Free Adverse-Action Notice for Landlords
When you deny an applicant – or impose less-favorable terms – based in whole or in part on a screening report, federal FCRA Section 615 requires a written adverse-action notice naming the reporting agency and stating the applicant’s free-report and dispute rights. Generate a compliant notice below.
An adverse-action notice is the written notice the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires when a rental decision is based in whole or in part on a consumer report. It must name the consumer reporting agency that furnished the report and tell the applicant they can get a free copy within 60 days and dispute anything inaccurate. Our FCRA landlord guide covers the full compliance picture, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you screen lawfully in the first place.
FCRA Adverse Action at a Glance
Statute
FCRA Sec. 615 (15 USC 1681m)
When required
Report-based denial or worse terms
Free-report right
60 days from notice
Deadline
Promptly (no fixed day-count)
FCRA adverse-action rules at a glance
If a consumer report played any part in a denial or in less-favorable terms, the notice is mandatory. Name the specific reporting agency – “a credit bureau” is not enough. Do not state the specific report items in the notice; the law has the applicant get those from the CRA. Send it promptly and keep a dated copy. Missing or vague notices are the most common – and most avoidable – FCRA violations in tenant screening.
How to Send the Adverse-Action Notice
Confirm an adverse action occurred
A denial, or any rental term less favorable to the applicant – cosigner, larger deposit, higher rent, reduced term – that was based in whole or in part on a consumer report is an adverse action that triggers the notice.
Identify the consumer reporting agency
Record the name, mailing address, and telephone of the screening company or credit bureau that furnished the report, including a toll-free number if it is a nationwide CRA.
State the four required elements
State the adverse action, name the CRA, state that the CRA did not make the decision and cannot explain it, and state the applicant’s 60-day free-report right and right to dispute.
Add the credit-score statement if a score was used
If a numerical credit score affected the decision, add the score, the range of possible scores, up to four key factors, the date the score was created, and the score provider.
Send promptly and retain a copy
Send the notice promptly after the decision by a method you can document, and keep a dated copy in the applicant file as proof of compliance.
Generate the Adverse-Action Notice
Complete the fields below to generate an FCRA-compliant adverse-action notice. The notice must include the nature of the adverse action, the consumer reporting agency’s name, address, and phone, a statement that the CRA did not make the decision, and the applicant’s right to dispute and to a free copy of the report within 60 days. Send it promptly after the decision and retain a copy.
Name the agency, not the report items
The notice’s job is to point the applicant to the consumer reporting agency and their rights – not to relitigate the decision. Name the specific CRA and include its contact details; do not list the individual report entries that drove the outcome. The applicant obtains those directly from the CRA when they exercise the 60-day free-report right.
1. Letter Header (From / To)
From (Landlord / Property Manager)
To (Applicant)
2. Adverse Action & Basis
Basis for the adverse action
3. Consumer Reporting Agency
Required FCRA statements
Credit-score statement (only if a score was used)
4. Signature
About the Adverse-Action Notice
An adverse-action notice is the written notice the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires whenever a landlord takes an unfavorable rental action based, in whole or in part, on information in a consumer report. The notice is governed by Section 615 of the FCRA, codified at 15 USC 1681m. The duty is purely federal, so it applies in all fifty states; some states layer additional consumer-reporting rules on top, but no landlord using a screening report is exempt from the baseline notice.
The first thing to understand is how broadly the law defines “adverse action.” It is not limited to a flat denial. It includes any term of the tenancy that is less favorable to the applicant than the term they would otherwise have received – requiring a cosigner or guarantor, demanding a larger security deposit, asking for first and last month’s rent up front, charging a higher monthly rent, or shortening the lease term. If a consumer report contributed to that less-favorable outcome, even partially, the notice is required. The phrase “in whole or in part” matters: the report does not have to be the only reason, just a reason.
The notice itself has four required elements. First, it states that an adverse action was taken. Second, it gives the name, address, and telephone number of the consumer reporting agency that furnished the report, including a toll-free number if the agency is one that compiles and maintains files nationwide. Third, it includes a statement that the CRA did not make the decision and is not able to explain the specific reasons for it – this exists so the applicant understands the landlord, not the bureau, made the call. Fourth, it tells the applicant they have the right to obtain a free copy of their file from that CRA if they request it within 60 days, and the right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information the CRA reported. A notice that omits the specific agency, or that buries these rights, does not satisfy the statute.
If the landlord used a numerical credit score in reaching the decision, an additional statement applies. The notice must also give the score itself, the range of possible scores under the model used, up to four key factors that adversely affected the score, the date the score was created, and the name of the entity that provided the score. The form above handles this through an optional block, so you include it only when a score actually drove the outcome.
A closely connected concept is the risk-based pricing notice under FCRA Section 615(h), 15 USC 1681m(h). The tenant screening forms hub collects the companion letters for an approval or a conditional offer. Risk-based pricing covers offering an applicant materially less favorable terms than the most favorable terms available, based on a consumer report. In practice, a properly completed adverse-action notice that includes the credit-score statement generally satisfies the risk-based pricing obligation as well, which is why most landlords send a single adverse-action notice rather than maintaining two separate documents.
