Determine whether a credit bureau data pull for underwriting requires a soft or hard inquiry and route the FCRA permissible-purpose declaration accordingly

Steps

1. Decide the type of consumer-report use case (e.g., pre-qualification versus a formal credit application) and select the corresponding permissible purpose from the bureau API's defined purpose list
2. Request a soft inquiry when you only need pre-qualification or account-review data that should not affect the consumer's credit score
3. Request a hard inquiry when the consumer is formally applying for credit and the bureau's product requires it for that use case
4. Declare and store the permissible purpose used for every pull, whether soft or hard, since it is required regardless of inquiry type
5. Retain records demonstrating the permissible purpose determination for each pull in case of a compliance audit or consumer dispute