You need written permission first
A screening report is a consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You need the applicant's written consent before you pull one. This is not a formality — it is the thing that makes the rest of it lawful.
What a report actually shows
Typically credit history, criminal records and prior evictions. Each of those has its own reliability problem: eviction records may not show a case that was dismissed, and criminal records can be wrong or out of date. Treat a report as evidence to ask about, not a verdict.
If you decline based on the report, you owe a notice
That is called an adverse action notice. It tells the applicant which agency supplied the report and that they can dispute it. Skipping it is one of the more common ways small landlords get themselves into trouble.
Fair housing applies to the whole process
You cannot apply different standards to different applicants on the basis of a protected class. The practical protection is to write your criteria down before you advertise, and apply the same ones to everybody in the same order.
SmartMove is TransUnion's screening product for individual landlords, with an option for the applicant to pay and to release the report themselves. It is the one we link to because it is the one we have a relationship with — see the note above.
Screen a tenant with SmartMove