Does Your Credit Score Go Down When You Remortgage?

Thinking about remortgaging and worried about your credit score? You're not alone—lots of folks get anxious about that number dropping when they're just trying to get a better deal on their mortgage. But does your score actually take a big hit, or is this mostly hype?

Here's what really happens: whenever you apply for a new mortgage (or look for a new deal on your existing one), the lender will pull your credit report. That's just them checking your history to see if you're reliable with money. This is called a 'hard search'—and yes, it can have a small impact on your score, but usually it's pretty minor. For most people, it's nothing to panic about.

If you've been good with your payments, don't have a ton of new debt popping up, and you haven't been applying for loads of credit cards lately, remortgaging alone usually won’t make your credit score tumble. In fact, shopping around before actually applying doesn't count against you. It's only the official mortgage applications that show up.

Credit scores can feel like a mysterious part of adult life, but once you know what's actually going on when you remortgage, it's way less scary. Let’s break down how the process works, what you can do to protect your score, and common worries people have about this whole thing.

• What Happens to Your Credit Score When You Remortgage
• How Lenders Check Your Credit During Remortgaging
• Real Impact: Does Your Score Really Drop?
• Ways To Keep Your Score Safe
• Common Questions People Ask About Remortgaging and Credit Scores

What Happens to Your Credit Score When You Remortgage

Remortgaging means taking out a new mortgage on your home, either with your existing lender or with a new one. It always involves a lender running a credit check — that's standard practice. This is what catches most people off guard because it's a 'hard search', which gets logged on your credit file.

Here’s the real talk: a single hard search from a remortgaging application will usually shave a few points off your credit score. The main credit agencies in the UK (like Experian and Equifax) say that a single hard search might lower your score by 5 to 10 points, but it's usually short-term. If you make a bunch of mortgage applications in a short space of time, though, things can stack up and make you look like a risky borrower. Lenders don’t love that.

But the story doesn't end there. Your credit score can also shift depending on how you handle the remortgaging process:

• If you keep up with monthly repayments on your old and new mortgages, your score stabilises and often bounces back quickly.
• Missing a mortgage payment during the switchover will hit your score hard and stay on your report for years.
• The length of your credit history gets a boost every time you keep an account in good standing while adding a new one.

If you’re curious about how this plays out for people in real life, data shows that most people see only a tiny drop after a remortgage. Take this quick snapshot:

*Based on UK Experian and Equifax public advice, 2024.

So, while remortgaging does show up on your report, the actual impact is usually small, as long as you don't hunt for dozens of deals or miss payments. Keep things tidy, and a better rate can be yours—without doing real harm to your credit.

How Lenders Check Your Credit During Remortgaging

So, what's actually happening behind the scenes when you apply for a remortgage? Lenders don’t just take your word—they use your credit report to figure out if giving you a new deal is a good risk for them. This process is called a credit check, and it’s totally normal anytime you deal with big borrowing moves like a remortgaging or getting a car loan.

Banks and mortgage lenders use what’s called a “hard” credit search. That means they pull your full credit report from one or more of the three big credit reference agencies in the UK: Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. This hard check leaves a mark on your credit file, but only for 12 months and it’s only visible to you and future lenders, not employers or landlords.

• Remortgaging involves a hard search, which checks details about your past payments, debt balances, and if you’ve had any trouble with things like missed payments, CCJs, or bankruptcies.
• Too many hard checks at once? That can make you look desperate for credit, which lenders don’t love.
• If you just compare mortgage options online and use tools like eligibility checkers (sometimes called soft searches), it won’t impact your credit score because those are invisible to other companies.

Lenders are also interested in your current account status for things like credit cards, loans, and even mobile phone contracts. They look for red flags, but they also want to see regular, on-time payments. That’s often a bigger deal than a slight dip in your score from a remortgaging application.

Here’s a quick look at what lenders see:

Pro tip: Even if your score isn't perfect, many lenders focus more on recent problems than stuff from three or four years ago. So, pay your bills on time as you get closer to remortgaging—it's more helpful than obsessing over every single point on your credit score.

Real Impact: Does Your Score Really Drop?

Here’s the deal: when you remortgage, a lender will do a credit check. That check is marked as a hard search on your credit report. Hard searches are visible to other lenders and can cause your credit score to dip a bit, but most of the time, we’re talking about a drop of just a few points—nothing dramatic.

