Can an Authorized Credit Inquiry Be Removed?

Credit inquiries usually do the least amount of damage to your credit rating, but more than six of them make you a high risk to lenders, so you want them off of your credit report. However, if you authorize a credit inquiry, it stays on your credit report for two years. You can remove an authorized credit inquiry, but this is the exception and not the rule.

Identification

You can remove an authorized credit inquiry by disputing the item with the credit-reporting bureaus. The bureaus must investigate the accuracy and verify the claim within 30 days. The key to this is verifying the data. A creditor must prove the accuracy of an item with evidence, such as a paper you signed consenting to a credit check. Without verification, the bureaus cannot report the inquiry.

Unauthorized Inquiries

Review each inquiry to ensure that you were the one who authorized it. You may have been the victim of identity theft, for instance. In this case you may need to involve the creditor as well as the credit bureau. Although you are supposed to contact the credit bureau about erroneous information on your credit report, creditors can update your report too, and going through the lender may expedite the process.

Considerations

Fighting the bureaus over a legitimate credit inquiry may not be worth the time and effort. The credit bureaus have an automated dispute system, so unless the lender changes the data a dispute probably will result in a reaffirmation of the accuracy of the inquiry. While you can fight the bureaus further, such as by sending a letter, the dispute can take months. Because an inquiry only affects your credit rating for a year -- even though it stays on your report for two years -- by the time you resolve the dispute the inquiry may come close to dropping off of your credit report.

Tip

Ask lenders, or anyone providing a service, such as a cable company, if they will perform a credit check. As long as a company has your basic information, such as address and drivers license number, it can run a credit check. Try to limit the number of credit card applications, because they always count as an inquiry. Inquiries for auto loans and mortgages count as a single inquiry when you submit all applications within the rate-shopping window. The rate-shopping window closes within 45 days under the FICO scoring system at the time of publication, and 14 days under earlier versions, according to the Fair Isaac Corporation.