Short answer:
To remove an inquiry from your credit report, first check if it’s a hard inquiry (i.e. the inquiry can be seen on your report) and whether it’s unauthorised. If it's incorrect, you can dispute it with the credit bureau by submitting a written complaint and supporting documents. Legitimate inquiries from applications cannot be removed.

How to Remove Inquiry from Credit Report?

If you’ve recently applied for loans or credit cards and noticed multiple inquiries on your report, you might be wondering: How to remove inquiries from credit report? This guide will walk you through everything you need to know.

What Are Credit Inquiries?

Whenever you apply for a loan, credit card, the provider may check your credit report. This check is known as a credit inquiry. These inquiries are logged in your report by credit bureaus and may impact your credit score, especially when there are too many of them in a short span.

1. Soft Inquiries

These are made when you or a company checks your credit report for non-lending purposes with your consent, like a background check or pre-approved loan offers. Soft inquiries do not affect your credit score and are not seen on your credit report.

2. Hard Inquiries

These occur when a lender checks your credit report to decide whether to approve your application for credit. These inquiries are seen on your credit report. Hard inquiries may affect your credit score, especially if too many are made within a short time frame.

How Do Credit Inquiries Impact Your Score?

While a single hard inquiry may only lower your credit score by a few points, multiple inquiries can indicate credit-hungry behaviour, which makes lenders cautious. If you’ve applied for many credit cards or loans recently, it’s natural to want to know how to clear inquiries from your credit report and improve your standing.

When Should You Remove Credit Inquiries?

Before jumping to credit inquiry removal, first determine if the inquiries are:

Unauthorised or fraudulent (done without your knowledge)
Inaccurate (wrong date, lender name, or repeated entry)
Too frequent within a short time span

Only unauthorised or incorrect hard inquiries are eligible for removal. Legitimate hard inquiries made when you applied for credit cannot be removed just because they may hurt your score.

How to Check Credit Score and Spot Inquiries

The first step to managing inquiries is to check the credit score and report. Here’s how:

Visit the official site of credit bureaus like CRIF, CIBIL, Equifax, or Experian.
Log in or register using your name, PAN, mobile number, and email ID.
Download your detailed credit report.
Go to the “Enquiry Information” section to view all inquiries made in your name.

This will help you identify whether any inquiries seem unfamiliar or incorrect.

How to Remove Inquiries from Credit Report?

Let’s get to the core question: how to get rid of inquiries on credit reports. Follow these steps:

1. Identify Disputable Inquiries

Carefully go through your credit report. Highlight inquiries you didn’t authorise or that appear more than once for a single credit application.

2. Raise a Dispute with the Credit Bureau

Once you identify an unauthorised or inaccurate inquiry, here’s how to initiate a credit inquiry removal:

Visit the website of the credit bureau where the inquiry appears.
Navigate to the Dispute Resolution section.
Fill in the required details: your account number, the nature of the dispute, and the inquiry in question.
Submit relevant documents or proof, if any (e.g., identity theft complaint or communication with the lender).

Most bureaus allow online and offline modes to raise a dispute. It typically takes 30 days for the issue to be resolved after your request is received.

3. Follow Up with the Lender

If a specific bank or NBFC made the inquiry, contact them directly. Ask them to provide clarification or remove the inquiry if it was made in error or without consent. Lender confirmation helps speed up the resolution process with the credit bureau.

Can You Remove Legitimate Inquiries?

If you’re wondering how to remove credit inquiries from credit reports that are legitimate (you applied for a loan or credit card), the answer is: you can’t remove them. These entries are factual and will remain on your credit report for 2 years for most of the credit bureaus. However, their impact on your credit score lessens over time.

Tips to Minimise the Impact of Inquiries

If you want to reduce the negative effect of credit inquiries on your credit score, follow these smart tips:

Avoid multiple loan/credit card applications in a short span.
Use comparison platforms that perform soft checks instead of hard inquiries.
Time your credit applications smartly by spacing them out over months.
Check credit score online regularly to monitor changes and spot red flags early.
Consider applying for credit only when absolutely necessary.

How to Improve Your Credit Score Post-Inquiries?

Once you manage to remove any unauthorised inquiries, it’s time to focus on strengthening your overall credit profile. Here are some effective ways to improve your credit score:

Pay your EMIs and credit card bills on time.
Maintain a low credit utilisation ratio (ideally below 30%).
Keep old credit cards open to maintain a long credit history.
Regularly check your credit score online to track your progress.
Avoid excessive borrowing.

These steps, over time, help outweigh the small impact inquiries have on your report.

Conclusion

Hard inquiries may impact your credit score, but only unauthorised or incorrect ones can be removed. Always review your credit report, dispute any errors, and focus on healthy credit habits to keep your score strong over time.