As reported by Experian (one of the big credit agencies in the UK), a single mortgage application typically makes your score slip by less than 5 points. That’s barely a scratch for most people. Unless you’re applying for multiple mortgages or lots of other new credit at the same time, you almost never see any serious damage from just one remortgage application.

Now, here’s something important—mortgage applications don’t hurt your score forever. In fact, that tiny drop is usually gone in a few months, and after about 12 months, hard searches pretty much disappear from the calculations. If you keep up with payments and don’t suddenly max out your credit cards, you’re in the clear.

On the flip side, if your lender happens to “soft check” your credit score just to give you a quote, you’ll see no impact at all. Soft checks aren’t visible to other lenders and won’t drag your score down one bit.

If you’re remortgaging just once and your credit’s already solid, the impact is minor and recovers quickly. People who get dinged hard are usually those who apply for a lot of new loans or new credit cards right around the same time. So, if you want to keep things smooth, don’t start a shopping spree for loans when you’re sorting your remortgage.

Ways To Keep Your Score Safe

If you’re about to start the remortgaging process, there are a few things you can do to stop your credit score from dipping more than it has to. Remortgaging itself isn’t bad for your score—the risky part is how you handle your credit in the months before and after you apply.

• Limit New Credit Applications: Try not to apply for other loans or credit cards around the time you’re remortgaging. Each application means another hard check on your report. Too many in a row can look suspicious and knock your score down.
• Always Pay on Time: Even one late payment on your current mortgage or any credit agreement can do more damage than a remortgage ever will. Set up automatic payments or reminders so nothing slips through.
• Check Your Credit Report First: Pull your free report (from Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax) before you start looking at new deals. Make sure there are no mistakes or old debts lurking there. If you spot something off, get it fixed. Mistakes are more common than you’d think.
• Don’t Close Unused Accounts Suddenly: It’s tempting to tidy up your finances by shutting old credit cards, but closing them can actually lower your score by reducing your overall credit history and available credit.
• Keep Credit Usage Low: Try to use less than 30% of your available credit across all credit cards. High balances relative to your limit look risky to lenders—even if you pay off everything every month.

Here’s a fun fact: according to Experian (the big credit reference company), a single hard credit check usually dings your score by less than 5 points and typically recovers within a few months as long as you keep up with payments. So, the impact of remortgaging is generally minor unless there are other issues.

The bottom line: stay steady, act like you’re being watched (because, honestly, your credit report is), and don’t let small stuff spiral into bigger problems while you’re handling your remortgaging. Lenders want to see you can juggle things responsibly, and a solid track record matters more than a tiny dip here or there.

Common Questions People Ask About Remortgaging and Credit Scores

People have a million questions when it comes to remortgaging and their credit score. Some of these are totally legit worries, so let’s tackle the big ones with straight answers.

• Does remortgaging actually lower my credit score?
  The short answer: Yes, but only a little. Each hard search by a lender can knock a few points off your score, usually less than 10. The effect is usually temporary, and your score often bounces back within a couple of months if you don’t apply for lots of new credit right after.
• Can shopping around for rates hurt my score?
  Looking at deals and using eligibility checkers doesn’t show up as a hard search, so it won’t impact your score. Only official applications for a remortgage come up on your report. Pro tip: bunch your applications within a 30-day window so credit reference agencies see them as one event.
• What if my application gets rejected?
  Your score isn’t hit just for being rejected. The lender’s hard search is the part that matters—and that happens whether you’re accepted or not. If you keep applying after a rejection, that string of searches could stack up and cause bigger drops, so don’t go on a spree.
• Do late payments on my old mortgage count?
  Definitely. Any missed or late payments on your current or past mortgage show up in your file and will lower your credit score. Lenders care a lot about this, so make sure all payments are on time—especially before you try to remortgage.
• Will remortgaging clear my old mortgage from my credit report?
  Nope, your old mortgage stays listed as a closed account, and the payment history sticks around for about six years. That’s good news if you’ve always paid on time, since it adds positive history to your file.

Here’s a quick look at how much these actions usually affect your credit score:

Nobody likes to see a score dip, but if you keep your applications tidy and your payments spotless, you’ll barely feel a blip. At the end of the day, the benefit of a better deal usually outweighs that tiny drop.