Shopping for an RV, boat, or trailer should be exciting. But when financing enters the picture, you may hesitate before clicking “check your rate” or “apply now.” Will the lender check your credit? Will that credit check lower your score? And if you’re comparing several financing options, could shopping around work against you?
The answer depends in part on whether the lender conducts a soft credit pull or a hard credit pull.
Both types of credit inquiries allow someone to access certain credit information, but they do not have the same effect on your credit score.
That distinction can be particularly important when you’re financing a major recreational purchase while also planning another financial move, such as applying for a mortgage, refinancing a home, opening a credit card, or taking out another loan.
However, you don’t need to panic at every credit opportunity.
Read on, and you’ll get a clear explanation of the difference between soft and hard credit pulls, when each type of credit inquiry is commonly used, how they can affect credit scores, and what to ask before authorizing a credit check so you can make financing decisions with a clearer picture of what happens next.
How Soft and Hard Credit Pulls Work
A credit pull, also called a credit inquiry or credit check, occurs when you or another party with a permissible purpose accesses information from your credit file.
Lenders may review your credit to understand how you have managed credit obligations in the past. Depending on the information available in your credit report, which can include your payment history, account balances, credit limits, open accounts, loans, and recent credit activity.
The important distinction is that not every credit check affects your credit score.
- A soft credit pull is a credit check that does not affect your credit score. Soft inquiries can occur when you check your own credit, during certain prequalification processes, when an existing creditor reviews your account, and in some other circumstances.
- A hard credit pull, or hard inquiry, commonly occurs when you apply for new credit and a lender reviews your credit as part of its decision. Because seeking new financing can be relevant to credit risk, a hard credit check may cause a small, temporary change in your score. The actual effect varies according to your credit profile and the scoring model involved.
Here’s the basic difference:
| Aspect | Soft Credit Pull | Hard Credit Pull |
| Common purpose | Prequalification, account review, monitoring, and checking your own credit | Applying for new credit |
| Effect on credit score | Does not affect your score | May cause a small, temporary impact |
| Typical examples | Checking your own credit, eligible prequalification, and existing-account reviews | Credit card, loan, or other new-credit applications |
| How scoring models treat it | Not counted as a credit-risk inquiry | May be considered as part of the new-credit activity |
| What to ask a lender | “Will this be a soft pull that doesn’t affect my score?” | “Will applying result in a hard inquiry?” |
For borrowers, the easiest way to remember the distinction is:
A soft credit check can review credit information without affecting your credit score. A hard credit check may affect your score and is typically associated with applying for new credit.
But what exactly is being “pulled”? To answer that, it helps to understand where credit reports and credit scores come from.
Where Do Your Credit Report and Credit Score Come From?
Your credit report and credit score are closely related, but they are not the same thing.
A credit report is a record containing information about your credit history. A credit score is a number calculated using information from a credit report to help estimate credit risk.
Understanding that difference makes the rest of the soft vs. hard-pull process much easier to follow.
Who Compiles Your Credit Reports?
The three major nationwide credit bureaus are:
- Equifax
- Experian
- TransUnion
These companies, also known as credit reporting agencies, maintain credit files using information received from lenders, creditors, and other sources.
For example, information may be reported by:
- Credit card companies
- Mortgage lenders
- Auto lenders
- Banks
- Personal loan providers
- Other creditors and financial institutions
A credit report can contain details such as the types of credit accounts you have, when accounts were opened, loan amounts or credit limits, current reported balances, and payment history.
It can also contain a record of certain credit inquiries.
Not every creditor necessarily reports to all three major credit bureaus, and information may be updated at different times. Consequently, the information in your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit files may not always be identical.
Is a Credit Report the Same as a Credit Score?
No.
Think of the credit report as the underlying information and the credit score as an evaluation of information contained in that report.
Credit scoring companies use mathematical scoring models to evaluate information in a credit report and produce a score. FICO is one of the best-known credit scoring companies, and lenders may use different FICO Score versions or other credit scoring models.
That also means you don’t necessarily have one universal credit score.
The score you see through one service may differ from a score a lender obtains because the underlying credit bureau information, scoring model, model version, or timing may be different.
What Goes Into a FICO Score?
FICO groups the information it considers into five primary categories. Their general weighting is:
- Payment history – 35%: Whether you have paid past credit obligations as agreed
- Amounts owed – 30%: Including balances and how much available revolving credit you are using
- Length of credit history – 15%: How long your credit accounts have been established
- Credit mix – 10%: The different types of credit accounts in your credit history
- New credit – 10%: Including recently opened accounts and certain recent credit inquiries
Those percentages describe the general FICO scoring framework, but the importance of individual factors can vary based on a person’s overall credit profile.
