The Wall Street Journal recently published a short, but rather pertinent, piece on requesting credit reports and their impact on credit scores.
Question: If I request a copy of my credit report will that hurt my credit rating if I want to apply for a mortgage? One bank said I should not ask for multiple credit reports during the year because that would show up as multiple hits against my credit report and could lower my credit rating.
Answer: Requesting a copy of your own credit report is generally considered a “soft” inquiry, which shouldn’t hurt your credit score. Other types of soft inquiries include ones that are initiated by lenders who want to make you a preapproved offer, or by prospective employers or insurers who want to check your credit report. “Hard” inquiries, where lenders pull your credit report in response to your application for credit, may contribute to a lower credit score depending on what else is in your credit report. Fair Isaac, the maker of the FICO score, notes that its scores ignore all mortgage and auto-loan inquiries made in a rolling 30-day period prior to scoring and typically counts mortgage and car-loan inquires older than 30 days as one inquiry when they are made within a 45-day period.
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Tim Ryan 
