Key Takeaways
This guide draws on Clara's direct work with Colorado landlords adapting to HB23-1099 and HB25-1236, and on close monitoring of PTSR legislation in the other six states with active laws.
Apply for a rental in a tight market, and the math gets ugly fast. Application fees of $40 to $60 per landlord, multiplied across five or ten listings, can run a renter $300 or more before signing a single lease. Portable tenant screening reports — sometimes called PTSRs or reusable tenant screening reports — were designed to fix that. A renter pays once, gets a comprehensive screening report from a consumer reporting agency, and then shares the same report with multiple landlords within a state-specified window.
The catch: only seven states have laws governing how PTSRs work, and the rules look different from one state to the next. A renter sending a compliant report to a Colorado landlord has a different outcome than one sending the same report in California. This guide walks through every state with a law on the books, what each law requires, and what the watch list looks like for jurisdictions that have tried — and so far failed — to pass one.
A portable tenant screening report is a comprehensive background and credit check that a prospective renter pays for once and shares with multiple landlords during a rental search. The report is prepared by a consumer reporting agency at the renter's request and expense, then made available to landlords either directly through the agency or through a compliant third-party platform. The point is to break the cycle of paying duplicate application fees for nearly identical screening data.
Different states use different names for the same idea. Colorado, California, and Maryland call it a "portable" or "reusable" tenant screening report. Washington's statute calls it a "comprehensive reusable tenant screening report." New York handles the concept indirectly through its application fee cap rather than naming it as a distinct document type. Whatever the label, the underlying mechanic is the same: one report, one fee, multiple uses inside a defined freshness window.
Where a PTSR differs from a traditional landlord-ordered screening is in who controls the data and who pays. With a landlord-ordered report, the applicant pays via the application fee, but the landlord chooses the provider and receives the data first. A PTSR flips that — the renter chooses the provider, pays directly, and shares the result with as many landlords as needed during the validity window. Renters who want to understand exactly how a PTSR compares to a traditional credit report and background check will find the differences more significant than they expect.
The mechanics behind a PTSR matter — especially the freshness window and the delivery method, both of which trigger the legal protections in states that have them.
A compliant PTSR generally includes:
State statutes specify slightly different required elements. Maryland's § 8-218 spells out a comprehensive set, including a 7-year criminal history check across each prior jurisdiction. Illinois requires fewer mandatory elements but emphasizes that the report must include "all of the criteria consistently being used by the landlord." A renter ordering a PTSR for use across multiple states should ask the consumer reporting agency for a comprehensive package — and should read up on the key PTSR terminology before placing any order.
Most states with PTSR laws set a 30-day validity window — including Colorado, Illinois, New York, Maryland, and California. Rhode Island stretches the window to 90 days, the longest in the U.S., though its law applies to applicant-provided criminal and credit checks rather than a unified PTSR document. After the window closes, a fresh report is needed.
State laws differ on delivery. Colorado, Illinois, and California allow either direct delivery from the consumer reporting agency or delivery via a compliant third-party website that meets state and federal data-handling rules. Colorado's HB25-1236, effective January 1, 2026, repealed an earlier provision that allowed landlords to demand the report come directly through the consumer reporting agency — meaning Colorado landlords can no longer require any specific delivery channel. For renters, the practical move is to confirm the acceptance method with the landlord upfront before paying for the report.
Not all PTSR laws work the same way. The seven states with active legislation fall into three distinct tiers based on what each law requires of landlords. Understanding the tier matters because it changes what a renter can expect when applying — and what a landlord risks when receiving a report.
Tier 1 is the strongest: mandatory fee waiver. If a renter provides a qualifying report, the landlord cannot charge an application fee or a separate fee to access the report. Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Rhode Island fall here, though New York and Rhode Island reach the same outcome through application fee laws rather than dedicated PTSR statutes.
Tier 2 is notification-conditional. The landlord may choose whether to accept a PTSR, but must clearly disclose the policy. If they accept, no fee can be charged. Maryland and Washington fall here. The disclosure rule is what gives the law teeth — landlords cannot quietly refuse PTSRs while still appearing open to them.
