Missouri Tenant Screening Laws: What Landlords Can and Cannot Do
Missouri does not cap screening fees, caps deposits at two months, and penalizes a late return – the FCRA and federal fair housing law govern who you approve. Here is how to screen legally in 2026.
Tenant screening in Missouri is governed lightly by state statute and heavily by federal law. RSMo 535.300 sets the deposit limit and the return rules, but Missouri says little about how you evaluate an applicant – which makes the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and fair housing law the real rulebook, and a written, consistent process your best protection.
This guide covers what you may screen, what you can charge, and the deposit rules under RSMo 535.300. If you are new to the mechanics, our overview of how to screen tenants step by step pairs well with the Missouri-specific points below.
Video: a plain-language walkthrough of Missouri tenant screening, application fees, deposits, and adverse action.
Key Takeaways: Missouri Tenant Screening Laws
- No application-fee cap. Missouri does not limit screening fees, but they must be reasonable and tied to the actual cost of the report.
- Deposits are capped at two months’ rent under RSMo 535.300, held for the tenant in a bank, credit union or depository institution insured by an agency of the federal government. Any interest earned belongs to the landlord.
- Return within thirty days with a written itemized list of any damages withheld.
- Wrongful withholding is costly. A landlord who misses the deadline or withholds without cause can owe up to twice the amount.
What Missouri Law Lets You Screen
Missouri gives landlords broad authority to evaluate an applicant. With written permission you may obtain a consumer report covering credit, rental and payment history, employment and income, and public records such as criminal convictions and civil judgments, and you may decline applicants who fail your written standards.
Because Missouri regulates so little of the process, consistency is the safeguard: write your criteria down and apply them identically to every applicant. Our guide to the minimum credit score for renting explains how to set a threshold that screens for risk without screening out a protected class.
Application Fees in Missouri: No Cap
Missouri sets no maximum on a tenant application or screening fee. The practical limits are reasonableness and consistency: tie the fee to the actual cost of the report and charge the same amount to every applicant.
Uneven fees, or fees collected without genuine screening, draw fair housing scrutiny even where no cap exists. Treat the fee as part of a documented, even-handed process.
The deposit clock is the regulated part
Missouri leaves the fee to you, but RSMo 535.300 pins down the deposit: a two-month cap, a thirty-day return, and a double-damages penalty for a late or wrongful withholding.
Security Deposits Under RSMo 535.300
Missouri caps the security deposit at two months’ rent. The deposit must be held for the tenant in a bank, credit union or depository institution insured by an agency of the federal government — and under RSMo 535.300.2 any interest earned on it is the landlord’s property. Missouri imposes no duty to pay a tenant deposit interest, at six months or at any other point; a housing authority or other government entity acting as landlord is exempt from the holding requirement altogether.
Within thirty days after the tenancy ends and the tenant vacates, the landlord must return the full deposit or provide a written itemized list of the damages withheld. A landlord who fails to do so, or who withholds without cause, can be liable for up to twice the amount wrongfully withheld. Our deeper look at Missouri security deposit laws covers permitted deductions and the interest rule.
Missouri Fair Housing and Protected Classes
The Missouri Human Rights Act tracks the federal Fair Housing Act, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. Missouri does not add source of income as a statewide protected class. Whether the statutory word “sex” also covers sexual orientation and gender identity is now an open federal question. HUD withdrew its February 9, 2021 memorandum applying Bostock v. Clayton County to the Fair Housing Act effective September 25, 2025 (Docket FR-6617-N-01, 91 Federal Register 44867, published July 17, 2026), and withdrew the February 11, 2021 memorandum implementing Executive Order 13988 effective September 17, 2025 (Docket FR-6571-N-01). The statutory text of the Act is unchanged and Bostock was a Title VII employment case, so the withdrawal removes the interpretation HUD had stated without settling the question the other way. No successor has been issued. Do not read the withdrawal as permission: the exposure moved from HUD’s enforcement desk to the courtroom, and many states and localities protect sexual orientation and gender identity expressly, which is the clearer and more durable footing where it exists — check your state and city.
That means a landlord is not required by state law to accept a housing voucher, though uniform treatment of every applicant remains the rule. For the federal baseline, see our Fair Housing Act guide for landlords.