Your credit score can also change as information in your credit reports changes.
Where Do Credit Inquiries Fit In?
Credit inquiries primarily enter the picture through the new credit portion of a FICO Score.
That doesn’t mean every inquiry counts.
For example, checking your own credit does not hurt your FICO Scores. FICO also distinguishes inquiries associated with seeking new credit from inquiries that are not treated as credit-risk inquiries.
That’s the foundation of the soft vs. hard credit pull distinction.
A soft credit inquiry can provide access to eligible credit information without affecting your credit score. A hard inquiry associated with applying for new credit may be considered by the scoring model.
Why Credit Pulls Usually Matter Less Than People Think
It’s easy to become overly focused on credit inquiries.
You may have heard warnings that “too many credit checks will ruin your credit,” which can make every financing form or rate-checking tool feel risky.
Hard inquiries do matter, but they are only one part of a much larger credit picture.
Under the general FICO framework, new credit accounts for about 10% of a FICO Score, while payment history and amounts owed collectively represent a much larger portion.
That doesn’t mean hard inquiries should be ignored. It means they should be kept in perspective.
Paying obligations on time, managing balances responsibly, maintaining established accounts, and handling different types of credit can have a substantial influence on your overall credit profile.
Instead of treating every credit check as a crisis, find out what type of inquiry will occur and why before authorizing it.
What Do Soft and Hard Pulls Really Do to Your Score?
The effect of a soft pull is straightforward:
A soft credit pull does not affect your credit score.
That includes checking your own credit through an appropriate consumer credit-report source. Reviewing your own credit does not cost you FICO Score points simply because you looked at your information.
Hard inquiries work differently.
A hard inquiry may lower a FICO Score by a few points, although the effect depends on the person’s overall credit profile. Someone with a relatively short credit history or several recent applications for new credit may experience a different impact than someone with a longer, established credit history.
The inquiry itself also isn’t the only consideration when opening new credit. A newly opened account can affect other scoring factors, including the average age of your accounts and, depending on how the credit is used, amounts owed.
That’s another reason to distinguish between checking financing possibilities and actually opening new credit.
How Long Do Hard Credit Inquiries Stay on Your Credit Report?
It’s crucial to distinguish between two different periods:
- Time on credit record: Hard inquiries can remain on your credit report for two years. However, that doesn’t mean an inquiry affects a FICO Score equally for the entire two-year period.
- Time it can affect score: FICO states that its scores consider inquiries from the previous 12 months, even though the inquiry can remain visible on a credit report for two years.
The impact of an individual inquiry is also generally small, and its significance depends on the rest of your credit profile.
Soft credit checks do not affect your FICO Scores.
That difference is particularly useful to understand if you’re planning multiple financial decisions within the same general period. Knowing whether an initial financing check is soft or hard can help you make more informed decisions about when to submit applications.
When Lenders Use a Soft Credit Pull
Soft credit pulls can be useful when a company needs to review eligible credit information without creating an inquiry that affects your credit score.
Common examples can include:
- Checking your own credit report
- Certain credit card or loan pre-qualified offer processes
- “See your rate” tools that explicitly state checking will not affect your score
- Account reviews by existing creditors
- Certain insurance quotes or related inquiries
- Certain employment screenings or credit checks
The exact information available and permissible purpose for accessing a credit report depend on the circumstances.
For someone shopping for recreational financing, soft-pull processes can be especially useful early in the journey because they may allow you to explore financing without the credit check itself affecting your score.
Don’t assume a rate-checking or prequalification tool uses a soft inquiry, though.
Read the disclosure or ask the lender before submitting your information.
When Do Lenders Use a Hard Credit Pull?
Hard credit inquiries are commonly associated with applications for new credit.
A hard credit check may occur when you apply for:
- A mortgage
- An auto loan
- A personal loan
- A credit card
- A line of credit
- Other forms of new financing
Depending on the lender’s process, recreational financing applications for RVs, boats, campers, motorhomes, or trailers may also involve a hard inquiry.
A lender may use information from your full credit report and a credit score, along with other application information, to evaluate creditworthiness and make lending decisions.
Credit can influence more than approval. Depending on the lender and loan, a borrower’s overall financial and credit profile may also factor into available loan amounts, terms, interest rates, or other conditions.
However, not every lender uses the same credit-review process.
Before submitting an application, ask whether the lender uses a soft or hard credit check and whether submitting your information will affect your credit score.
Who Can See Soft and Hard Credit Inquiries?
Credit reports can contain sections showing who has accessed your credit information.
- Hard inquiries associated with your applications for credit may be visible to lenders reviewing your credit report while those inquiries remain on the report.
