Request your file from the screening company named in the landlord's adverse action notice. Under the FCRA, it must disclose the information in your file, and the copy is free if you ask within 60 days after the notice. Some companies must also provide one free copy a year.
A tenant screening company is a consumer reporting agency, so the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to see what it has on file about you.
Step 1: Find out which company ran the report
If a landlord denied you, required a co-signer, or asked for a larger deposit or higher rent based on a screening report, the FTC says the landlord must give you an adverse action notice with the screening company’s name, address, and phone number. If you did not get one, ask the landlord or property manager in writing which company it used. The CFPB also publishes a list of consumer reporting companies, including tenant screening companies, with contact information.
Step 2: Request your file
Under § 1681g, the screening company must, on request and with proper identification, clearly and accurately disclose all information in your file and the sources of that information, and identify who received a report about you in the past year.
Is it free?
- Yes, after adverse action. Under § 1681j(b), the disclosure is free if you request it within 60 days after receiving an adverse action notice.
- Free once a year from some companies. Nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies, which include companies that compile tenant history on a nationwide basis, must give you a free disclosure once every 12 months on request (§ 1681j(a)).
- Otherwise, the company may charge a fee capped under the statute.
An application or screening fee you paid the landlord is a separate matter. The FCRA does not regulate application fees, but some state and local laws do.
Step 3: Review it carefully
Check names, dates of birth, addresses, eviction cases and their outcomes, criminal records, and any score or recommendation. Compare it with what the landlord told you.
If you find errors, you can dispute them under § 1681i. If an inaccurate report 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. § 1681g (Cornell LII)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681j (Cornell LII)
- FTC: Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know
- CFPB: List of Consumer Reporting Companies
Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.