Tenant Screening in Alabama

FCRA-compliant tenant screening for landlords in Alabama — serving Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa and every other Alabama market. Reports start at $24.99 with no subscription. Alabama-specific reporting-law overlays are applied automatically before the landlord sees any record.

What landlords in Alabama can include in a screening report

• Credit report and score — TransUnion VantageScore plus tradeline detail.
• Criminal background — nationwide criminal record search with Alabama-specific look-back limits applied.
• Housing records — sealed, dismissed, and time-barred housing-court records filtered before they reach you.
• Income verification — optional payroll + bank-link verification via Pinwheel.
• AI landlord reference call — optional AI agent calls the applicant’s prior landlord and produces a structured summary.

Housing records reporting in Alabama

Federal FCRA 7-year reporting limit applies. Alabama does not currently impose an additional state-level restriction on housing-records reporting.

Statutory citation: 15 U.S.C. § 1681c

How reporting limits interact with what you may lawfully consider is covered in what landlords can screen for and the investigative consumer report explainer.

Criminal-record reporting in Alabama

Federal FCRA 7-year limit applies for non-conviction items. Alabama has no broader state-level statute restricting reporting.

Fair housing in Alabama

The Federal Fair Housing Act applies in addition to the federal Fair Housing Act. Source of income is not a statewide protected class in Alabama; check your municipal ordinance, which may add this protection locally.

Notable Alabama considerations

Federal HUD-administered Fair Housing Act applies; verify with local counsel before relying on this summary.

What Alabama law limits when you screen and rent

These are the statutory limits most likely to affect a Alabama landlord at the application stage, compiled from state statutes and reviewed August 2026. Where a limit could not be tied to a specific statute it is left out rather than estimated. Statutes change and local ordinances often add limits your state does not — this is a starting point for your own check, not legal advice, and not a substitute for counsel licensed in Alabama.

Rental application / screening fee

Alabama sets no statewide limit on rental application or screening fees; landlords may set their own amount. Citation: No application fee provision in Ala. Code tit. 35, ch. 9A (Alabama URLTA)

Security deposit limit

Alabama caps security deposits at one month's rent, except that a landlord may collect more for pets, changes to the premises, or increased liability risks. Citation: Ala. Code § 35-9A-201(a)

Criminal history (fair-chance housing)

Alabama has no statewide fair-chance housing law, so landlords may consider criminal history subject only to federal fair housing limits. Citation: No Alabama fair-chance housing statute

Local ordinances frequently add limits your state statute does not — check your city and county before you set an application fee or a deposit.

How RentalApplication.ai works for Alabama landlords

1. You start a screening at rentalapplication.ai/apply. Enter the applicant’s name and email; pick the reports you want.
2. The applicant gets an email with a secure link, completes the application, and authorizes the screening (FCRA § 1681b(b)(2)).
3. The applicant pays at the moment of submission (or you can land-lord-pay).
4. Reports are delivered to you in minutes (credit) to a few hours (housing/criminal). State-law overlays are applied before the landlord sees any record.
5. If you decline based on the report, we generate the FCRA § 1681m adverse-action notice for you.

This page is an informational summary, not legal advice. State and local landlord-tenant law changes frequently — verify against current statute and local counsel before relying on this content. RentalApplication.ai is a reseller of consumer reports under FCRA § 1681a(u) and does not make tenancy decisions. The landlord (the “end user”) is the party who decides whether to approve or deny an application.