Tier 3 is a voluntary opt-in. The landlord can opt in entirely at their discretion, but if they do, they must post conspicuous notice across listings, websites, applications, and physical office locations. California is the only state in this tier.
It depends entirely on the state. Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Rhode Island require landlords to waive screening fees when a qualifying report is provided. Maryland and Washington give landlords a choice but require them to disclose the policy upfront. California is fully voluntary. No federal law mandates acceptance — the obligation comes from state statute.
Below is each state with a PTSR-related law, ordered by tier and law strength. For renters, the relevant question is what the law lets you avoid paying for. For landlords, the relevant question is what the law obligates you to do — and what happens if you don't.
Colorado has the most fully developed PTSR framework in the country. HB23-1099 (effective August 7, 2023) established the rule. If a renter provides a compliant PTSR prepared within the previous 30 days, the landlord cannot charge an application fee or a fee to access the report. Penalties are real — $2,500 in damages plus court costs and attorney fees, with a $50 cure provision if the landlord remedies the violation within 7 calendar days. The Colorado Attorney General has independent authority to bring enforcement actions.
HB25-1236 (effective January 1, 2026) updates two pieces. Renters using a housing subsidy no longer need to include a credit history report, credit score, or adverse credit event in their PTSR. The 2026 update also repeals an earlier provision that allowed landlords to demand the report be delivered directly through the consumer reporting agency or a third-party website — landlords can no longer dictate the delivery method. Colorado landlords who want the full operational picture will find the complete Colorado PTSR guide covers everything from the fee waiver mechanics to how to build a compliant intake workflow under both laws.
Illinois added Section 25 to its Landlord and Tenant Act under Public Act 103-0840 (765 ILCS 705/25), effective January 1, 2025. The structure mirrors Colorado's: if a renter provides a "reusable tenant screening report" that meets the statutory criteria — prepared within 30 days by a consumer credit reporting agency at the applicant's expense, made directly available to the landlord at no cost, and complete enough to cover the landlord's stated screening criteria — the landlord cannot charge an application screening fee or a fee to access the report.
One distinction worth flagging: the Illinois statute does not specify a damages amount. Enforcement runs through general civil remedies, and local ordinances providing greater protections take precedence — making the Illinois PTSR compliance picture more nuanced than the state statute alone suggests.
New York reaches PTSR-like protections through its application fee cap rather than a dedicated PTSR statute. Under the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, Real Property Law § 238-a(1)(b) caps application fees at the cost of a credit and background check or $20, whichever is less. More importantly for renters, the law mandates that landlords waive the fee entirely if the applicant provides their own credit and background check completed within the prior 30 days. Any lease or contract provision waiving this protection is void.
The practical effect for renters in New York is the same as in a mandatory PTSR state: provide a recent check, pay nothing for the screening. Landlords with NYC-area properties also navigate overlapping NYC-level rules — Fair Chance for Housing protections and source-of-income rules — that interact directly with how New York's screening fee waiver works in practice.
Rhode Island took a different approach. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-59 (effective January 1, 2024) bans general rental application fees outright. Landlords can still require a state-issued criminal background check from the Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI) and a credit report — but only at actual cost, and only if the renter doesn't provide their own.
If the renter provides a BCI check or a credit report issued within the previous 90 days, the landlord cannot charge any fee for those documents. The 90-day window is the longest in the country. The renter-side benefit is similar to mandatory PTSR states. Still, the legal architecture of Rhode Island's application fee ban — including the BCI check requirement and the 90-day window mechanics — is distinct enough to warrant reading separately.
Maryland's § 8-218 (Real Property Article) puts PTSRs in the notification-conditional tier. Acceptance is optional, but if a landlord chooses to accept, they cannot charge an application fee or a fee to access the report. The landlord must disclose the acceptance policy in writing or by posting — including on rental listings, on a website homepage, or on the application page itself. The validity window is 30 days.
