Glossary · UK
What is Soft Credit Search?
A preliminary credit check, such as an eligibility checker or a quote, that does not affect your credit score and is visible only to you, not to other lenders.
Full Definition
A soft credit search (also called a "soft credit check" or "soft footprint") is a check of an individual's credit file that does not leave a mark visible to other lenders and has no impact on their credit score. Soft searches happen in a wide range of everyday situations, including when someone checks their own credit report, when a lender carries out an eligibility checker or pre-approval quote to indicate the likelihood of a credit application being accepted, when an existing lender reviews an account they already hold (for example, to consider a credit limit increase), and as part of some identity verification and marketing checks. Because a soft search leaves no trace that other lenders can see, and can be carried out as many times as needed without any risk to a credit score, eligibility checkers built on soft searches are a useful way to compare the likelihood of being accepted for different credit cards, loans or mortgages before making a formal application, which does involve a hard credit search. Soft searches are only visible to the individual themselves when they view their own credit report, and to the organisation that carried out the check, and they do not indicate to future lenders how many products someone has previously shopped around for.