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Screening Applicants for Your Clients

Order background checks on behalf of a landlord who has authorized you — using your own screening credits, not theirs.

Go to Screening →

What you need before you can screen

  • Your own identity verification — Verify for $5 or Platinum at $5/month (identity included)
  • An accepted, full-scope relationship with that landlord — see Requesting Client Authorization and Creating Listings
  • The applicant's own FCRA consent, which VerticalRent requires before a report runs

Opening Screening without any client selected lists every landlord you are authorized to screen for, each with a Screen applicants for [landlord] shortcut. If you try to screen for a landlord whose scope is not full (or who has revoked you), you'll see an "Authorization required" message instead of the order screen.

Reports available

  • Criminal background check — felonies, misdemeanors, and the sex offender registry
  • Eviction history — prior eviction filings and court judgments
  • Rental history (SSN trace) — previous addresses and address-history verification

Not live — do not treat as available

Credit reports (TransUnion/Experian) always show as coming soon. Don't make credit-based housing decisions based on VerticalRent.

Pick the reports you need

You can order criminal, eviction, or rental history on their own. Each paid report uses 1 screening credit. Platinum includes identity verification and 1 report each month.

Your agent screening credits

Screening you run for clients draws from your own screening-credit balance — separate from any landlord or renter credits you might also hold if you use another VerticalRent role. Each report costs 1 credit ($5). Platinum includes 1 report per month; extra reports are $5 each. If your balance is too low, the order drawer links you to buy more before you can submit.

Order status and results

Each order moves through Pending → Processing → Complete or Failed. On the Screening list, each report type gets its own status badge — Processing, Clear, Records Found, Pending Review, or Error. Opening a completed check shows full report detail, an FCRA compliance reminder, and a PDF download for each completed report type.