A separate provision, § 8-213, caps application fees at $25 for landlords who rent five or more units, with anything above $25 refundable within 15 days if the actual cost was less. Maryland's Tenants' Bill of Rights took effect October 1, 2025, and now must be attached to every residential lease — making the full Maryland PTSR disclosure and fee compliance framework worth reviewing before any new tenancy.
In most states with active laws, no. Colorado, Illinois, Rhode Island, and New York prohibit screening fees when a compliant report is provided. Maryland and Washington allow them only if the landlord has not opted in and has disclosed that policy. California prohibits fees only if the landlord has opted in to accept reports.
Washington's RCW 59.18.257 sits in the notification-conditional tier alongside Maryland. Landlords are not required to accept reports, but any landlord with a website advertising rentals must state on that website whether they accept "comprehensive reusable tenant screening reports." Landlords also have to notify applicants of their acceptance policy before collecting any tenant information. Violations carry liability up to $100 plus court costs and attorney fees.
The Washington framework predates many of the newer laws and was strengthened by the 2016 amendments. The disclosure requirement is the practical safeguard for renters. Without it, a landlord could quietly reject reports while leaving applicants to assume they were accepted, which is exactly the compliance gap the Washington reusable screening report framework was designed to close.
California sits alone in the voluntary opt-in tier. AB 2559 added Civil Code § 1950.1, effective January 1, 2023, defining the reusable tenant screening report and laying out the rules for acceptance. The statute is explicit: it does not require landlords to accept reports. But for landlords who choose to opt in, the rules are demanding. They must provide clear and conspicuous notice on every internet listing, every landlord-maintained website, every application form, and every physical location where applications are submitted. Once opted in, they cannot charge an application screening fee or a fee to access the report when an applicant provides a qualifying RTSR, and California's local ordinance layer means some cities impose stricter opt-in requirements than the AB 2559 baseline.
Outside the seven states with active laws, three jurisdictions have generated repeated PTSR activity without anything passing into law as of 2026.
Florida has seen multiple attempts. House Bill 43 was withdrawn earlier in the cycle. Senate Bill 48, which bundled PTSR provisions into a broader accessory dwelling unit bill, died in House Messages on March 13, 2026, per the Florida Senate's official tracker. Florida currently has no PTSR statute. The state is worth monitoring because the political pattern suggests another attempt will surface in a future session.
Washington, D.C., and San Diego have both been flagged in the National Apartment Association tracking, but neither has produced an active bill at the time of this draft. The NAA's running coverage of state-level PTSR legislation is the best tally of where new proposals are emerging across the country.
For renters and landlords curious about the underlying statutory text, the best primary sources are state legislature pages directly: the Colorado General Assembly's HB23-1099 page and the Illinois General Assembly's Public Act 103-0840 are good starting points. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development also publishes the Maryland Tenants' Bill of Rights as a single PDF that consolidates many of the protections discussed above.
For renters, the first move is concrete. If you live in one of the seven states with a PTSR law, order one comprehensive report from a reputable consumer reporting agency before applying anywhere. Confirm the validity window for your state — most are 30 days, Rhode Island is 90 — and check with each landlord upfront whether they accept reports and how they prefer to receive them. Renters in mandatory states whose landlord refuses a compliant PTSR have a defined recourse path — the step-by-step process for challenging a PTSR refusal in Colorado covers how to document the claim and what to expect.
For landlords, the priority is making sure your listings, applications, and websites match what your state requires. The two most common compliance failures in practice are silent refusal — refusing PTSRs without disclosing the policy — and improper fee collection after a compliant report has been provided. Either can trigger penalties even when the rest of the operation is clean.
The PTSR rules will keep shifting through 2026 and beyond. Florida will almost certainly try again; D.C. and San Diego remain in the conversation. The simplest move is to bookmark this guide and check back when your state next opens a legislative session. If you want a screening platform built around the seven-state reality from day one, Clara's tenant screening approach is worth exploring.
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