Is there a standard rental application form?

No federal form exists. Landlords write their own or use one from a landlord or realtor association in their state. Any layout works if it follows your state and local rules on fees and questions.

Can a landlord ask for my Social Security number?

No federal law forbids it, and screening companies use it to match credit files. You can ask to give it straight to the screening company rather than writing it on a form that gets emailed around. Our template has no SSN box for that reason.

How much can a landlord charge for a rental application fee?

It depends on the state. California limits the fee to the landlord’s actual costs, capped at $30 per applicant as adjusted for inflation since 1998, and requires an itemized receipt (Civil Code 1950.6). New York allows only the cost of background and credit checks, up to $20 (Real Property Law 238-a). In Massachusetts the Attorney General reads state law as ruling out application fees. Check your own state and city before paying or charging one.

Does every adult need to fill out a separate application?

It is common practice, and our form assumes it: one application per adult who will live in the unit, so each one can be screened and each one signs the authorization.

What does a landlord have to tell me if I am turned down?

If a consumer report played any part in the decision, including approval with a co-signer, a larger deposit or higher rent, the landlord must give you an adverse action notice (15 U.S.C. 1681m). It names the company that supplied the report, says that company did not make the decision, and explains your right to a free copy within 60 days and to dispute errors.

Can a landlord refuse my housing voucher?

Source of income is not one of the seven classes in the federal Fair Housing Act, but some states and cities protect it. California does, and its definition includes Section 8 vouchers. A California landlord must also base any income test on the part of the rent the tenant pays, and offer voucher holders a way to show ability to pay other than a credit check (Government Code 12955). Check the law where the unit is.

Can a landlord ask about criminal history?

It depends on where the unit is. No federal law bans the question, and HUD withdrew its 2016 criminal records guidance in 2025. Some local laws do restrict it: New York City bars most housing providers with three or more units from looking at conviction history before a conditional offer, and Cook County, Illinois bars a criminal-history checkbox on applications. The FTC still warns that a blanket policy of refusing anyone with a record may violate the Fair Housing Act.

Can I fill out a landlord’s rental application PDF online?

Yes. Upload it to JustFill, whether it is fillable, flat or a scan. Paste your details or type them, check each value on the page, and download. Your first clean download is free. Sign it yourself.

Rental Application Form: Free Fillable PDF for Landlords

What each section asks, and why

Most of a rental application is contact details for people who can confirm what the applicant wrote. The value is in the calls you make afterwards.

