Usually just once as a hard pull on a normal timeline. The credit report pulled at application stays valid for about 120 days under the agencies' age-of-documents rules (Fannie Mae allows roughly four months, FHA 120 days, both measured to the note date), so a typical purchase closes on the original report with no second hard inquiry. If the timeline drags past that window, the report gets re-pulled. What does happen behind the scenes is undisclosed-debt monitoring. That is a soft pull the lender runs during the process to confirm you have not taken on new debt after application. It adds no inquiry and does not touch your score. The reason it exists is simple: a new car loan, financed furniture, or a fresh credit card opened mid-process can change your debt-to-income ratio enough to affect the approval you already have. So keep your credit picture frozen from application to closing: - No new accounts. - No financed big purchases. - No running up balances until after the loan funds. If something unavoidable comes up, tell us first so we can check whether it moves the file before it becomes a problem at the closing table.