Soft credit check vs hard inquiry: does checking loan options hurt your score?
Guide · updated November 2026
Checking your loan options through EpayLoans is a soft credit check, and a soft check does not change your credit score. A hard inquiry only happens if you accept a lender's offer and that lender runs its full review, and even then the effect is usually small and temporary.
What a soft credit check is
A soft check (sometimes called a soft pull or soft inquiry) is a look at your credit file that is not tied to a formal application for new credit. Checking your own score, a pre-qualification screen, an employer background check and most "see your rate" tools all use soft checks. They appear on your own copy of the report, but lenders do not see them and scoring models ignore them.
When you send a request through EpayLoans, lenders in the network may use a soft check to decide whether to make you an offer. That is why the page can say, honestly, that checking your options won't affect your credit score.
What a hard inquiry is
A hard inquiry is recorded when you formally apply for credit and give a lender permission to pull your full file. Card applications, auto loans, mortgages and accepted personal loan offers all create one. Hard inquiries are visible to other lenders and stay on the report for about two years, though most scoring models only count them for the first twelve months.
For most people a single hard inquiry moves a FICO score by fewer than five points, and the effect fades within a few months. The reason it exists at all is that several applications in a short time can suggest someone is stretching to borrow, so the models treat a cluster of inquiries as a small risk signal.
Where the line sits on a small loan request
| Moment | Type of check | Effect on your score |
|---|---|---|
| Sending the EpayLoans request | Soft | None |
| A lender deciding whether to offer | Soft, in most cases | None |
| Accepting an offer and completing the lender's application | Hard, with your authorization | Usually a few points, temporary |
| Repaying on time | Reported as payment history | Can help over time, if the lender reports |
The important part is the order. Nothing hard happens until you have read an offer and decided to go ahead with it. You can send the request, look at what comes back and walk away with your score exactly where it was.
Why lenders still ask for your authorization
The disclosures on this site say that by submitting a request you authorize EpayLoans and its lending partners to verify your information and obtain consumer reports. That language covers the lender's full review after you accept, including alternative credit bureaus that specialise in short-term lending history. It does not mean every lender pulls a hard inquiry the moment your request arrives. It means they may, as part of their own process, once you proceed.
Three habits that keep inquiries from piling up
- Use one request to reach many lenders. Sending the same details to five separate lender sites can create five separate applications. One request through a network reaches lenders without you repeating yourself.
- Read the offer before you accept it. The hard inquiry comes with acceptance. If the rate, fees or dates do not fit, decline and nothing is recorded.
- Keep applications for different products apart. A personal loan, a card and a car loan in the same month look like three different needs to a scoring model. Space them out when you can.
Questions people ask about soft and hard checks
Does checking my own credit score hurt it?
No. Looking at your own report or score is always a soft check. You can do it as often as you like.
Can I see soft inquiries on my report?
Yes, on the version you pull yourself. Other lenders do not see them and they do not count toward any score.
How long does a hard inquiry stay on my report?
About two years, but most scoring models stop counting it after twelve months, and its effect is usually gone much sooner.
Will declining an offer leave a mark?
No. Declining an offer is not an application. Only an accepted offer that moves into the lender's full process creates a hard inquiry.
Check my options What a bank's no means
Related: How fast can a small loan arrive? · How EpayLoans works