A. Property
Address and unit, rent, deposit, lease term, date available, and your name and contact. You fill this in before sending.
Why: The applicant agrees to be screened for one unit at one rent. Writing the terms down first saves the “I thought it was $1,650” call later. It also names who the report authorization in section J is given to.
B. Applicant
Name, other names used, phone, email, desired move-in date.
Why: Other names (a maiden name, a hyphenated or shortened one) help the screening company match records to the right person. The SSN and date of birth go straight to the screening company, the only party that needs them.
C. Everyone who will live in the unit
How many people, which other adults are applying, and the other occupants by name.
Why: Occupancy limits depend on how many people will live there, so ask that. Ages and relationships aren’t needed for it, and asking points at familial status, which the Fair Housing Act protects along with race, color, religion, sex, disability and national origin 42 U.S.C. 3604. Each adult completes their own application, so everyone on the lease is screened the same way.
D. Residence history
Current and previous address, dates, rent, landlord contact, reason for moving.
Why: Call both landlords. A current landlord who wants a difficult tenant gone has a reason to be generous. The previous one has nothing riding on the answer. Ask things with factual answers: the dates, the rent, whether it was paid on time, whether notice was given, and whether they would rent to the person again.
E. Employment and income
Employer, position, start date, gross monthly income, other income, what is attached, and a free-text box.
Why: Set your income rule before the first application comes in, write it down, and use it for everyone. Voucher payments, benefits and support are income too, and some states protect source of income (see California below). The free-text box lets someone with a new job or a gap in work explain before you draw conclusions.
F. References and emergency contact
Two references outside the family; one emergency contact.
Why: References should be people who have seen how the applicant pays and lives: a former employer, a coworker, a landlord from years ago. The emergency contact is for after move-in, not for screening.
G. Pets, vehicles and smoking
Pet type, breed, weight; make, model, plate; whether anyone smokes or vapes.
Why: An assistance animal is not a pet. HUD’s own regulation uses this exact case as its example: a blind applicant with a guide dog, a building with a no-pets policy, and a refusal that violates the rule 24 CFR 100.204. The form tells applicants not to list assistance animals as pets, so a pet fee or weight limit isn’t applied to one by mistake.
H. Rental history questions
Eviction judgments and bankruptcy filings in the past 7 years, any balance owed to a landlord, and room to explain.
Why: The question is about judgments, not filings. A case that was dismissed or settled says little about how someone pays rent. Some states go further: New York bars refusing to rent because an applicant was in a past or pending landlord-tenant case, and checking housing-court records before a refusal creates a presumption that you did N.Y. RPL 227-f. In New York, strike out the eviction question before you send the form, and do the same anywhere with a question your state or city limits.
I. Application fee
Amount, date paid, how it was paid, and the screening company.
Why: Whether you may charge a fee, and how much, is state law (see the state rules below). Naming the screening company tells the applicant who will contact them for the SSN and identity check.
J. Authorization for consumer reports
Permission to order a screening report and to call the landlords, employers and references listed.
Why: A landlord has a permissible purpose under the FCRA when the applicant started the transaction by applying 15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)(3)(F)(i). The FTC says you “may also get written permission” to show it FTC, and screening companies generally ask for one. The paragraph also tells the applicant what notice they get if a report counts against them.
K. Certification and signature
Signature, printed name, date. Then a landlord-only strip for dates, the fee, the decision and any adverse action notice.
Why: If an answer turns out to be false, you have the applicant’s signed statement that it was true. The office strip is the record you will want if a decision is ever questioned.

Questions to leave off, and what to ask instead

The federal Act protects seven groups: race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status and national origin 3604. States and cities can add more, as California does. Most problem questions have a harmless version that gets you what you actually need.

Leave off	Ask instead	Why
Do you have children? How old is everyone?	How many people will live in the unit?	Familial status is protected 3604(a). An occupancy limit needs a head count, not ages.
Do you have a disability? Any mental health conditions or medication?	Nothing, or ask every applicant whether they can meet the lease terms.	Disability questions are banned except a short list asked of all applicants, starting with “ability to meet the requirements of ownership or tenancy” 24 CFR 100.202(c).
Is that a real service dog? What is it for?	Do you have pets? (Assistance animals are not pets.)	A request to keep an assistance animal is a reasonable-accommodation request, handled apart from the pet policy 100.204.
Where were you born? Are you a citizen?	Other names used, so records match.	National origin is protected federally. California also bars landlords from asking about immigration or citizenship status, except to verify identity or finances or to comply with federal law Civ. Code 1940.3.
Are you married? How are you related to your co-applicant?	Who else is applying with you?	Sex is protected federally. California goes further and bans any “written or oral inquiry” about marital status, sexual orientation and other protected traits Gov. Code 12955(b).
Have you ever been arrested?	Nothing on the form. See criminal records below.	An arrest isn’t a conviction, and some cities and counties bar criminal-history questions on the application.

Screening reports: what the FCRA asks of you

A tenant screening report is a consumer report, so the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies. You may get one on anyone who applies to rent from you, and you must certify to the screening company that you will use it only for housing FTC.

