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Summary
At the end of each credit report will be a log of inquiries. An inquiry notation is made each time someone requests a copy of your credit file from that credit bureau. Any company that receives a copy of your credit profile will be listed under this section of your report.

Lenders don't like to see a lot of inquiries on a credit report. Excessive inquiries can result in a credit denial as easily as bad credit. Thus, you will need to verify the type of inquires made and take steps to remove any unauthorized inquiries. Not all inquires are viewed negatively. In fact several types of inquires will not appear on any copy of your file except for the copy you receive.

There are Five Types of Inquires
1) You. A notation may be made each time you request a copy of your own file. This notation does not appear on the copy that goes to your potential lender and does not count against you. Not negative.

2) Existing Creditors. Existing creditors may do a periodic review of your account for many reasons. Often many creditors will periodically review your account to see if you qualify for an increased credit limit, lower interest rate and monitor your overall history. These inquiries are not viewed negatively. Not negative.

3) Credit Bureaus. The bureau may compile mailing lists for its subscribers based on the criteria that the lender specifies. Your report may be reviewed as a candidate for a particular mailing list. Again, these internal inquiries do not appear on the copy that goes to your potential lenders and therefore do not reflect negatively. Not negative.

4) Other Lenders . Lenders must have your permission to obtain a copy of your credit file. The law only requires that they reasonably expect to use the information in a credit transaction. The most common inquiries are those by lenders with whom you have applied for credit. A banker will look at them in one of two ways. If they are recent, they are looked at as potential debt pending approval. All they need is a social security number or a name and address. You should be cautious about giving out any such information until you're serious about doing business. Negative.

5) Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS can look into your credit report for a variety of reasons, most likely to determine your ability to pay tax liens. Negative.

Conclusion
Although inquiries will remain on your file for up to 2 years, those in the last 6 months will count most heavily against you. Therefore, you should review the log to make certain that each inquiry was done with "permissible purpose" as explained in Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).