Rental Application Fee Laws and Limits by State

A rental application fee pays for checking an applicant: a credit report, a background and eviction search, and the landlord's time calling references. Federal law does not cap it, but several states do, and a few ban it outright. The checker above applies the rule for 13 states with statewide limits; the table below quotes each one, linked to the official text.

Rental application fee laws by state

From each state's official statute site, read November 2, 2026; New York from the Attorney General's Residential Tenants' Rights Guide, which summarizes Real Property Law § 238-a. States not listed may have no statewide rule, and cities can add their own. Not legal advice.

Example: a $1,500 apartment with a $35 screening report

Computed with the same rules as the checker: monthly rent $1,500 and an actual screening cost of $35. Where the law limits the fee to actual cost, the most is that $35.

States with a dollar cap on application fees

New York: "Before signing a lease, the most a landlord can charge for a credit and background check is $20." The landlord must give the applicant a copy of the check and the company's invoice, and cannot charge an applicant who provides a check from the past 30 days (NY Attorney General).

Virginia: "An application fee shall not exceed $50, exclusive of any actual out-of-pocket expenses paid by the landlord to a third party performing background, credit, or other pre-occupancy checks" (Va. Code 55.1-1203). With a $35 screening report, the most is $85. Virginia also allows a refundable application deposit on top, which must be returned, less actual expenses, within 20 days if the applicant does not rent (55.1-1203(A)).

Delaware: the fee may not exceed "the greater of either 10 percent of the monthly rent for the rental unit or $50" (25 Del. C. § 5514). At $1,500 rent that is $150; below $500 rent, the $50 floor applies.

Wisconsin: a landlord may charge the actual cost of a nationwide credit report "up to $25," must tell the applicant first and give them a copy, and cannot charge someone who brings a report under 30 days old. For an applicant who lives out of state, a landlord may also charge the actual cost of a background check, up to $25 (Wis. Stat. 704.085).

New Jersey: from May 1, 2026, a landlord "shall not require an application or other similar fee to apply to lease or sublease a residential rental property for dwelling purposes, which exceeds $50" (N.J.S.A. 46:8-18.1; effective date from P.L.2025, c.405). The cap does not apply to a unit in a one- or two-family dwelling, or to a licensed real estate agent who is not the landlord, and from 2027 it is adjusted each year when consumer prices rise (46:8-18.1(d)). See the New Jersey lease agreement template.

States that ban application fees

Vermont says plainly that a landlord "shall not charge an application fee to any individual in order to apply to enter into a rental agreement for a residential dwelling unit" (9 V.S.A. § 4456a). Massachusetts gets to the same place another way: at or before the start of a tenancy a landlord or its agent may not require any payment beyond first month's rent, last month's rent, a deposit equal to one month and the cost of a new lock and key (M.G.L. c. 186, § 15B). An application fee is not on that list.

States that limit the fee to actual cost

• California: no more than actual out-of-pocket costs and never more than $30 per applicant, which "may be adjusted annually" with the Consumer Price Index from January 1, 1998. Landlords must either consider applications in order and refund fees for applications not considered, or refund every applicant not selected within 7 days of choosing a tenant or 30 days of the application (Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6). The statute does not publish the current adjusted figure.
• Colorado: the fee must be used entirely for processing costs, must be the same for every applicant, cannot be charged to someone who provides a portable screening report from the past 30 days, and any unused part should be refunded, with a good-faith effort to do so within 20 calendar days (C.R.S. 38-12-903; 38-12-904).
• Oregon: a screening charge only to cover screening, with a receipt, no more than one charge per applicant in 60 days, and no more than average actual cost or the customary screening company price (ORS 90.295).
• Washington: a landlord may pass on the cost of a screening report only after giving written notice of what will be checked and the denial criteria (RCW 59.18.257).

States with refund rules

In Maryland, a landlord with more than four units at one location who takes fees over $25, other than the deposit, must return them within 15 days except the part actually spent on a credit check or other application costs, or owe twice the fees (Real Prop. § 8-213). Minnesota bars a fee when no unit is available and requires a refund if the applicant is rejected for a reason not disclosed in advance or an earlier applicant takes the unit (Minn. Stat. § 504B.173).

How to charge an application fee the right way

1. Check your state above, and your city, before setting the fee.
2. Write down your screening criteria and give them to applicants with the application.
3. Charge only what the check costs where the law requires it, and the same amount to everyone.
4. Give a receipt, and a copy of the report where your state requires it.
5. If the report leads you to deny or add conditions, send an adverse action notice; see the tenant background check page for the federal steps.
6. Refund on time where your state requires refunds.

Most landlord apps collect the fee from the applicant for you; compare what each charges on the tenant screening services page. For example, TurboTenant applicants pay $45 or $55 (TurboTenant review) and RentSpree charges $39.99 or $49.99, or $20 in New York (RentSpree review). The application form itself is free on our rental application template.