When a report counts against the applicant

The FTC lists rejecting an applicant, requiring a co-signer, asking for a deposit you wouldn’t ask of others, and charging more rent. The notice is required even when the report “played only a small part in the overall decision” FTC. It has to include 15 U.S.C. 1681m(a):

That you took the adverse action (orally, in writing or electronically).
If you used a credit score: the score, its range, up to four key factors, the date and who provided it.
The name, address and phone number of the company that supplied the report (toll-free if it is a nationwide agency).
A statement that the company did not make the decision and can’t explain why it was made.
The applicant’s right to a free copy of the report within 60 days, and to dispute anything inaccurate or incomplete.

An oral notice is legal, but the FTC calls written notice “the best practice”. Keep a copy, and note the date in the office box on page 2 of the form.

When you are done with a report, dispose of it so it can’t be read or reused: the rule covers anyone who holds consumer report information for a business purpose, not only big companies 16 CFR 682.3(a).

Criminal records: why our form doesn’t ask

For years landlords were pointed to HUD’s 2016 guidance, which said an arrest alone is not a reliable basis for denial and that a landlord with a blanket ban on anyone with a conviction would be unable to justify it. HUD withdrew it effective September 25, 2025, and says it “should not be relied upon” 91 FR 44867. HUD has also proposed removing its disparate-impact rule; as of this review the rule is still on the books 91 FR 1475.

The statute did not change. It still lets you exclude someone convicted of illegally making or distributing a controlled substance 3607(b)(4), which is also one of the few questions HUD’s disability rule allows 100.202(c)(5). And the FTC still warns that “a blanket policy of refusing to rent to anyone with a criminal record may violate the Fair Housing Act” FTC.

The tightest limits are now local. New York City’s Fair Chance Housing Law, in force since January 1, 2025, bars most providers with three or more units from seeking or reviewing conviction history before a conditional offer, and from mentioning criminal checks in ads and applications NYC Commission on Human Rights. Cook County, Illinois bans the criminal-history checkbox on applications, keeps background checks out of the prequalification step, and doesn’t let landlords consider records more than three years old Cook County. Seattle stopped enforcing its ban on asking in June 2023 after a court ruling, but still bars requiring applicants to disclose their history or acting on it, with exceptions Seattle.

So the template leaves criminal history off. Where you may screen for it, publish your written criteria before anyone pays a fee, let the screening company run the check, and apply the same criteria to everyone.

Application fees: the state rules we checked

Whether you may charge a fee, how much, and what you owe the applicant in return are state questions. We checked these four against the statute text. A state that isn’t listed may still have rules, and some cities add their own.

California

Actual out-of-pocket costs only, capped at $30 per applicant, adjusted each year for inflation since 1998. The statute doesn’t print today’s figure. Give an itemized receipt. No fee when you know, or should know, that no unit is available now or will be soon. Since January 1, 2025 you may charge only if you either consider completed applications in the order received, with written screening criteria handed out with the form, or refund every applicant you don’t select within 7 days of choosing a tenant or 30 days of the application, whichever comes first. Send the applicant a copy of the credit report within 7 days of receiving it. Civ. Code 1950.6

New York

The only charge allowed before or at the start of a tenancy is for background and credit checks: actual cost or $20, whichever is less. You must give the applicant a copy of the check and the screening company’s receipt, and waive the fee if they bring a check done in the past 30 days. N.Y. RPL 238-a

Massachusetts

At or before the start of a tenancy you or your agent may collect only first month’s rent, last month’s rent, a security deposit of up to one month’s rent, and the cost of a new lock and key G.L. c.186 §15B(1)(b). The Attorney General’s guide reads this as ruling out application fees Mass. AG.

