Inquiry age tracker
List the hard inquiries on your reports. You'll see when each one stops counting in FICO Scores, when it leaves your report, and which loan inquiries get grouped as one.
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Results
How the inquiry dates are figured
Every date here comes from simple calendar math on the inquiry date you enter. The rules behind them come from FICO and VantageScore, not from a law, because no statute sets how long inquiries stay or count.
The two clocks
- Stops counting in FICO Scores: the inquiry date plus 12 months. myFICO says FICO Scores only consider inquiries from the last 12 months.
- Leaves your report: the inquiry date plus 2 years. Hard inquiries stay on credit reports for up to two years, per myFICO and Equifax.
Rate shopping
FICO groups mortgage, auto and student loan inquiries made within a short span into one. Newer FICO versions use any 45-day span and older versions any 14-day span, and FICO Scores ignore those inquiries made in the 30 days before scoring. The lender picks the FICO version, so you can't know which window applies; the tool shows both.
- Grouping is done within one loan type. A mortgage inquiry and an auto inquiry a week apart are not grouped together.
- We treat a 14-day span as the first inquiry's date plus the next 13 days (45-day: plus the next 44). Starting from the oldest inquiry, everything inside that span is one group; the next inquiry outside it starts a new group. FICO doesn't publish its exact counting method, so treat the grouped counts as a close estimate.
- Credit card, personal loan and other inquiries are never grouped here. FICO's published rule names only mortgage, auto and student loans, and it says several card applications in a row can mean someone is seeking several new lines of credit.
- VantageScore says it uses a 14-day rolling window that treats several mortgage or auto inquiries as one. Its published rule doesn't name student loans, so the tool doesn't group them for VantageScore.
What "counting today" means
The summary counts inquiries under 12 months old, leaves out loan-shopping inquiries under 30 days old, and counts each group of loan-shopping inquiries once. It does not tell you how many points an inquiry costs, because neither FICO nor VantageScore publishes a point table. The guide on what an inquiry costs covers what they do say.
"Today" is your device's date. Years and months are added on the calendar, so an inquiry on February 29 stops counting on February 28 of the next year.
Questions about this tool
When does a hard inquiry stop counting in my FICO Score?
FICO Scores only consider inquiries from the last 12 months. The inquiry can stay on your report for up to two years, but after 12 months FICO no longer counts it.
Do several mortgage or auto inquiries count as one?
In FICO Scores they can. Newer versions group mortgage, auto and student loan inquiries made within 45 days, older versions within 14 days, and FICO ignores those inquiries for the 30 days before scoring. The tool shows how yours group under both windows.
Why aren’t my credit card inquiries grouped?
FICO’s rate-shopping rule covers mortgage, auto and student loans only. FICO says several card applications in a row can mean someone is seeking several new lines of credit, so each one counts on its own.
Does VantageScore use the same windows?
No. VantageScore says it uses a 14-day rolling window that treats several mortgage or auto inquiries as one search for credit.
Is my list saved anywhere?
Only if you check the save box, and then only in this browser on this device. Nothing is sent to ScoreTuner. The Forget my list button deletes it.
Guides behind the math
- Hard vs. soft inquiries: which credit checks count against youA hard inquiry comes from a credit application and can trim your score. A soft one never does. A table of the common checks, gray zones included.
- How much does a hard inquiry lower your credit score?FICO says one more inquiry takes fewer than five points off for most people. What that figure leaves out, and the cases where a few points decide a loan.
- How long hard inquiries stay on your report and keep countingHard inquiries can sit on your credit report for two years, but FICO only scores them for one. A dated example shows when each clock runs out.
- Rate shopping for a loan without wrecking your credit scoreFICO counts mortgage, auto and student loan inquiries made within 14 to 45 days as one. The three rules, a worked timeline, and what isn't covered.
- Removing hard inquiries you didn't authorize, the legitimate wayAn inquiry you never authorized can be disputed, and one from fraud can be blocked. One you did authorize can't. How to sort them and fix each kind.
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