New credit is the part of your credit score that looks at how recently and how often you've taken on credit: accounts you opened recently, and the hard inquiries that show up when you apply. Opening several accounts in a short time can lower a score, especially when your credit history is short. It's a small factor, and its effect fades with time.
- New credit looks at accounts you opened recently and the hard inquiries from applying for credit.
- Opening several accounts in a short time reads as more risk, especially if your credit history is short.
- Checking your own credit and soft checks don't count. FICO counts hard inquiries for 12 months, and they leave your report after two years.
What counts as "new credit"?
Two things, and both are on your credit report:
- Accounts you opened recently. Scores look at how many new accounts you have, what share of all your accounts are new, and how long it has been since you opened your newest one.
- Hard inquiries. A hard inquiry is the record a lender leaves when it checks your credit because you applied, whether or not you end up with the account.
A lot of credit checks don't count here at all. Checking your own score or report, getting prequalified when the lender uses a soft check, and the checks behind card offers you didn't ask for are all soft checks. They don't affect your score. Soft pull vs. hard pull covers which is which.
Why do credit scores care about new accounts?
Because of what the pattern has meant for other borrowers. FICO says its research shows that opening several credit accounts in a short time represents greater risk, especially for people who don't have a long credit history. One new card is ordinary. Several in a few weeks can look like someone taking on a lot of new debt at once.
That's also why a short history feels this more. If you have 15 accounts going back years, one new account is a small share of the picture. If you have two accounts, a third one changes a lot of it.
How much does it count?
The two major credit scoring models, FICO and VantageScore, both count it. FICO says new credit makes up about 10% of its score, tied with credit mix as the smallest of its five main factors. VantageScore 4.0 calls the same idea recent credit, which covers recently opened accounts and hard inquiries, and weights it at about 11%. In both models, paying on time counts far more.
How long does new credit affect your score?
Not forever. Hard inquiries stay on your credit report for two years, but FICO Scores only count inquiries from the last 12 months. Other scoring models can treat them differently. For new accounts, scores look at how long it has been since you opened your newest one, so the effect shrinks as that account gets older.
Comparing offers from several lenders for the same car loan, mortgage, or student loan (called rate shopping) works differently. Scores group those inquiries into one when they happen close together. FICO's window is 14 to 45 days, depending on the version of the score, and VantageScore's is 14 days. Keeping your shopping within 14 days works under both. Will rate shopping hurt my credit scores? covers the windows and which loans qualify.
What else a new account changes
A new account shows up in other parts of your score too, and not always in a bad way:
- It lowers the average age of your accounts, because its age starts at zero.
- A new credit card adds to your total credit limit. If you don't run up a balance on it, the share of your limits you're using can go down, which can help. If you do run up a balance, that share goes up.
- It can add a kind of account you didn't have, such as your first loan. That adds to your credit mix, the variety of account types on your report.
So a new account isn't automatically bad for your score. The part that tends to hurt is several at once.
How to open accounts without surprises
- Apply when you need the account, not for a one-time discount at the register.
- Space out applications for credit cards. Card applications aren't grouped the way loan shopping is.
- Where a lender offers it, get prequalified first. Prequalification usually uses a soft check and shows whether you're likely to be approved before you formally apply. Confirm with the lender that it's a soft check before you start.
- Once the account is open, pay it on time. That builds the part of your score that counts most.
Where to see your own new credit
Your credit report lists each account with the date it was opened, and it has a separate section for inquiries. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion each keep a separate report, and a lender won't necessarily check all three, so an inquiry might show up on only one or two of them.
Common questions
Does a new account always lower my score?
No. It can lower your average account age and adds an inquiry if you applied, but a new card can also lower the share of your credit limits you're using, and a new type of account can round out your mix. What tends to hurt is opening several in a short time.
If I'm denied, does the application still count?
Yes. If the lender checked your credit, the hard inquiry stays on your report even though you were denied. The denial itself doesn't appear on your report. That's one reason prequalifying first can be worth it.
Sources
Checked September 30, 2026
- myFICO, How New Credit Impacts Your Credit ScoreNew credit is 10% of a FICO Score; it considers new accounts, recent inquiries and time since opening; FICO counts inquiries from the last 12 months; they stay on the report two years; new credit can also affect account age, utilization and mix; checking your own credit doesn't count.
- myFICO, What's in my FICO Scores?Opening several credit accounts in a short time represents greater risk, especially for people without a long credit history.
- VantageScore, The Complete Guide to Your VantageScoreVantageScore 4.0 recent credit (11%) covers recently opened accounts and hard inquiries; hard inquiries within 14 days count as one; payment history is 41%.
- myFICO, Credit Checks: What are credit inquiries and how do they affect your FICO Score?Viewing your own credit report is a soft inquiry and doesn't affect FICO Scores; hard inquiries stay up to two years and count for one.
- Equifax, Understanding Hard Inquiries on Your Credit ReportChecks for promotional purposes are soft inquiries; inquiries for the same type of loan are often counted as one.
- Experian, Does a Declined Loan Appear on Your Credit Report?If an application is denied, the inquiry remains but the decision doesn't appear on your credit reports.
- Experian, Does Getting Denied Credit Affect Your Credit Scores?Lenders won't necessarily pull all three reports, so an inquiry might affect only one or two.
- Experian, Understanding Your Experian Credit ReportEach account lists the date it was opened as reported by the creditor.
This page is general information, not financial or legal advice.