Criminal History, Credit, and Eviction Records
A criminal record can be a lawful basis to decline in Missouri, but a blanket no-record policy is the most common fair housing trap. Do not cite HUD’s 2016 criminal-records guidance for that point: it was withdrawn effective September 25, 2025 by the Federal Register Notice of the Withdrawal of OGC Guidance Documents, Docket No. FR-6617-N-01, 91 FR 44867, and HUD has issued nothing to replace it. What carries the point instead is the Fair Housing Act itself, the Supreme Court’s decision in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, 576 U.S. 519 (2015), and HUD’s discriminatory-effects rule at 24 CFR section 100.500, reinstated effective May 1, 2023 – so a flat ban can still violate the federal Fair Housing Act even without intent, because conviction records fall unevenly across racial groups. Read section 100.500 for what it is: a burden-shifting litigation standard under which the landlord carries the burden of proving the practice necessary to a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest that no less discriminatory practice would serve. It imposes no individualized-assessment step, no pre-denial notice and no waiting period – that step came from the withdrawn guidance, which never carried the force of law in the first place. An individualized assessment tied to the offense, how recent it is, and safety is therefore the strongest defensible practice and the evidence that defends the denial, not a federal command. Section 100.500 is also contested: HUD has proposed to remove it and reopened the comment period until October 9, 2026 (Docket No. FR-6540-P-01, 91 FR 1475, as supplemented by Docket No. FR-6540-P-02, 91 FR 51416). A proposal is not a rule, and nothing has changed yet.
Credit history and prior evictions are cleaner when your standard is objective and consistently applied. You can read how eviction filings arise on our Missouri eviction notice laws page. Decide your criteria in advance and apply them the same way every time.
The FCRA: Consent and Adverse Action
When you pull a screening report through a consumer reporting agency, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act governs the transaction – and in Missouri, where state law is largely silent on screening, this is the rule that matters most. You need a permissible purpose and written authorization before ordering the report, and you must send an adverse action notice if the report drives a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer demand.
The notice must name the reporting agency, state that it did not make the decision, and explain the applicant’s right to a free copy and to dispute it. Our FCRA compliance guide and the companion walkthrough of the adverse action notice spell out the requirements.
Fair Housing Compliance for Missouri Landlords
The Missouri Human Rights Act and the federal Act demand the same discipline: uniform criteria, uniform application, and documentation showing you treated every applicant by the same yardstick. In a state that regulates the process this lightly, the paper trail is your protection.
Publish your criteria before you advertise, screen every applicant against the identical standard, and keep the file. Consistency is far more persuasive than an after-the-fact explanation.
A Compliant Missouri Screening Process
Turn the rules into one repeatable sequence. First, publish objective criteria. Second, collect a reasonable, uniform screening fee. Third, get written consent and order the report. Fourth, evaluate every applicant against the identical standard. Fifth, if you decline based on a report, send the adverse action notice promptly – and handle the deposit within the two-month cap and the thirty-day return.
Income verification is the step landlords most often shortcut; our guide to verifying tenant income shows how to confirm ability to pay without singling anyone out. Run the same steps for every applicant and your file will tell a clean, consistent story.
Common Mistakes That Create Liability
In a permissive state the recurring errors cluster around the deposit statute. Over-collecting above two months, holding the deposit somewhere other than a federally insured bank, credit union or depository institution, or missing the thirty-day itemized return can trigger the double-damages penalty. (There is nothing to get wrong on interest: RSMo 535.300.2 gives any interest earned to the landlord.) Charging uneven fees and denying an applicant on a report without the FCRA notice round out the list.
One standard, every applicant. Missouri hands you the freedom to design your own process – which means the burden of proving it was even-handed sits with you. A single written rubric, used the same way each time, is your strongest defense.
Documentation and Recordkeeping in Missouri
Because Missouri regulates the screening process so lightly, your records are what prove it was lawful and even-handed. Keep the signed authorization for each consumer report, a dated copy of the written criteria you applied, the screening results, and every adverse action notice. A complete file showing identical treatment across applicants is the strongest answer to a fair housing complaint.
On the deposit, the double-damages penalty rewards good records. Keep proof of the insured institution where the deposit was held, written notice of the move-out inspection and the tenant’s opportunity to attend it under RSMo 535.300.5, the itemized list of damages delivered within thirty days, dated move-in and move-out records, and repair invoices. The landlord who can show the math keeps the deposit; the one who cannot pays twice.
Set one retention policy and apply it to every file, approved or denied. A consistent multi-year record of authorizations, criteria, screening results, adverse action notices, account records, and deposit accountings gives you the evidence to answer a discrimination inquiry or a deposit suit. Keeping the same records for everyone is itself proof of the even-handed treatment the Missouri and federal fair housing acts require.
Do
- ✓Publish your written screening criteria before you advertise, and apply them to every applicant.
- ✓Get written authorization before pulling any report, and keep the signed consent on file.
- ✓Send an FCRA adverse action notice on every denial that rests on a consumer report.
- ✓Assess any criminal record case by case, weighing the offense, how recent it is, and safety.
- ✓Handle the security deposit and its return exactly as the state statute requires, and document it.
Avoid
- ✕Charge uneven application fees, or collect a fee with no genuine screening behind it.
- ✕Treat a permissive state as a lawless one – the FCRA and federal fair housing law always apply.
