Deciding whether to rent to someone? Use an FCRA workflow.
FCRA workflows are built primarily for tenant screening and hiring decisions. If a result will help decide whether to rent to someone, the check has to run as an FCRA-regulated consumer report, with a permissible purpose, consent, accuracy controls and a dispute path for the person. Our standard search and API are not a consumer report. FCRA workflows run through FCRA Partner Access, for background check companies and screening platforms under a written FCRA agreement.
FCRA pricing is quoted per partner, so contact us for pricing.
Anyone can search — the care is in the decision
Sex offender registries are public records, so a landlord can search an applicant by name and date of birth across all 58 US registries in one pass. The result is awareness, not a consumer report — the tenancy decision still has to run through the Fair Housing Act, your state law, and the FCRA where it applies. Search to know; decide within the law.
Registry search vs. an FCRA tenant report
These do different jobs, and using one where the law expects the other is how landlords get into trouble. Most run both.
| Registry search (OffenderSearch) | FCRA tenant-screening report | |
|---|---|---|
| What it answers | Is this applicant on a sex offender registry? | A fuller background/credit picture for the tenancy decision |
| Speed | Seconds, self-serve | Hours to days, via a screening company |
| Legal status | Public-record awareness — not a consumer report | An FCRA consumer report |
| Consent & notices | None required to search public records | Written consent + FCRA adverse-action notices required |
| Use in a denial | Not a basis on its own — take the decision through the law | The regulated instrument for an adverse decision |
Standard OffenderSearch results are not a consumer report.
What Fair Housing law actually says
General information, not legal advice — but knowing the shape of the law is what keeps a screening policy defensible.
Blanket criminal-record bans are risky
HUD’s 2016 Office of General Counsel guidance warns that refusing anyone with any criminal record can violate the Fair Housing Act through disparate impact, because arrest and conviction data differ by race — a protected class. Arrest records alone generally can’t justify a denial; policies are expected to weigh the nature, severity and recency of the conduct.
Registry status is treated differently
Sex offender registry status is not a protected class under the Fair Housing Act, and for federally assisted housing HUD rules go the other way: under 24 CFR, public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher program must deny admission to anyone subject to a lifetime registration requirement. The disparate-impact caution does not mean you cannot consider the registry.
Confirm your specific obligations under the FCRA, the Fair Housing Act and your state and local law with your own counsel.
How to run it — one applicant or the whole portfolio
No code, no per-search minimum. Search one applicant from the dashboard, or a whole building by CSV.
1 · Collect a name and one identifier
A full name plus a date of birth or the city on the application is enough to search accurately. Names repeat, so that identifier is what separates a real match from a namesake.
2 · Search the registries
Run the applicant across all 58 US sex offender registries in one pass — every state, DC and the territories — so an applicant who moved states still surfaces. Every match links to the official record to verify.
3 · Clear a whole portfolio at once
Screening a building or a stack of applications? Upload them as a spreadsheet with CSV batch screening — every row checked in one pass, billed per row, same scored records as a single search.
4 · Decide within the law
Use the result as awareness, then run any tenancy decision through the FCRA, the Fair Housing Act and your state law — with your own counsel, not a search result, making the call.
A property is not a one-time check — set monitoring on an address and be told if the picture nearby changes.
Tenant sex offender screening: FAQ
Can a landlord check if an applicant is a sex offender?
Yes. Sex offender registries are public records, and anyone — including a landlord — can search them. What you cannot do is treat that search as a shortcut around the law: it is not a consumer report, and any tenancy decision still has to respect the Fair Housing Act, your state law, and the FCRA where it applies.
Is a registry search the same as a tenant background check?
No. A registry search tells you whether an applicant appears on a sex offender registry; it is not a full FCRA consumer report and does not replace one. Many landlords run both — a registry search for immediate awareness, and an FCRA screening report through a consumer reporting agency for the formal decision. Screening companies can add our registry and criminal records to that report through FCRA Partner Access.
What does Fair Housing law say about using criminal records?
HUD’s 2016 Office of General Counsel guidance warns that a blanket ban on anyone with a criminal record can violate the Fair Housing Act through disparate impact, because arrest and conviction data differ by race — a protected class. Arrest records alone generally can’t justify a denial, and policies are expected to be individualized to the nature, severity and recency of conduct. Sex offender registry status is treated differently — see the next question. This is general information, not legal advice.
Does that mean I can’t consider the registry at all?
No. Registry status is not a protected class under the Fair Housing Act, and for federally assisted housing HUD rules go the other way: under 24 CFR, public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher program must deny admission to anyone subject to a lifetime sex offender registration requirement. So the disparate-impact caution around general criminal history does not translate into “you cannot consider the registry.” Confirm your specific obligations with counsel.
How do I screen a whole portfolio of applicants at once?
Upload the applicants as a spreadsheet. CSV batch screening runs every row against all 58 US registries and returns the same scored, source-cited records as a single search, so a property manager can clear a stack of applications in one pass instead of one lookup at a time.
Standard OffenderSearch results are not a consumer report. FCRA-covered tenancy decisions run through FCRA Partner Access, and must also follow the Fair Housing Act and your state law. This is general information, not legal advice.
Screen your next applicant in seconds
Search a name free — 25 searches, no card — or clear a whole portfolio at once with a CSV upload.