Credit Report Authorization Form: Fill & Download for Free

Key Differences Between Soft and Hard InquiriesLet’s start with soft inquiries.This type of inquiry does not affect your credit score. This is a good thing, considering soft inquiries are pulled on your credit all the time, when you receive a credit card offer in the mail, when a potential employer performs a background check, or when you check your credit. While soft inquiries do appear on your credit report, only you can see them (with a few exceptions).Hard inquiries are performed when you apply for a loan, credit card, or mortgage and the lender checks your credit history before granting (or denying) the loan. Hard inquiries stay on your credit report for two years, and they do lower your credit score by a few points, though that shouldn’t be a big deal in the long run. However, too many hard inquiries in a short period of time may give lenders the impression that you’re a high-risk customer.When Hard Inquiries Happen Instead of Soft InquiriesSo why do hard inquiries occur in lieu of soft inquiries? While soft inquiries can occur without your knowledge, such as those annoying pre-approved credit card offers you receive in the mail, hard inquiries occur when you apply for a loan and the creditor reviews your credit before granting the loan.In short, hard inquiries are required when a lender needs to review your credit history before they can determine if you are eligible for a loan. A hard inquiry will likely be required if you apply for a mortgage, a loan, or a credit card.As far as determining whether an inquiry will be hard or soft before it happens, you will likely know when a hard inquiry happens, because you’ll have to give the lender consent. For example, if you’ve ever bought or leased a car, you were asked to sign a credit report authorization form as part of the paperwork. By signing this document, you are giving the dealership’s financing department permission to pull your credit. In other words, you’re giving them the OK to perform a hard credit inquiry.What to Do Before an InquiryIf you are worried about a potential hard inquiry and the effect it might have on your credit score, you have a few options. First, before you apply for any sort of major loan, like an auto loan, a mortgage, or even student loans, ask the lender whether a hard or soft inquiry will be required in order to secure the funds.While too many hard inquiries can make you look like you are a credit risk, rating agencies understand that several inquiries in a short period could be because you’re “rate shopping.” The agencies will group those inquiries, such as from several mortgage lenders if you’re home loan shopping, into a single hard inquiry on your report.Also, be sure to keep your credit inquiries (especially hard inquiries) to a minimum. You don’t want to undercut your credit score by applying for too many credit cards or other loans. (Plus overextending yourself from a credit perspective is also bad financial practice, but that’s another article.) You should also cross-check the hard inquiries you actually initiated with those that appear on your credit report to avoid credit card fraud.The Bottom LineWhile both soft and hard credit inquiries are performed to assess the state of your credit, hard inquiries can affect your credit score for a year and stay on your credit report for 24 months. That’s why it’s important to understand the difference between hard and soft credit inquiries, and when each is required.I'm just an email ([email protected]) away, if you need more informationCheers.

Yes, it is possible to run background checks on a date through a variety of background check sites, and by searching county records. Country records are accurate, but some of the other sites are merely aggregation sites that combine a bunch of public information that may or may not be accurate and could include cases of mistaken identity.Background check companies that usually run employment background checks and tenant screening reports and are FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) compliant won’t do such background checks without the person’s authorization.

A tentative “yes”.They are required to obtain your signature in order to authorize the report — this is not a full standard report, as pursued by a lender, it’s a different report — for example, they are not given your actual credit score value.In California, the employer is required to get the signature each time they pull a report. However — and here’s the tentative part — they are not required to pull it immediately: so an authorization can sit there, waiting.Additionally, many states — other than California — allow the authorization to be an ongoing condition rather than a one time thing, so long as it’s disclosed in the authorization form given to the employee.Meaning that they can pull the employee background check report repeatedly, at will.Again: not in California.