Last updated: April 2026
Soft pull, hard pull, or no pull. Here's what each one means.
Harbor does not pull your credit at all. Lending partners may do a hard pull after receiving your application. Here is exactly what that means for your credit score.
Credit inquiries come in two forms: soft pulls and hard pulls. A soft pull does not affect your credit score and is not visible to other lenders. It is often used for pre-qualification checks, background checks, and account monitoring. A hard pull appears on your credit report, is visible to other lenders, and typically lowers your score by 5 to 10 points temporarily, according to FICO. The effect diminishes after 12 months and disappears from your report after 2 years. Harbor does not conduct either type of pull. No credit inquiry occurs when you submit an application through Harbor. Lending partners may conduct a hard pull after receiving your application as part of their own underwriting.
How Harbor helps
- Harbor conducts no credit inquiry of any kind when you submit your application.
- Your credit score is not affected by the Harbor application process itself.
- Lending partners conduct their own review, which may include a hard pull, only after receiving your application.
- Because Harbor does not pull credit, you can submit without affecting your score while you compare options.
The first loan request should feel more credible.
Harbor is built for borrowers who want a simpler request before the review step starts.
You've heard that applying for loans hurts your credit score and you're not sure how much damage each application does.
You want to know whether Harbor or its lending partners pull your credit, and when.
You are considering multiple loan options and want to minimize the impact on your score.
What to know before you start.
Harbor keeps the request role and the next step clear.
What is a soft credit check?
A soft credit check is a credit report access that does not affect your credit score and is not visible to other lenders reviewing your report. You can see your own soft inquiries, but lenders extending new credit cannot. Common soft pulls: pre-qualification checks, employer background checks, and your own credit monitoring.
What is a hard credit check?
A hard credit check occurs when a lender accesses your credit report as part of a formal lending decision. It appears on your credit report, is visible to other lenders, and typically lowers your score by 5 to 10 points. Multiple hard pulls within a short window (14 to 45 days for the same loan type) are often treated as a single inquiry under FICO's rate-shopping rules.
Does Harbor do a soft pull or hard pull?
Neither. Harbor does not access your credit report at all. When you submit an application through Harbor, no credit inquiry occurs. Harbor routes your application to lending partners, who then conduct their own credit review.
When does the hard pull happen?
Lending partners may conduct a hard pull after they receive your application and decide to formally evaluate it. This occurs after submission, not during. Not all lending partners hard pull every application, but many do as part of their standard underwriting.
How much does a hard pull hurt my credit score?
A single hard inquiry typically lowers your score by 5 to 10 points, according to FICO. The effect is temporary. It diminishes after 12 months and falls off your report entirely after 2 years. For borrowers already at lower scores, 5 to 10 points matters more in percentage terms, but the effect is still temporary.
Can I apply through Harbor multiple times without hurting my credit?
Each submission through Harbor goes through without a credit pull on Harbor's side. However, if multiple lending partners each conduct a hard pull, those inquiries accumulate. FICO's rate-shopping rules can cluster multiple inquiries for the same loan type within 14 to 45 days into a single inquiry, but this depends on how lenders code their inquiries.
One request. A cleaner review step.
Harbor captures the borrower details first so you can move into review without repeating the same story.
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