Send the screening company a written dispute that identifies each error and includes proof, such as court records showing a dismissal. Under the FCRA, it generally must reinvestigate within 30 days and correct or delete information that is inaccurate or cannot be verified.
You dispute a tenant screening report with the screening company that produced it, not with the landlord. Section 1681i of the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to dispute any item in your file that is inaccurate or incomplete.
Before you dispute
- Get a copy of the report. The landlord’s adverse action notice must name the screening company, and you can get a free copy if you ask within 60 days.
- Mark each error: an eviction that is not yours, a dismissed case shown without its outcome, a duplicate entry, a criminal record belonging to someone else, a balance you paid, or a record too old to report.
- Gather proof: court dockets or dismissal orders, sealing orders, receipts or a ledger from a former landlord, and identification showing your date of birth.
How to send it
Use the company’s dispute portal or send a letter by mail with tracking. Be specific about which entries are wrong and why, attach copies (not originals), and keep a record of everything you send.
What the company must do
Under § 1681i, the screening company generally must:
- complete a reasonable reinvestigation within 30 days (up to 15 more days if you send additional relevant information during that time),
- notify the source of the information within five business days,
- review and consider all relevant information you provide,
- delete or correct information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified, and
- send you written results within five business days after finishing.
If the company does not change the report, you can add a brief statement of dispute to your file.
While the dispute is pending
The FCRA does not require a landlord to hold a unit while you dispute. Tell the landlord you have disputed the report, send the proof, and ask whether it will hold the unit or reconsider once the report is corrected.
If a screening company will not fix a clear error, or the error cost you a home, a free case review can help you understand your options, with no fee unless we win.
Related
- How to Dispute a Tenant Screening Report: Evictions, Sealed Records and Wrong-Person Errors
- Tenant screening lawsuits
- Companies we sue
Sources
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681i (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681e (Cornell LII)
- FTC: Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know
Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.