 TITLE: Can Someone Run a Credit Check Without My Permission? CONTENT: In most of the cases above, the entities will need your permission to request and view your credit reports. There are some situations, however, in which a business will check your credit through a soft inquiry, also known as a soft pull, to determine whether you're eligible for a preapproved offer. In many cases, businesses with a legitimate reason can initiate a soft pull without your permission. (If you've received a targeted credit card offer in the mail, it was probably a result of a soft pull by a lender.)\nSoft inquiries also occur when you check your own credit report or when you use credit monitoring services from companies like Experian. These inquiries do not impact your credit score.\nBeyond soft pulls, there are other situations in which an entity may not need your permission to check your credit. According to the FCRA, some of those situations could be:\n*   In response to a court order or federal grand jury subpoena\n*   In connection with your application for a license or other benefit granted by the government, when consideration of financial responsibility is required by law\n*   In connection with a child support determination, under certain circumstances\n*   In connection with a credit or insurance transaction not initiated by you, when a firm offer of credit or insurance is extended, and certain other restrictions are met\n*   For the purposes of a potential investor assessing the risk of a current obligation END