Reusable Tenant Screening Reports: When Landlords Must Accept Them

Colorado requires landlords to accept a portable screening report; California, Maryland and Washington set disclosure and fee rules; New York waives the fee.

By Seayora Editorial Team · Published October 23, 2026 · Facts checked October 23, 2026 · 6 min read

Short answer: A reusable (or portable) tenant screening report is a recent background report an applicant buys once and shares with several landlords. Colorado requires most landlords to accept one and bars any application fee when one is provided. California and Maryland let the landlord choose, but a landlord that accepts may not charge a fee, and Maryland and Washington require landlords to say whether they accept them. New York caps background-check fees at $20 and waives them when the applicant brings a check from the past 30 days.

Key takeaways

Colorado: a landlord must accept a portable screening report unless it takes one application fee at a time and refunds promptly (C.R.S. 38-12-904(1.5)).
California and Maryland: accepting is optional, but a landlord that accepts may not charge an access fee or an application fee.
Maryland and Washington: the landlord must tell applicants whether it accepts reusable reports.
Every one of these laws treats a report as current only if it was prepared within the past 30 days.
New York: background and credit check fees are capped at the actual cost or $20, and waived for a check from the past 30 days.

What is a reusable tenant screening report?

It is a consumer report that an applicant orders and pays for once, prepared by a consumer reporting agency within the last 30 days, and made available to landlords at no cost to them. The idea is that someone applying for five apartments should not pay for five nearly identical reports. Washington’s legislature put it plainly when it adopted its version: “applicants who apply for housing with multiple housing providers pay repeated screening fees for successive reports containing essentially the same information” (RCW 59.18.257, notes).

Reusable screening report rules (read October 2026).
State	Must the landlord accept one?	If a qualifying report is provided	Source
Colorado	Yes, unless the one-fee-at-a-time exemption applies	No application fee and no fee to access the report	C.R.S. 38-12-904(1.5)
California	No; the landlord may elect to	If accepted: no access fee and no application screening fee	Civ. Code § 1950.1
Maryland	No, but must tell applicants whether it does	If accepted: no access fee and no application fee	Real Prop. § 8-218
Washington	No, but must disclose whether it does, including on its website	If willing to accept, may still pull its own report but may not charge the applicant for it	RCW 59.18.257
New York	Fee rule rather than an acceptance rule	Background and credit check fee waived for a check from the past 30 days	Real Prop. Law § 238-a

What does Colorado require?

Colorado is the one state here that makes acceptance mandatory: “a landlord shall accept a portable tenant screening report from a prospective tenant.” The landlord may require that the report was completed within the previous 30 days, is made directly available by the consumer reporting agency (or a compliant third-party website), costs the landlord nothing to access, and comes with the applicant’s statement that there has been no material change in name, address, bankruptcy status, criminal history or eviction history since it was generated. The landlord may not charge a fee to access or use the report (House Bill 23-1099, as signed).

Before taking any screening step for which it would expect an application fee, the landlord must tell applicants, in substantially the statute’s words, that they have the right to provide a portable report and that the landlord may not then charge an application fee or a fee to access it, in advertisements (in at least 12-point type) or another method reasonably likely to reach them. A landlord is exempt if it accepts no more than one application fee at a time for a unit and refunds the whole fee within 20 calendar days after either side declines the lease. The act took effect August 7, 2023; a violation exposes the landlord to $2,500 plus court costs and attorney fees, reduced to a $50 penalty if the landlord cures within seven calendar days of notice (Colorado General Assembly bill summary).

What do California and Maryland require?

In California, a landlord “may elect to accept reusable tenant screening reports,” and nothing requires it to. A report must include the applicant’s name, contact information, employment verification, last known address and eviction-history results, and must state the date through which it is current. If the applicant provides one to a landlord that accepts them, the landlord “shall not charge the applicant” a fee to access the report or an application screening fee, and may ask the applicant to state that nothing material has changed (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.1).

Maryland’s rule, in force since October 1, 2021, is similar but adds a duty to say where you stand: a landlord “shall notify prospective tenants regarding whether or not the landlord accepts reusable tenant screening reports,” in writing or by a conspicuous posting such as a statement on the listing, the website’s homepage or the online application. A Maryland report must include a credit report, seven years of criminal and eviction history for each prior place of residence, employment and income verification, and current address and rental history. A landlord that accepts may not charge an access fee or an application fee, may require certification that nothing material has changed, and may reject the application before the lease is signed if the applicant made a material change to the report (Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-218).

What does Washington require?

Before obtaining any information about an applicant, a Washington landlord must give written or posted notice of what it will check, what may lead to denial, the consumer reporting agency it uses, and “whether or not the landlord will accept a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report.” A landlord with a rental website must say the same on the property’s home page. A landlord that is willing to accept one may still run its own report, “as long as the prospective tenant is not charged” for it, and may charge screening costs at all only if it gave the required notice. Violating the notice rule exposes the landlord to up to $100 plus court costs and attorney fees (RCW 59.18.257). A comprehensive report contains a credit report from the past 30 days, criminal history, eviction history, employment verification, and address and rental history (RCW 59.18.030).

How does New York handle a recent background check?

New York does not use the reusable-report label, but it reaches a similar result through its fee cap. A landlord may charge only the actual cost of a background and credit check or $20, whichever is less, must hand the applicant a copy of the check and the receipt before collecting it, and “shall waive the fee or fees if the potential tenant provides a copy of a background check or credit check conducted within the past thirty days” (N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 238-a). New York City’s broker-fee rules are covered in our FARE Act guide.

What should a landlord do?

Decide, in writing, whether you accept reusable reports, and say so on the listing and the application where your state requires it.
In Colorado, put the statutory advisement in front of applicants before you collect a fee, or use the one-fee-at-a-time exemption and refund within 20 days.
Check the report’s date: 30 days is the limit in every state above.
Collect the applicant’s no-material-change statement where your state allows it.
Apply the same written criteria to a reusable report as to a report you ordered, and follow the adverse-action rules if you deny (our FCRA guide).

Frequently asked questions

Does a landlord have to accept a reusable tenant screening report?

In Colorado, yes, unless the landlord takes only one application fee at a time and refunds it within 20 days of a decline. In California, Maryland and Washington accepting is optional, though Maryland and Washington require landlords to say whether they do.

Can a landlord charge an application fee if I bring my own report?

Not in Colorado, and not in California or Maryland if the landlord accepts reusable reports. In New York the background-check fee must be waived for a check from the past 30 days.

How recent must a reusable screening report be?

Each of these laws looks to a report prepared within the past 30 days.

State-by-state rules

How much can a landlord charge for a rental application fee? — compared across 12 states

Sources

House Bill 23-1099, Portable Screening Report for Residential Leases (as signed), Colorado General Assembly
HB23-1099 bill summary, Colorado General Assembly
California Civil Code § 1950.1, Reusable tenant screening reports, California Legislative Information
Maryland Code, Real Property § 8-218, Maryland General Assembly
RCW 59.18.257, Screening of prospective tenants, Washington State Legislature
RCW 59.18.030, Definitions, Washington State Legislature
N.Y. Real Property Law § 238-a, Limitation on fees, New York State Senate

How Seayora helps

Online rental applications: Take applications online with the same questions and written criteria for every applicant. Seayora does not order screening reports yet, so no screening fee is charged.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Landlord-tenant law varies by state and city and changes often, so check the current rule for your property and talk to an attorney before acting on a dispute.

How we write and check these guides: editorial standards.

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