Hard Enquiry (Credit Enquiry)

A hard enquiry is recorded when a lender or other specified user accesses your credit report because you applied for credit. It appears in the enquiries section of the report. Bureau guidance treats a cluster of recent enquiries as a signal that your debt burden may rise, which is why applying in moderation is on every improvement list. RBI requires bureaus to alert you by SMS or email when a specified user accesses your report, so an enquiry you never authorised tends to surface through that alert. Checking your own report is not a hard enquiry.

Example

Three card applications in one week leave three enquiries, even if you accept only one card.