Hard Credit Search

A hard credit search (or hard inquiry) is a full credit check carried out by a lender when assessing a completed application. It is visible to other lenders who subsequently search the same credit file, and multiple hard searches in a short period can negatively affect a credit score by suggesting financial stress.

Hard searches are typically conducted when a formal application is submitted and reviewed. For business finance, this may occur at the credit underwriting stage. By contrast, soft searches (used for initial eligibility checks and quotation purposes) do not affect credit scores and are not visible to other lenders.

Using a broker like Spark Finance reduces unnecessary hard searches: we conduct one packaged assessment and approach multiple lenders simultaneously, minimising the credit footprint compared to applying to lenders individually. Always ask whether a lender will conduct a hard or soft search before proceeding with a formal application.

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