One point landlords frequently get wrong is timing. The FCRA does not set a fixed number of days. The statutory trigger is simply that notice is required when the adverse action is taken, so the operative standard is promptness – generally same-day to a few business days after the decision is final. The 30-day clock that some landlords have in mind comes from the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the 25-month record-retention period is also an ECOA rule; both are separate from the FCRA’s “when taken” timing and should not be confused with it.
When the adverse action rests in part on a criminal background check, the FCRA notice is still required, but it is not the whole compliance picture. Federal fair-housing law continues to apply, and a blanket bar on applicants with any criminal record can create disparate-impact risk. Note that on November 26, 2025, HUD rescinded its 2016 Office of General Counsel guidance and the accompanying memos on the use of criminal records in housing – so the specific 2016 guidance landlords may have relied on no longer governs. The underlying Fair Housing Act statute is unchanged, however, and courts continue to apply disparate-impact analysis, so individualized assessment of criminal history remains the defensible approach, and state and local fair-chance housing laws still apply.
What the Notice Must Include
- Federal statute – FCRA Section 615, 15 USC 1681m; the duty applies in every state.
- Trigger – any adverse action (denial or less-favorable term) based in whole or in part on a consumer report.
- The CRA’s identity – name, address, and phone of the agency that furnished the report, toll-free if nationwide.
- CRA-did-not-decide statement – the agency made no decision and cannot explain the specific reasons.
- Free-report right – the applicant may obtain a free copy of their file from the CRA within 60 days.
- Dispute right – the applicant may dispute the accuracy or completeness of the reported information.
- Credit-score statement – the score, range, up to four key factors, date, and provider, if a score was used.
Common Mistakes
- Skipping the notice on a conditional approval – a cosigner, larger deposit, or higher rent is still an adverse action.
- Failing to name the specific CRA; “a credit agency” or “a screening service” does not satisfy the statute.
- Listing the specific report items in the notice instead of pointing the applicant to the CRA for them.
- Omitting the 60-day free-report right or the dispute-rights statement.
- Forgetting the credit-score statement block when a numerical score was actually used.
- Treating the 30-day ECOA window as the FCRA deadline – the FCRA standard is prompt, when the action is taken.
- Not retaining a dated copy of the notice in the applicant file.
Best Practices
- Send promptly – same-day to a few business days after the decision is the safe practice.
- Use one consistent template for every report-based decision so nothing is omitted.
- Document the basis internally – keep your reasons in the file, not in the notice itself.
- Send by a provable method – mail, email, or hand delivery with a record of when it went out.
- Retain a dated copy in the applicant file as proof of compliance.
- Check state law – California (CCRAA / ICRAA), New York (GBL Section 380), and others can add requirements.
Bottom line
If a screening report drove a denial or any less-favorable term, FCRA Section 615 requires a written adverse-action notice that names the reporting agency, states the CRA did not decide, and tells the applicant about the 60-day free-report and dispute rights – sent promptly and kept on file. Add the credit-score statement when a numerical score was used.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must a landlord send an adverse-action notice?
Whenever a rental decision is based in whole or in part on a consumer report and the result is adverse to the applicant. That includes outright denial and any less-favorable term – a required cosigner, a larger deposit, prepaid rent, a higher rent, or a shorter lease term. If a report played any part in the unfavorable outcome, FCRA Section 615 requires the notice.
What must the adverse-action notice contain?
Four things: notice of the adverse action; the name, address, and phone of the consumer reporting agency that furnished the report (toll-free if it is a nationwide CRA); a statement that the CRA did not make the decision and cannot explain the specific reasons; and a statement of the applicant’s right to a free copy of the report from the CRA within 60 days and the right to dispute its accuracy or completeness.
Is there a deadline to send the adverse-action notice?
The FCRA sets no fixed number of days. The statute requires notice when the adverse action is taken, so the practical standard is promptly – generally same-day to a few business days after the decision. Do not confuse this with the ECOA’s 30-day credit-application rule or the 25-month record-retention rule, which are separate requirements that can apply alongside the FCRA.
Do I have to send a notice for a conditional approval?
Yes, if the condition is less favorable than the applicant would otherwise have received and a consumer report drove it. Requiring a cosigner, a larger deposit, prepaid rent, or a higher rent because of report information is an adverse action under FCRA Section 615, even though you did not deny the applicant.
What is a risk-based pricing notice and is it different?
Risk-based pricing under FCRA Section 615(h) (15 USC 1681m(h)) covers offering materially less favorable terms based on a consumer report. A compliant adverse-action notice that includes the credit-score statement generally satisfies the obligation, so most landlords send a single adverse-action notice rather than a separate risk-based pricing notice.
Do I need to give the credit score?
Only if a numerical credit score was used in the decision. When it was, the notice must also state the score, the range of possible scores, up to four key factors that adversely affected the score, the date the score was created, and the entity that provided it. If no score was used, that additional block does not apply.
What happens if I skip the notice?
Failing to send a required adverse-action notice exposes the landlord to FCRA liability: statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 per willful violation under Section 616 (15 USC 1681n), or actual damages plus attorney fees for negligent violations under Section 617 (15 USC 1681o). A missing or vague notice – one that fails to name the specific CRA – is a common and avoidable violation.
Screen applicants with FCRA-ready reports
An adverse-action notice is only as defensible as the report behind it. Tenant Screening Background Check has been verifying renters since 2004 — credit, eviction filings, criminal background, and employment — with permissible-purpose documentation built in, across all 50 states and DC.
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