What is Credit Check (Hard vs Soft)?
A hard credit check (visible to other lenders) happens when you apply for credit products like cards, loans, or current accounts with overdrafts. A soft check (visible only to you) is used for eligibility checks and identity verification. Hard checks may temporarily lower your credit score by a few points; soft checks have no impact.
UK lenders run two kinds of search against the credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). A soft check is used for eligibility checkers, identity verification and account reviews: it appears on the person's own credit report but is invisible to other lenders and has no effect on any credit score. A hard check is a full application search: it's recorded on the file, visible to other lenders, and factored into scoring.
Hard checks happen when applying for credit — cards, loans, overdrafts — and for most current account openings, since banks generally reserve the right to run one even when no overdraft is requested. A hard search typically influences lender decisions for around 12 months and stays visible on the file for up to two years.
One hard check usually moves a score by only a few points and the effect fades. What lenders notice is clustering: several applications in a short window reads as risk, which is why serial switchers tend to pace their account openings and card applications.