Rental application & screening fee limits
Many states cap what a landlord can charge to process a rental application, some limit the fee to the actual cost of the tenant screening, and a few ban application fees outright. Cities like Berkeley, Portland, and Seattle add their own rules on top of state law.
Pick a state or city below to read about the law and find the official statute, or jump straight to the calculator for the current limit where your rental is.
Find your fee limit in seconds
Enter your rental's ZIP code and the calculator shows the current maximum application and screening fee, with the statutes and local rules that apply.
Calculate your fee limitsScreening fee laws by state
Every state page explains the law, links the official statute, and covers the extra obligations — refunds, receipts, and reusable screening reports — that apply on top of the fee limit.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
City rules on top of state law
These cities regulate application and screening fees beyond their state's rules — and this is not a closed list, so always check your local ordinances too.
This page is provided for general information only and is not legal advice. Fee rules change — caps re-index to inflation, new legislation takes effect, and cities adopt their own ordinances — so always confirm against the official statutory text linked above before relying on it. The federal Fair Housing Act applies everywhere, regardless of state or local fee rules.