While there are several credit bureaus that provide credit scoring, Experian is the only report we review when you apply for a loan with Earnest. When you initially check your rate, we may perform a “soft inquiry” or “soft credit pull.” Soft inquiries do not affect your credit score. Check out our blog post for more details.
For all loans, we may perform a ”hard inquiry” when you submit your application. Hard inquiries occur when a lender looks at your credit report to make a lending decision (for loans, credit cards, mortgages, etc.). Since we only use Experian when reviewing applications, hard credit inquiries will only appear on your Experian credit report and may impact your credit score.
For more information about the difference between a hard and soft credit check, please see our blog post. You can also learn more about our policies regarding your credit report.