Skip to content
ScoreSense
  • Available Features
    • Credit Scores & Reports
    • Credit Insights
    • Credit Monitoring
    • Identity Theft Monitoring
    • Credit Tools
    • Mobile App
  • Blog
  • In The News
  • Credit Journeys
    • College
    • Military
    • Home Buying
  • Contact
  • FAQs
  • Reviews
  •   Sign In
  • Get My Scores
Main Menu
  • Credit Education
    • Credit Basics
      • Credit Bureaus
      • Types of Credit
    • Credit Scores
      • Credit Score Factors
      • Credit Score Tips
    • Credit Reports
      • Negative Credit Items
      • Credit Report Errors
      • Credit Report Disputes
    • Credit Monitoring
      • Signs of Credit Fraud
      • Credit Fraud Recovery
      • Credit Security Tactics
    • Credit Repair
      • Credit Repair Scams
    • Build Credit
      • Establish Credit for Teens & Students
    • News & Trends
  • Fraud
    • Identity Protection
    • ID Theft
      • Child ID Theft
      • Tax ID Theft
      • Medical ID Theft
    • ID Theft Recovery
    • Data Breaches
    • News & Trends
  • Personal Finance
    • Loans
      • Home Loans
      • Auto Loans
      • Student Loans
      • Personal Loans
      • Business Loans
    • Budgeting
    • Saving
    • Debt
    • Banking
    • Investing
      • 401K & IRAs
      • Stocks & Mutual Funds
    • Taxes
    • Life Events
      • Marriage
      • Parenthood
      • Retirement
      • Divorce
      • Death
      • Bankruptcy
      • Job Loss
      • Natural Disaster
    • News & Trends
  • Credit Cards
    • Interest Rates
    • Denied Credit
    • Card Types
    • Manage Balance
    • News & Trends
  • Credit Tools
    • Credit
      • Monitoring & Alerts
      • Credit Scores & Reports
      • Credit Insights
      • Credit Specialists
      • Score Simulators
    • Identity Theft Insurance
    • Identity Theft Monitoring
    • Sex Offender Monitoring
  • COVID-19
Search

CreditSense > Credit Education > Credit Reports > Who Can See My Credit Report?

Who Can See My Credit Report?

Picture of ScoreSense

ScoreSense

  • April 20, 2020

Your credit report is one of your most private documents. Not only does is include your valuable account information and credit history, it also contains Personal Identifying Information (PII) such as your name, date of birth, and address history as well as public record information. So who exactly has access to your credit report and what can they see?

The good news is that there are security measures in place to protect the personal and financial information listed on your credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that regulates access to your credit report, and it requires that companies must have a legitimate reason for accessing your credit information.

Here’s a rundown of who has access to your credit information and the situations in which they can review it. 

Who Can Pull a Copy of My Credit Report?

Lenders pull your credit report when you apply for new credit. The most common types of lenders that request access to your credit report are those offering credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, home equity lines of credit (HELOC) and personal loans.

Potential and current employers may also view your credit report, according to the FCRA, but only if they have your written consent. Unlike lenders who receive a comprehensive version of your credit report, employers receive a slightly abbreviated version. Because of Equal Employment Opportunity laws, most major credit reporting agencies omit information that would violate this act, such as your age, marital status and account numbers.

Hard vs. Soft Inquiries

In order to understand a bit more about how requests for your credit report affect you, it’s helpful to understand the difference between hard and soft inquiries.

If you apply for new credit — such as a credit card, auto loan or mortgage — your potential lender will pull a copy of your credit report, triggering a hard inquiry. Applying for too much credit over a short period of time — triggering many hard inquiries — could reflect negatively on your credit score, and lenders may view you as a higher-risk consumer. It’s worth noting that while hard inquires may initially lower your score, the negative impact lessens over time. A hard inquiry will drop off your credit report completely after two years.

In contrast to hard inquiries — which you initiate when you apply for new credit — soft inquiries are initiated by lenders trying to market certain products, such as pre-approved credit card offers. Soft inquiries are also triggered if you order a copy of your own credit report for personal review. Unlike hard inquiries, soft inquires will not affect your credit score.

While hard inquiries will always be listed on your credit report – soft inquiries are not shown to lenders. Remember, checking your own credit will never hurt your credit score –and neither will a soft inquiry made by anyone else.

Credit Report Errors

To see a list of your hard credit inquiries and to ensure that lenders, creditors and potential employers are getting an accurate snapshot of your credit history, review your credit reports. If you spot an error, whether it’s an inaccurate payment amount or account you didn’t open, file a dispute with the credit reporting agency as soon as possible. You can also contact the creditor of the account.

Regularly monitoring your credit reports is the best way to stay updated about your credit profile — and protect your financial well-being. 

Smart Moves

Get your credit scores and reports from all three bureaus instantly.

Take Action

Shield your credit and finances with up to $1 million identity theft insurance*.

Get Protected

Find out how your score could change if you pay down a credit card or miss a mortgage payment.

Explore Tools

RELATED

How to Defer Your Mortgage During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Will Losing My Job Because of the Coronavirus Hurt My Credit Score?

How to Tighten Your Budget During the Coronavirus Lockdown

What Should I Do If My Information Is Part of a Data Breach?

Tax Season is High Risk

Why Are My 3 Credit Scores Different?

6 Ways to Spend Less This Holiday Season

What is a Write-off and How is it Different From a Charge-off

You are more than just 1 credit score.
Get your credit scores and reports from all three bureaus instantly.
Get My Scores

What's Your Credit Score?

Get Your credit scores & reports from all 3 bureaus, Instantly!**
Get my scores

Sign Up for Our Credit Newsletter

ScoreSense

  • Have an Account? Sign In
  • 1-800-972-7204
  • Mon-Fri: 8AM to 8PM CT
    Sat: 8AM to 5PM CT
    Sun: Noon to 6PM CT
  • customercare@scoresense.com
  • 3400 N Central Expy Ste #110-298
    Richardson, TX 75080

Company

Contact Us
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
OTL*ScoreSense

 

Facebook Youtube

Features

Credit Scores & Reports
Credit Insights
Credit Monitoring
Identity Theft Monitoring
Credit Tools

Resources

Learn About Credit
What is a Good Credit Score?
Credit Score Range

Mobile Apps

© 2001-2025 One Technologies, LLC. All rights reserved.

ScoreSense® is a trademark of One Technologies, LLC.

Do not sell/share my information |

*Identity Theft Insurance underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. The description herein is a summary and intended for informational purposes only and does not include all terms, conditions, and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for terms, conditions, and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions.

**After verification of your identity, your scores are available for secure online delivery in seconds.

 

Scroll to Top