- Soft inquiries are different. Although you may see soft inquiries when reviewing your own consumer credit information, they are not treated like hard inquiries by most credit scoring systems and models and do not affect your FICO Scores.
That distinction is another reason a soft pull can be valuable when you’re still exploring options rather than committing to new credit.
What a Soft vs. Hard Credit Pull For an RV Loan Looks Like in Real Life
Suppose you’re shopping for an RV.
You haven’t selected the exact RV yet, but you want to understand what financing may be available before deciding how much you’re comfortable spending.
Scenario 1: The Lender Uses a Soft Pull
You provide the requested information to a lender that clearly discloses it uses a soft credit pull.
The lender reviews eligible credit information, but because the inquiry is soft, the credit check itself does not affect your credit score.
You now have more information to use as you consider your financing options.
Scenario 2: The Lender Uses a Hard Pull
Now, suppose you submit an application with another lender whose process requires a hard credit inquiry.
The lender accesses your credit information as part of evaluating the application. The resulting hard inquiry may have a small, temporary effect on your credit score.
The important difference isn’t simply whether someone “looked at your credit.”
Both processes involve accessing credit information. What matters is how the inquiry is classified and how credit scoring models treat it.
Ways to Shop for RV, Boat, or Trailer Financing While Protecting Your Credit
You don’t need to avoid financing inquiries altogether. You simply want them to be intentional.
Consider these steps when comparing RV, boat, motorhome, camper, or trailer financing:
1. Check Your Own Credit First
Reviewing your own credit does not hurt your FICO Scores.
Checking your reports before applying can also give you an opportunity to identify information you don’t recognize or potential errors before a lender reviews your file.
2. Look for Soft-Pull Options
If a lender offers a legitimate soft-pull financing or prequalification option, you may be able to explore possibilities without the inquiry affecting your score.
Look for explicit language stating that checking will not affect your credit score.
3. Questions to Ask Before a Credit Pull
Don’t rely solely on the wording of a button.
Ask:
- “Will submitting this form result in a soft inquiry or a hard inquiry?”
- “Do you offer an initial soft credit check or prequalification option?”
- “Will this credit check affect my credit score?”
- “At what point in your process do you check my credit?”
4. Be Selective About Applications
There’s a difference between comparing lenders and submitting applications everywhere.
Research lenders, understand their processes, and focus applications on financing providers you would seriously consider.
5. Understand Who Receives Your Information
If you’re using a marketplace, dealer, broker, or another service involving multiple lenders, determine whether your information may be submitted to more than one lender and what types of credit inquiries may result.
Ask questions like:
- Will you pull my credit once, or could my information be submitted to multiple lenders?”
- “If I move forward, will another credit check be required later?”
6. Consider Your Other Credit Plans
If you’re also preparing to apply for a mortgage, refinance, auto loan, credit card, or another significant form of credit, understanding when hard inquiries may occur can help you plan more deliberately.
How Southeast Financial’s Soft Credit Pull Helps Protect Your Score
Once you understand how credit inquiries work, the next question is simple:
What happens when Southeast Financial checks your credit?
Southeast Financial uses a soft credit pull, which means its credit review does not affect your credit score.
For someone shopping for an RV, boat, motorhome, camper, or trailer loan, this removes an important source of uncertainty from the financing process.
Instead of wondering whether exploring your financing options with Southeast Financial will lower your score, you know upfront that Southeast Financial’s credit pull itself won’t affect it.
That can be particularly helpful if you’re simultaneously preparing for another financial decision, such as buying a home, refinancing a mortgage, or applying for other credit.
Your complete credit and financial profile still matters when financing is evaluated. A soft pull doesn’t guarantee loan approval, a particular interest rate, a loan amount, or specific terms.
But it does mean Southeast Financial’s credit check itself won’t lower your credit score.
Southeast Financial specializes in recreational financing and works with multiple lending partners serving this market. Financing is available for recreational purchases, including RVs, campers, motorhomes, boats, horse trailers, and motorcycles.
Soft vs. Hard Credit Pull: Know Before You Apply
Now you know: A soft credit pull does not affect your credit score. A hard credit pull may cause a small, temporary change and is commonly associated with applying for new credit.
But there’s a bigger lesson.
If you’re comparing financing options, understanding the lender’s credit-review process gives you another way to make an informed decision while keeping your broader financial plans in mind.
When you’re ready to explore financing for an RV, boat, motorhome, camper, or trailer, Southeast Financial uses a soft credit pull, so its credit review does not affect your credit score.
Have questions about recreational financing or Southeast Financial’s soft-pull process? Contact Southeast Financial to speak with a financing specialist.
President and Co-Founder, Southeast Financial
Rate does not apply to refinancing.
Please call for a refi quote: 866.900.8949
