Does checking your credit report hurt your credit score?

I get asked all the time whether a consumer checking his or her own credit report hurts the consumer's credit score.  The short answer - no.  When you as a consumer check your own credit report by requesting a copy from one of the big three credit bureaus, it is considered a "soft inquiry", which is only seen by the and does not affect the consumer's credit score in any way.

When a third party, such as a potential creditor, views a consumer's credit report, that is considered a "hard inquiry" and is seen by others reviewing the consumer's credit report.  A hard inquiry can also potentially affect your credit score.  But not always.

For instance, when you go out trying to buy a new car, the car dealership(s) you visit usually shop your credit around to try to get you the best financing and, as a result, increase their chances at a sale.  This shopping around causes multiple "hard inquiries" on your credit report.  However, these inquiries are treated as one inquiry, rather than several, for the purpose of keeping the inquiries from dragging down your credit score.

But I know of no set of circumstances where requesting your own credit report from one or more of the big three credit bureaus would hurt your credit score.