Does switching your mortgage at renewal check your credit? (Canada)

What FCAC says about credit checks

FCAC puts it directly: "Credit inquiries, also called credit checks, affect your credit score." A hard inquiry, sometimes called a hard hit, is a check a lender makes when you apply for credit, such as a mortgage. A hard inquiry appears on your credit report and affects your credit score. FCAC adds that too many inquiries close together may suggest you are seeking credit urgently.

The exception that matters at renewal: when you shop for a mortgage or a car loan, the credit bureaus treat quotes from several lenders within a 2-week window as 1 inquiry.

How long an inquiry stays on your report

According to FCAC's page "How long information stays on your credit report" (page dated July 1, 2026), lender inquiries stay on your report for 3 years with Equifax and 6 years with TransUnion. An inquiry staying on your report is not the same as the inquiry weighing on your score for that whole time. FCAC does not put a number on the effect, so neither do we.

Checking your own score

Checking your own credit report or score does not affect your score (FCAC, "Improving your credit score" and "Credit report and score basics", both dated July 1, 2026). Many borrowers check their own report before renewal, so they know what a new lender will see.

What the credit check means for an Ontario homeowner

• Switching means a new application. Any switch, even a straight switch that skips the stress test, is subject to lender approval. FCAC's page "Renewing your mortgage" (page dated October 15, 2025) says the new lender may use different criteria.
• Keep the shopping together. If you are comparing several lenders, getting the quotes within the same 2-week window means the bureaus count them as 1 inquiry.
• Renewing where you are. Renewing with your current lender generally does not need a new application, so it generally does not involve the same kind of check. Ask your lender whether it will review your credit before it sends or changes an offer.

What the credit-inquiry rule does not cover

• How much your score moves. FCAC says inquiries affect your score; it does not say by how much, and the effect depends on the rest of your credit report.
• The lender's decision. The 2-week window is about how the bureaus count inquiries, not about whether a lender approves you.
• Other credit. The 2-week window FCAC describes is for shopping a mortgage or a car loan. FCAC's window says nothing about other credit you apply for in the same weeks.

Sources

• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Improving your credit score, page dated 2026-07-01, checked 2026-10-26.
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — How long information stays on your credit report, page dated 2026-07-01, checked 2026-10-26.
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Credit report and score basics, page dated 2026-07-01, checked 2026-10-26.
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Renewing your mortgage, page dated 2025-10-15, checked 2026-10-26.

What to do next

Before anyone checks your credit, enter your renewal offer in the offer check to see what to ask about. Or start at Can your bank do better. If staying is the right answer, we'll say so.