Learn what a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report is, the two disclosures Washington owners must make, and the fee rules under RCW 59.18.257.
A comprehensive reusable tenant screening report is a screening report a prospective tenant buys once from a consumer reporting agency and then shares with multiple landlords at no charge to each one.
Under RCW 59.18.257, Washington landlords must disclose whether they accept these reports, both in the pre-screening notice and on any website advertising their rentals. If you accept them, you may still pull your own report on the applicant, but you cannot charge the applicant for it.
Reusable reports are one of the most misunderstood corners of Washington screening law. Owners often assume they are optional paperwork, or that accepting one means giving up control of the screening process. Neither is true.
Here is what the statute actually requires, what these reports contain, and how to decide whether accepting them fits your rental criteria.
Washington law defines the term precisely. Under RCW 59.18.030, a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report is a report prepared by a consumer reporting agency at the direction of, and paid for by, the prospective tenant, and made available directly to a prospective landlord at no charge.
To qualify, the report must contain all five of the following:
The idea behind the law is simple. The Legislature found that applicants who apply to multiple properties were paying repeated screening fees for successive reports containing essentially the same information. A reusable report lets the applicant pay once and share the result with every landlord they apply to, as long as the report stays current.
Note one detail in that definition: the credit report component must be no more than 30 days old. That built-in freshness requirement matters later when we talk about older reports.
You are never required to accept reusable reports. You are always required to say whether you do. RCW 59.18.257 creates two separate disclosure duties.
1. The pre-screening notice. Before you obtain any information about a prospective tenant, you must notify them in writing, or by posting, of:
2. The website statement. If you maintain a website advertising the rental of a dwelling unit, or use one as an information source for current or prospective tenants, the property's home page must include a statement saying whether or not you accept comprehensive reusable tenant screening reports.
These duties apply regardless of which stance you take. An owner who never plans to accept a reusable report still has to say so in the notice and on the site.
Get the notice right before you collect a single fee. Violations of the notice requirement can cost you up to $100 per violation, plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees for the prevailing party. Just as important, you may not charge any screening fee at all unless the pre-screening notice was given first.
The fee mechanics are where owners most often slip. The rules split cleanly based on your stance.
If you accept reusable reports: you may still access your own tenant screening report on the applicant. Many owners do, because they trust their usual provider. But you cannot charge the prospective tenant for your own report. The whole point of the reusable report is that the applicant already paid once; the statute does not let you bill them a second time for information you chose to re-pull.
If you do not accept reusable reports: you may charge the applicant for the costs you incur in obtaining a screening report, but only if you provided the full pre-screening notice first.
If you conduct your own screening rather than ordering a report, you may charge only your actual costs, and the amount may not exceed the customary costs charged by screening services in your general area. Actual costs can include long distance calls and time spent contacting prior landlords, employers, and financial institutions, but they are actual costs, not a profit line.
Either way, screening fees in Washington are tied to real expenses and real disclosures. For the broader rules on application criteria, adverse action notices, and fees, see our full guide to tenant screening in Washington State.
Whether to accept these reports is a business decision, and there are honest arguments on both sides.
The case for accepting them:
The case for caution:
None of these cons are reasons to dismiss reusable reports. They are reasons to treat the report as a starting point rather than a complete file.
The right way to make this call is to put your written rental criteria next to the statutory components and look for gaps.
However you decide, screen every applicant against the same written criteria in the same order. Consistency is the backbone of tenant screening best practices and your strongest protection under fair housing law.
No. Acceptance is voluntary. What is mandatory is disclosure: your pre-screening notice must state whether you accept them, and any website advertising your rental must say so on the property's home page. Skipping the disclosure can mean liability of up to $100 plus court costs and attorney fees, and it forfeits your right to charge a screening fee.
Not for your own report on that applicant. If you indicate you accept reusable reports, you may still access your own screening report, but RCW 59.18.257 prohibits charging the prospective tenant for it. The applicant already paid for the reusable report.
It likely no longer qualifies. By statutory definition, a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report must include a consumer credit report prepared within the past 30 days. A report whose credit component is older than that does not meet the definition, and you may ask the applicant for a current one.
Yes. You may pull your own screening report at your own expense, and you can require income documentation and contact prior landlords as part of your written criteria. Accepting the report changes who pays for screening, not the standards an applicant must meet.
This article is general information for Washington rental property owners, not legal advice. Screening laws change and local ordinances add requirements; consult an attorney for guidance on your specific situation.
Set the criteria up front, then apply them identically to every single applicant. Consistency is the whole game. The fastest way to a Fair Housing complaint, or a non-paying resident, is making an exception on a gut feeling. Here is how we keep it disciplined:
We screen under the Fair Housing Act, Washington law, and local ordinances, including source-of-income and fair-chance rules. Lawful income like a housing voucher is counted, never penalized.
You get a real, repeatable system, not a hunch. That is what protects your home and your residents.
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