FICO reports that consumers with six or more hard inquiries on their credit reports can be up to eight times more likely to undergo bankruptcy than would a person with no hard pulls. The impact is greater when there are multiple hard pulls of your credit history within a short period. But sometimes, multiple inquiries within a short time can count as a single inquiry. For example, if you are shopping around for a car loan or a home mortgage, all hard inquiries within an approximate two-week period are aggregated into a single inquiry. Credit inquiries are classified as requests for new credit. Asking for additional credit is one of the five activities that help determine your credit score: Payment history – 35% Amounts owed – 30% Length of credit history – 15% New credit – 10% Credit mix – 10% New credit counts for 10% of your FICO credit score. Hard pulls are treated as requests for new credit, and so belong in this category. As such, they are not nearly as determinative of your credit score as is having limited overall debt and making payments on time.