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Screening Reports

An overview of how to make sure you can receive screening reports and how to view the report when it is completed.

TurboTenant Legal avatar
Written by TurboTenant Legal
Updated yesterday

At TurboTenant, we believe in making the rental process faster and easier.

Our screening reports eliminate the normal timeframe you need to wait for an applicant to approve the request. You’ll get the information you need to make a decision sooner, therefore filling your vacancy faster.

Here's how to ensure your screening report access is activated in your TurboTenant account, and how to view a screening report.


How to activate access to screening reports:

Step 1 - Provide your mailing address and phone number within your account settings.

TransUnion, our partner credit bureau, requires this information from all landlords in order to receive a prospective renter’s screening report.

To expedite your screening report access, enter your mailing address and phone number in your account settings as soon as you can.

Step 2 - Applicants approve the screening request on the last step of their application.

TransUnion requires applicants to approve the request that verifies their identity. This step must be completed in order for you to receive their screening report (see why here).

If the applicant doesn’t approve the screening request as part of their application, you’ll need to wait for them to go through the verification process after requesting their screening report.

Step 3 - Select "See Screening Report"

If the applicant preemptively completes their identity verification, you will select "See Screening Report," and you will receive it within 2 days.

Didn’t receive an applicant's screening report?

Here are the reasons you may have to wait to receive their screening report:

  1. Your mailing address and/or phone number were not entered into your TurboTenant account. You may enter them in Account Settings to avoid delay on your next report.

  2. The applicant didn’t opt to preemptively approve the screening report and verify their identity as part of their rental application. This means they will need to do so after you request the report again.

  3. The applicant’s identity verification expired. TransUnion only allows for an applicant’s identity verification to last for 30 days. If you request their screening report 30 days after they have already verified their identity, you will have to go through this process again.


How to view the screening report:

Viewing on a web browser

To view the screening report, select "See Screening Report" from the renter card in the Applicants tab of your account.

The report will begin to pull from TransUnion, which can take up to 2 days. Once pulled, you will see that the screening reports start with a summary that allows you to see the information you need at a glance. From there, you can scroll down to view more information in the screening report.

Here's what is included in the report:

  • Full Credit Report with a score from TransUnion

  • Payment History

  • Fraud Indicators

  • Full criminal background check (checks over 200 million records)*

    • Civil Records

  • Collections History

  • Inquiries

  • A full eviction check (compares over 25 million eviction records from all 50 states)***

    • Failure to Pay Rent

    • Judgments for Rent, Possession, and Money

    • Unlawful Detainers

    • Writs and Warrants of Eviction

*Disclaimer- Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming are states that TransUnion will not provide criminal history for.

National Sex Offender State, Federal Watch Lists, and National Most Wanted Databases are NOT impacted.
**Cook County, IL, Detroit, MI, Montgomery County, MD, Oakland, CA, Berkeley, CA, and Washington D.C. have a two-phase screening process that TurboTenant does not currently support. For criminal records in these areas, you will be able to see if records were found, but we will not be able to provide specific details on the charges. If interested in the details, you will have to research the charges on your own.

***Disclaimer: Effective 12/3/24: Arizona, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Indiana, Idaho, Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio, and Washington eviction histories are no longer displayed on reports to be in accordance with state laws.

💡 To learn how you can verify applicant-reported income with the Premium Plan, click here. To learn how to read a screening report, click here.

Viewing on the TurboTenant mobile app

You will see a similar layout and the same information when using the TurboTenant mobile app.


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