How to distinguish hard and soft checks in a credit report

Soft checks don't appear on your credit report and eventually, your credit score won't be affected.
But to make a hard check of your credit report, you have to give consent to it. Besides, a hard check will appear on your credit report and may slash your FICO score by 5 points!

Soft check is triggered when you pull a copy of your credit report. Hard check or hard inquiry is triggered when a creditor or a lender checks your credit report. They usually do that when you apply for a credit card or a loan.

Soft inqueries don't apprear in credit report But hard inqueries appear in credit report. It will hurt your score.