- ✕Apply a blanket ban on any criminal record, which risks a disparate-impact violation.
- ✕Improvise your standards applicant by applicant instead of following one written rubric.
- ✕Skip the deposit paperwork the statute requires, from itemization to any required notices.
Missouri Tenant Screening Laws: FAQ
Can a Missouri landlord run a background check on an applicant?
Yes. With written authorization you may obtain a consumer report covering credit, rental history, income, and criminal convictions. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a permissible purpose and consent before any screening report is pulled.
Is there a limit on application fees in Missouri?
No. Missouri does not cap tenant application or screening fees. Keep the fee reasonable, tie it to the actual cost of screening, and charge it consistently to every applicant.
What is the maximum security deposit in Missouri?
Two months’ rent under RSMo 535.300. The deposit must be held for the tenant in a bank, credit union or depository institution insured by an agency of the federal government, any interest earned on it belongs to the landlord, and the landlord must return it or furnish a written itemized list of damages within thirty days after termination of the tenancy.
What happens if a Missouri landlord withholds the deposit wrongfully?
A landlord who misses the thirty-day deadline or withholds without cause can be liable for up to twice the amount wrongfully withheld under RSMo 535.300.
Is source of income a protected class in Missouri?
No. The Missouri Human Rights Act does not list source of income, so state law does not require a landlord to accept a housing voucher. Treat every applicant by the same standard regardless.
Can a Missouri landlord deny an applicant for a criminal record?
A conviction can be a lawful reason to decline, but a blanket ban is the risky part. Do not rely on HUD’s 2016 criminal-records guidance for that warning: it was withdrawn effective September 25, 2025 (Docket No. FR-6617-N-01, 91 FR 44867) and HUD has issued nothing to replace it. The exposure now runs through the Fair Housing Act and HUD’s discriminatory-effects rule at 24 CFR section 100.500, reinstated effective May 1, 2023, under which a landlord defending a flat no-record policy carries the burden of proving it necessary to a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest that no less discriminatory practice would serve. Section 100.500 is a burden-shifting litigation standard and imposes no individualized-assessment step, no pre-denial notice and no waiting period – that idea came from the withdrawn guidance, which never carried the force of law in the first place. An individualized assessment tied to the offense, how recent it is, and safety is therefore prudent risk management and the evidence that defends the decision, not compliance with a federal requirement. HUD has proposed to remove section 100.500 and reopened the comment period until October 9, 2026 (Docket No. FR-6540-P-01, 91 FR 1475, as supplemented by Docket No. FR-6540-P-02, 91 FR 51416); a proposal is not a rule and the regulation is in force today.
Does a Missouri landlord have to send an adverse action notice?
Yes. If a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer requirement rests in any part on a consumer report, the FCRA requires an adverse action notice naming the reporting agency and explaining the right to a free report and to dispute it.
Does Missouri require interest on security deposits?
No. RSMo 535.300.2 provides that any interest earned on a security deposit is the property of the landlord. Missouri has no six-month trigger, no statutory rate and no duty to pay a tenant interest. What the section does require is that the deposit be held for the tenant in a bank, credit union or depository institution insured by an agency of the federal government, subject to the two-month cap and the thirty-day itemized return.
How long should a Missouri landlord keep tenant screening records?
Keep applications, signed authorizations, screening results, adverse action notices, and deposit accountings for every applicant – approved or denied – for several years. In Missouri, a consistent retention policy is the evidence that you treated every applicant by the same standard if a fair housing or deposit dispute later arises.
When must a Missouri landlord send the adverse action notice?
Send it promptly whenever a consumer report contributes to an adverse decision – a denial, a higher deposit, or a co-signer requirement. The FCRA notice must name the reporting agency, state that it did not make the decision, and tell the Missouri applicant how to get a free copy of the report and dispute any error.
Related Missouri and Screening Guides
- Tenant screening laws by state – compare Missouri to the rest of the country.
- Missouri security deposit laws – deductions, itemization, and the return deadline.
- Missouri eviction notice laws – notice periods and the eviction timeline.
- Missouri rent increase laws – notice rules for raising the rent.
- Missouri late fee laws – what you can charge for late rent.
- How a tenant background check works – what a report includes.
- Missouri habitability laws – your maintenance obligations as a landlord.
Screen Missouri Applicants the Compliant Way
Order FCRA-ready credit, criminal, and eviction reports and keep your Missouri process consistent from application to decision.
Published by Tenant Screening Background Check · Editorial Team
Established 2004. Our editorial team has spent two decades helping landlords and property managers run lawful, FCRA-compliant tenant screening across all 50 states. We translate state landlord-tenant codes and federal screening rules into processes you can actually follow.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Missouri and federal laws change, and how they apply depends on your specific facts. Before acting on any screening, fee, deposit, or fair housing question, consult a licensed attorney in Missouri. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
