Credit Term
Soft Inquiry
A check of your credit record that does not come from a formal credit application — most importantly, checking your own report. Soft inquiries do not affect your score and are not counted against you by lenders.
Soft inquiries include looking at your own CCRIS or CTOS report and some background or pre-qualification checks. Because they are not tied to you applying for new borrowing, they do not signal financial pressure and therefore do not lower your score. This is why you can — and should — check your own credit as often as you like.
Many Malaysians avoid looking at their record for fear of 'damaging' it; that fear is misplaced. Reviewing your own report regularly helps you catch errors and fraud early and go into applications informed. Only a genuine application creates a hard inquiry, so self-checks are always safe.
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This definition is drafted against primary sources (Bank Negara Malaysia, AKPK and the relevant Acts) and is pending editorial fact-check. If you find an error, tell us and we will correct it with a dated note.