Is Your Credit Score Affected When You Run It Yourself?

Most of the financial decisions you make in your adult life influence your credit score. Say you apply for a new credit card, or ask your current creditor to increase your available credit limit. The credit bureaus will add that information to your credit report and use it to decide on your credit score. But, some things do not have an effect, such as pulling your own credit score.

Your Credit Score

The credit bureaus use information from your credit report to factor your credit score. All of the information in your credit report goes into five categories. Each category makes a percentage of your three-digit credit score. The number of credit inquiries, or credit pulls, you have makes up 10 percent of your score. How well you paid your bills in the past makes up 35 percent of your score. How much debt you carry makes up 30 percent of your score. How long you have had a credit history accounts for 15 percent, and the different types of credit you have used makes up 10 percent, according to the Fair Isaac Corporation.

Credit Score Inquiries

The credit bureaus keep a record of any time you or someone else accesses your credit scores. The records fall into two categories, hard pull or soft pull inquiries. For example, when you apply for a loan or credit card, the bank will pull your credit scores from the credit bureaus, which results in a hard pull inquiry. The credit bureau will then list the hard pull inquiry on your credit report. Several hard pulls can lower your credit score. The credit bureaus consider you pulling your own credit report as a soft inquiry. A soft inquiry does not appear on your credit report and will not affect your credit score.

Ordering Your Score

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, every consumer has the right to get a free copy of his credit report from Equifax, TransUnion and Experian once every 12 months. The three credit bureaus use the Annual Credit Report website to issue the free reports. You can order a copy of your report online, by phone or by mail. However, the credit report does not include your credit score. You can order a copy of your credit score online through the Fair Isaacs Corporation website, MyFICO.com.

Tips

You should check your own credit report and credit score often. Checking your credit score will show you what lenders see and give you an idea of where you stand in terms of creditworthiness. Your credit report will show the factors that made up your credit score. Occasionally, the credit bureaus will report errors on a consumer's credit report. Checking your credit report will allow you to catch and correct those errors, helping to improve your credit score.