Hard inquiries typically drop a credit score by a few points and stay on the report for 12–24 months (impact fades quickly). Multiple mortgage or auto-loan inquiries in a 14–45 day window usually count as one for scoring purposes — encouraging rate shopping.
Soft inquiries — checking your own score, prequalified offers — never affect your score.
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How long does a hard inquiry hurt?
Most of the impact is gone within a few months, though the record stays on your report longer.