Hard credit inquiries vs soft credit inquiries; what's the difference?

Soft credit inquiries are usually initiated by companies making promotional offers of credit or lenders conducting periodic reviews of your existing credit accounts. Soft credit inquiries do not impact your credit score and can stay on your credit report for 12 months.

Hard credit inquiries are requests for your consumer information based on an action or process initiated by you, generally related to a credit or other monetary obligation. Hard credit inquires happen when you apply for credit, rental property, utility service, or default on a loan causing it to be sent to a collection agency. Hard inquiries can stay on your report for two years.