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A hard credit search is usually visible to other lenders for around 12 months from the date it was made, after which it drops off that part of your file. This is different from the underlying application itself, a loan, card or mortgage you took out will still show as an account on your file for as long as it’s open, separately from the search that was carried out to approve it.
What counts as a hard search?
A hard search happens when you formally apply for credit and give a lender permission to check your full credit file as part of that decision. Common examples include:
- Applying for a credit card, personal loan or car finance
- A full mortgage or remortgage application
- Applying for a mobile phone contract or some utility accounts
- Some catalogue or buy now pay later applications, depending on the provider
Hard searches are different from soft searches, which you can’t see the effect of because lenders can’t see them either. Our guide on soft and hard credit searches explained sets out the difference in more detail, and our guide on whether checking your own score lowers it covers the related question of why looking at your own file never counts as a hard search.
Some applications sit in a grey area depending on the provider. A mobile phone contract, for example, usually involves a hard search because it’s a form of credit, even though it doesn’t feel like borrowing in the way a loan does. If you’re not sure whether something you’ve applied for recently used a hard or soft search, your credit report should show it listed either way.
Why the 12-month window matters
| Timeframe | What’s typically visible |
|---|---|
| 0 to 12 months | Hard search visible to other lenders checking your file |
| After around 12 months | Hard search normally no longer shown to other lenders |
| Ongoing | The account itself (if approved) stays on your file separately, for as long as it’s open, plus any later history such as missed payments |
Because hard searches drop off after roughly a year, a single hard search from more than 12 months ago shouldn’t affect a new application at all. What tends to matter more is a cluster of hard searches within a shorter period, since several applications close together can look like financial pressure to a lender, even if each individual application was approved.
Why several hard searches close together can be a problem
If you’ve applied to a few lenders in quick succession, for a loan, a couple of credit cards and then a mortgage, each hard search is visible to the next lender you approach. A lender assessing an application might read several recent hard searches as a sign you’re relying more heavily on credit, or that you were declined elsewhere and are trying multiple providers. This is one reason it’s often better to use eligibility tools, which usually rely on a soft search, before committing to a full application. Our guide on too many credit searches looks at this specific situation in more depth.
Hard searches and your credit score
Hard searches can have a small, usually short-term effect on your score, separate from their visibility to other lenders. This effect tends to fade well before the 12-month visibility window ends, but the pattern of several searches close together is generally more relevant to how a lender reads your file than the score dip itself.
Does the type of hard search matter?
Not every hard search carries the same weight with every lender. A mortgage lender is likely to look more closely at other recent mortgage or loan searches than at, say, a single mobile phone contract taken out a few months earlier. Some lenders also distinguish between searches that led to an approved account and applications that were declined, since a string of declines close together can be read differently from a string of approvals. There’s no single published rule here, since each lender sets its own approach, which is another reason a specialist adviser who knows how different lenders tend to view searches can be useful if your file shows several.
Checking your own hard searches
You can see every search on your file, and whether it’s marked hard or soft, by getting your free statutory report from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. It’s worth doing this before a remortgage application so you know exactly what a lender will see, rather than being caught out by an application you’d forgotten about, such as a mobile contract or a store card.
What this means for remortgaging with adverse credit
If you already have a default, CCJ or other adverse marker, a run of recent hard searches on top of that can make an application look weaker than it needs to. Where possible, space out any credit applications in the months before you plan to remortgage, and ask your adviser whether they can use soft-search eligibility checks to narrow down likely lenders first.
If you’ve already been declined before and are worried that repeated applications have added several hard searches to your file, it’s worth pausing rather than applying again straight away. Speaking to a specialist adviser who works with bad credit remortgages can help you find lenders more likely to consider your circumstances before you apply formally again.
Frequently asked questions
Do hard searches ever come off my file early?
Not usually, and there's no way to have a genuine hard search removed early just because it counted against you. If a search was made without your permission or in error, you can dispute it with the credit reference agency.
Do all lenders count hard searches the same way?
No. Lenders set their own criteria for how many recent hard searches they're comfortable seeing, and some weigh this more heavily than others, particularly specialist lenders working with adverse credit. There's no single rule that applies across the whole market, which is one reason an adviser familiar with different lenders' approaches can be useful.
Does a mortgage application count as one hard search or several?
It depends on the lender and stage of the application. Some use a soft search for an initial mortgage in principle and only a hard search once you formally apply, while others may search at more than one point. Check with your adviser or lender.
Will an old hard search affect a remortgage now?
A hard search over around 12 months old should no longer be visible to other lenders, so on its own it shouldn't affect a new application. Recent hard searches, especially several close together in the months before you apply, are what lenders tend to notice, rather than anything from a year or more ago.