Every time your credit report is requested the reason for the request is transmitted to the credit bureau. What that reason in will determine whether the request is a “Hard Pull” that will show as an inquiry on your credit report or a “Soft Pull” that will not show at all.
The most common requests that result in a soft pull are for employment screening, business screening if you are a business owner or any consumer copies that you request on yourself. These soft pulls have no impact on your credit report or score.
Requests for some type of financing like a car loan, mortgage, credit card, elective medical procedure or when applying to rent an apartment or house are typically a hard pulland will show as an inquiry on your credit report for two years. The inquiry should include information about who pulled your credit report and what the reason was. Inquiries may have a small impact on your credit score for up to one year depending on the reason, the number of inquiries and the time frame they occured in.