0get better rates and flexible loan terms.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If your business is working on a growth strategy or doing financial planning, your accountant or financial planner may do a soft pull to see where\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0at and use the data as part of the plan.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Financial institutions, marketing research firms, insurance companies, credit card\u00a0issuers\u00a0and others will do a soft pull during the research process before sending pre-approved offers. The opposite may be true for a credit repair company looking for people and businesses that need to do work on building their\u00a0score\u00a0up.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Utility companies, landlords, and a company that sells vehicles, equipment, and machinery will do a soft pull before a hard pull when you show interest to see if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0pre-approved for financing or a lease. They\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want to risk you defaulting on the expensive purchase, so\u00a0this is a first step to\u00a0determining\u00a0risk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If you get a\u00a0notification\u00a0that\u00a0soft\u00a0inquiries are\u00a0being done,\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0panic. It could be\u00a0for\u00a0any number of\u00a0reasons,\u00a0and a soft\u00a0pull has no impact on your credit score,\u00a0whether it\u00a0is\u00a0personal or business.\u00a0You may even want to run a\u00a0soft\u00a0pull\u00a0to see how you and your business\u00a0look\u00a0financially if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0planning\u00a0on\u00a0taking\u00a0a loan.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">National Funding does not provide tax,\u00a0legal\u00a0or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. You should consult your own tax,\u00a0legal\u00a0and accounting advisors.<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335559738&quot;:195,&quot;335559739&quot;:195}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soft inquiries, also known as soft pulls, are when someone\u00a0looks up your personal or business credit score on your credit report with one of the three credit bureaus to see how\u00a0creditworthy\u00a0you are. Soft pulls are normally done when you apply for a\u00a0job,\u00a0when\u00a0a company or research firm is interested in marketing to you, or any other<a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/\" title=\"ReadSoft Inquiries: How They Impact Credit Scores &#038; Loans\">&#8230; Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":208703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-lending"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Soft Inquiries: How They Impact Credit Scores &amp; Loans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While a soft credit inquiry does not impact your personal or business credit score, it can signal other things. Here\u2019s what they are and why they matter.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Soft Inquiries: How They Impact Credit Scores &amp; Loans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While a soft credit inquiry does not impact your personal or business credit score, it can signal other things. Here\u2019s what they are and why they matter.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208702\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bottom Line by National Funding\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/national.funding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-18T22:53:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.nationalfunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_193656039-ezgif.com-jpg-to-webp-converter.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kelly Hillock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@NationalFunding\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@NationalFunding\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kelly Hillock\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/\",\"name\":\"Soft Inquiries: How They Impact Credit Scores & Loans\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.nationalfunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_193656039-ezgif.com-jpg-to-webp-converter.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-18T22:53:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bc06f44d4c81138ad3f536fee0606768\"},\"description\":\"While a soft credit inquiry does not impact your personal or business credit score, it can signal other things. Here\u2019s what they are and why they matter.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.nationalfunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_193656039-ezgif.com-jpg-to-webp-converter.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.nationalfunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_193656039-ezgif.com-jpg-to-webp-converter.webp\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"Soft Inquiries - How They Impact Credit Scores & Loans\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Soft Inquiries: How They Impact Credit Scores &#038; Loans\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Bottom Line by National Funding\",\"description\":\"Read National Funding&#039;s small business blog for tips and suggestions on how to grow your business by focusing on different aspects of business operations.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bc06f44d4c81138ad3f536fee0606768\",\"name\":\"Kelly Hillock\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9731694c10dd48ef5c8395aacfc3923cb3079b712f05464ba6d33a85395065b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9731694c10dd48ef5c8395aacfc3923cb3079b712f05464ba6d33a85395065b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kelly Hillock\"},\"description\":\"Kelly Hillock is the content marketing manager for National Funding, where she writes and edits articles for small business owners. Kelly has over eight years' experience in copywriting across a variety of industries, focusing on entrepreneurship and finance. She has a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from San Diego State University.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/author\/khillocknationalfunding-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Soft Inquiries: How They Impact Credit Scores & Loans","description":"While a soft credit inquiry does not impact your personal or business credit score, it can signal other things. Here\u2019s what they are and why they matter.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Soft Inquiries: How They Impact Credit Scores & Loans","og_description":"While a soft credit inquiry does not impact your personal or business credit score, it can signal other things. Here\u2019s what they are and why they matter.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208702","og_site_name":"The Bottom Line by National Funding","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/national.funding\/","article_published_time":"2026-02-18T22:53:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/blog.nationalfunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_193656039-ezgif.com-jpg-to-webp-converter.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Kelly Hillock","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@NationalFunding","twitter_site":"@NationalFunding","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kelly Hillock","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/","url":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/","name":"Soft Inquiries: How They Impact Credit Scores & Loans","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.nationalfunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_193656039-ezgif.com-jpg-to-webp-converter.webp","datePublished":"2026-02-18T22:53:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bc06f44d4c81138ad3f536fee0606768"},"description":"While a soft credit inquiry does not impact your personal or business credit score, it can signal other things. Here\u2019s what they are and why they matter.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.nationalfunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_193656039-ezgif.com-jpg-to-webp-converter.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.nationalfunding.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_193656039-ezgif.com-jpg-to-webp-converter.webp","width":1500,"height":1000,"caption":"Soft Inquiries - How They Impact Credit Scores & Loans"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/soft-inquiries-how-they-impact-credit-scores-loans\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Soft Inquiries: How They Impact Credit Scores &#038; Loans"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/","name":"The Bottom Line by National Funding","description":"Read National Funding&#039;s small business blog for tips and suggestions on how to grow your business by focusing on different aspects of business operations.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bc06f44d4c81138ad3f536fee0606768","name":"Kelly Hillock","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9731694c10dd48ef5c8395aacfc3923cb3079b712f05464ba6d33a85395065b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f9731694c10dd48ef5c8395aacfc3923cb3079b712f05464ba6d33a85395065b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kelly Hillock"},"description":"Kelly Hillock is the content marketing manager for National Funding, where she writes and edits articles for small business owners. Kelly has over eight years' experience in copywriting across a variety of industries, focusing on entrepreneurship and finance. She has a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from San Diego State University.","url":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/author\/khillocknationalfunding-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208702"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":208705,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208702\/revisions\/208705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalfunding.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}