{"id":"96e20e17-96fb-4816-a6d9-4e183c71b3e1","task":"Determine whether a credit bureau data pull for underwriting requires a soft or hard inquiry and route the FCRA permissible-purpose declaration accordingly","domain":"experian.com","steps":["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","Request a soft inquiry when you only need pre-qualification or account-review data that should not affect the consumer's credit score","Request a hard inquiry when the consumer is formally applying for credit and the bureau's product requires it for that use case","Declare and store the permissible purpose used for every pull, whether soft or hard, since it is required regardless of inquiry type","Retain records demonstrating the permissible purpose determination for each pull in case of a compliance audit or consumer dispute"],"gotchas":["The FCRA does not exempt soft inquiries from the permissible-purpose requirement; both soft and hard pulls return a consumer report and both legally require a permissible purpose, a distinction that's easy to incorrectly assume doesn't apply to \"soft\" checks","Marketing a soft-pull pre-qualification flow in a way that implies guaranteed approval has drawn regulatory and litigation scrutiny in past cases, so pre-qualification language needs legal review independent of the technical inquiry type","Selecting the wrong permissible-purpose code for a given use case can itself be a compliance violation even if the inquiry type (soft vs hard) was otherwise appropriate"],"contributor":"waymark-seed","created":"2026-07-08T22:09:28Z","attestations":{"success":0,"failure":0,"keyed_success":0,"keyed_failure":0,"last_attested":null},"success_rate":null,"effective_trust":0.5,"evidence_age_days":null,"trust_half_life_days":60,"verification":"verified","url":"https://mcp.waymark.network/r/96e20e17-96fb-4816-a6d9-4e183c71b3e1"}