It should not. When a court seals an eviction case, a screening company that keeps reporting it from old data may be failing its FCRA duty to use reasonable procedures for maximum possible accuracy. You can dispute it with the screening company.
Some states and courts seal or restrict public access to eviction records, either automatically in certain situations or by court order. The details are set by state and local law, and they vary.
Why sealed cases still appear
Tenant screening companies may build their reports from court data they collected in bulk and stored in their own databases. If a company copied the case before it was sealed and never updated its records, the sealed case can keep appearing on new reports.
Why that can violate the FCRA
Under § 1681e(b), a tenant screening company must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy. Continuing to report a case that a court has sealed, as if it were an ordinary public record, can be inaccurate, and it may also violate the state law that sealed the case.
The CFPB’s November 2022 report on the tenant screening market identified public records, including eviction records, as one of three areas of challenges for renters.
What to do
- Get the sealing order or other documentation from the court showing the case was sealed.
- Request your file from the screening company under § 1681g, so you can see exactly what it is reporting.
- Dispute in writing under § 1681i, attaching the sealing documentation and asking that the case be deleted. The company generally must reinvestigate within 30 days and send you the results.
- Tell the landlord that the case was sealed and that you have disputed the report.
Ask the screening company to confirm that the record has been removed from its database, not just from one report, so it does not reappear the next time you apply.
If a sealed eviction appeared on a screening report and cost you an apartment, a free case review can help you understand your options, with no fee unless we win.
Related
- Tenant screening lawsuits
- How to Dispute a Tenant Screening Report: Evictions, Sealed Records and Wrong-Person Errors
- Companies we sue
Sources
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681e (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681i (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681g (Cornell LII)
- CFPB: Tenant Background Checks Market (Nov. 2022)
Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.