Washington

Before you get any screening information, tell the applicant in writing (or by posting) what you will check, what can lead to denial, the name and address of the screening company, and whether you accept a comprehensive reusable screening report. Without that notice you can’t charge for screening. If you screen yourself, charge actual costs, no more than local screening services charge. RCW 59.18.257

Rental applications in California

California has the fee rules above, and more on the application itself. If your units are there, check these before you use any form, ours included:

Asking about a protected trait is itself illegal, in writing or out loud. California’s list adds marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, ancestry, veteran or military status and genetic information to the federal ones Gov. Code 12955(b).
Vouchers count as income. “Source of income” includes housing subsidies such as Section 8 vouchers. You may still ask about the level or source of income 12955(p).
Income tests for subsidized applicants must be based on the part of the rent the tenant pays. Since January 1, 2024 you must also offer those applicants a way to show ability to pay other than credit history, such as benefit payments, pay records or bank statements, and consider it 12955(o). The “Attached” line on our form has boxes for exactly those.
Reusable screening reports. You don’t have to accept one. If you do, you can’t charge an application fee or a fee to access it. It must be prepared within the past 30 days by a consumer reporting agency, at the applicant’s request and cost Civ. Code 1950.1.
No questions about immigration or citizenship status, except to verify identity or financial qualifications, or to meet a federal legal obligation Civ. Code 1940.3.

One form for every applicant

A landlord with a few units handles the same form many times a year, one copy per adult for every vacancy. Set it up once:

1
Pick the form once
Start from our template, or upload the form you already use: your own, one from your state association, or a scanned paper form. JustFill finds the fields on flat and scanned PDFs as well as fillable ones.
2
Save it as a reusable template
After you check the fields, save the layout. The next time you open the same PDF, every box is already in place, so there is nothing to detect or redraw.
3
Fill section A per unit
Keep your standing details (your name, phone, email, screening company and fee) as Saved Data. For a new listing, insert them, type the address and rent, download, and send that copy to every applicant for the unit.
4
Fill applications that arrive as text
When an applicant gives you their details by email, text or over the phone, paste them into Smart Fill. The values go into the matching boxes, and you check each one on the page before you download. The applicant still signs.
5
Or fill many from a spreadsheet
If applications come in through an online form, export the responses and use Batch Fill to get one filled PDF per row in a ZIP. Columns named like the template’s fields (applicant_last_name, current_landlord_phone) map on their own.

Your first clean download is free. JustFill copies what you give it; it does not screen applicants or decide anything about them.

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Applying? Filling a landlord’s PDF

Every landlord’s form looks different, but they ask for the same twenty or so facts. Write them down once in a note: addresses with move-in and move-out months, landlord names and phone numbers, employer and start date, monthly income, two references, vehicle and plate. When you apply, upload the landlord’s PDF (fillable, flat or a phone photo of a paper form), paste the note, check every value on the page, download, and sign.

Call your references first. A number they don’t recognize often goes to voicemail.
If the form asks for your SSN, ask whether you can give it to the screening company directly instead.
Ask for a receipt for the fee, and keep a copy of what you sent.

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Common mistakes

LandlordDeciding the criteria after reading the applications. Write the rule (income, rental history, which records count and how far back) before the first one arrives.
LandlordAsking for a co-signer or a bigger deposit because of a report, with no FCRA notice. That is an adverse action too.
LandlordCharging a pet fee or applying a breed limit to an assistance animal.
LandlordOnly calling the current landlord.
LandlordKeeping SSNs and screening reports in an inbox for years. When you no longer need them, shred the paper and delete the files.
LandlordUsing a form written for another state. Fee rules and banned questions differ, and some cities add their own.
ApplicantLeaving gaps in address or job history with no explanation.
ApplicantListing relatives as references, or not warning references, who then ignore a call from an unknown number.
ApplicantForgetting that each adult who will live there usually applies separately.

Questions

Sources

A template and general information for US landlords and applicants, not legal advice, and using it does not make your process compliant. Fair housing, screening and fee rules differ by state and city: check yours, or ask a local attorney, before you use any application form. Last reviewed September 22, 2026.

What each section asks, and why

A. Property

B. Applicant

C. Everyone who will live in the unit

D. Residence history

E. Employment and income

F. References and emergency contact

G. Pets, vehicles and smoking

H. Rental history questions

I. Application fee

J. Authorization for consumer reports

K. Certification and signature