Credit glossary
Prescreened offer
A credit or insurance offer sent because a bureau put you on a list matching criteria a lender chose, logged as a soft inquiry.
Lenders give a bureau their criteria, and the bureau builds a list of people who match. These pulls are soft inquiries, so they don't affect your score, and a credit freeze doesn't stop them. The offer has to be a firm offer of credit or insurance, though the company can still confirm that you meet its criteria when you respond.
To stop them, call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) or use optoutprescreen.com for a five-year opt-out, or mail the signed form for a permanent one. An extended fraud alert also takes you off prescreen lists for five years. Opting out doesn't affect your ability to apply for credit on your own.
Guides that go deeper
- Prescreened credit offers: how they work and how to opt outPre-approved mail comes from lists the bureaus build from your file, and it never hurts your score. What the offer promises and how to opt out for good.
- Why you get flooded with calls after a mortgage credit pullCredit bureaus used to sell your mortgage inquiry to rival lenders within hours. A federal law limited that in March 2026. Who can still call you, and why.
Sources
- What To Know About Prescreened Offers for Credit and Insurance, Federal Trade Commission
- OptOutPrescreen.com, Consumer Credit Reporting Industry
- 15 U.S.C. 1681b, Permissible purposes of consumer reports, Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute
- 15 U.S.C. 1681c-1(i): Security freeze, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
This is education, not legal or financial advice. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it.