Hard inquiries stay on your credit report for up to two years before they naturally fall off

. However, their impact on your credit score typically lasts only about one year, with many scoring models like FICO ignoring inquiries older than 12 months

. After the first year, hard inquiries generally no longer affect your credit score, although they remain visible on your report for the full two years

. If a hard inquiry was authorized by you (for example, when applying for a loan or credit card), it cannot be removed before the two-year mark. But if you find an unauthorized or fraudulent hard inquiry, you can dispute it with the credit bureaus to have it removed

. In summary:

• Hard inquiries remain on your credit report for 2 years.
• They usually affect your credit score for only 12 months.
• After 1 year, hard inquiries typically do not impact your credit score.
• Unauthorized hard inquiries can be disputed and removed.

This means the negative effect of a hard inquiry diminishes over time, and after a year, it should no longer harm your credit score even though it is still listed on your report