 TITLE: Why Did My Credit Score Drop? CONTENT: You Recently Applied for a Mortgage, Loan or New Credit Card\n------------------------------------------------------------\nWhenever you apply for a new line of credit, lenders will request a copy of your credit report to determine your creditworthiness. They decide whether to lend to you by viewing characteristics like your payment history, credit usage and the types of accounts you currently hold.\nEach time you authorize someone other than yourself, such as a lender, to check your credit history, a [hard inquiry](') is recorded on your credit report and could slightly affect your score for up to two years.\nAs your credit profile matures, it's natural to accumulate hard inquiries. But if you apply for too much credit in a short period of time, it can negatively impact your scores and affect the likelihood that lenders will approve you for new credit.\nDepending on how many inquiries you already have, a new hard inquiry could cause your score to drop, but potentially only for a short period of time. And any effect on your credit score should disappear in about one year. END