PTSR, explained
What Is a Portable Tenant Screening Report?
A portable tenant screening report, or PTSR, is one verified rental report you can reuse with every landlord you apply to, instead of paying a fresh application fee at every property.
The short answer
A portable tenant screening report (PTSR) is a single verified rental application — identity, income, employment, rental history, and background — that a renter can share with more than one landlord. It is also called a reusable tenant screening report. Because the underlying data is verified once by a third party, it does not need to be re-purchased or re-verified at every property, the way a traditional application does.
How it differs from a normal rental application
A traditional rental application is verified fresh at every property: a new credit pull, a new background check, and a new application fee, commonly $35 to $50 each time according to Zillow data reported by Multifamily Executive. Apply to five or ten places in a competitive market, which many renters do, and the fees add up fast with nothing refunded if the answer is no.
A portable tenant screening report inverts that. The verification happens once, produces a shareable report or code, and stays valid for a fixed window (commonly around 30 days). Any landlord who looks it up sees the same verified information a landlord down the street would see, so there is no reason to pay for the same underlying data twice.
What a portable screening report typically includes
Identity verification
Government ID and biometric liveness check, so the applicant is who they claim to be.
Bank-verified income
Income confirmed directly from bank deposit data, not a self-reported number or an uploaded pay stub.
Employment and rental history
Employer, tenure, and past rent payment history, verified from source systems where possible.
Credit and background check
A credit report and criminal/eviction search from a screening provider, typically a soft pull with no impact to the applicant’s credit score.
Is a landlord required to accept one?
It depends on the state. As of 2026, Colorado is the only state that affirmatively requires a landlord to accept a valid portable tenant screening report a renter provides (HB23-1099, refined by HB25-1236). Several other states, including California, New York, Illinois, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Washington, regulate application fees or require disclosure without mandating acceptance outright. See the full state-by-state law guide →
Settl is a portable tenant screening report
Settl verifies identity, bank income, employment, rental history, and background once for a one-time $99 fee, then gives you a shareable code valid for 30 days. See exactly what a landlord sees in our sample report, or read the full breakdown of how each factor is verified.
Common questions
What is a portable tenant screening report?
A portable tenant screening report (PTSR), also called a reusable tenant screening report, is a single verified rental application report that a renter can share with more than one landlord. It typically covers identity, income, employment, rental history, and background, verified once by a third-party provider rather than re-collected and re-verified at every property.
How is a portable tenant screening report different from a normal application?
A normal rental application is verified fresh at every property: a new credit pull, a new background check, a new application fee, often $35 to $50 each time according to Zillow data. A portable tenant screening report is verified once, then reused. The underlying data does not change between applications, so there is no reason to pay for it more than once within the report’s validity window.
Are landlords required to accept a portable screening report?
It depends on the state. Colorado is currently the only state that affirmatively requires a landlord to accept a valid portable tenant screening report a renter provides. Several other states, including California, New York, Illinois, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Washington, regulate application fees or require disclosure without mandating acceptance. See our full state-by-state guide for specifics.
Is a portable tenant screening report the same as a credit report?
No. A credit report is one input among several. A portable tenant screening report is broader: it typically combines identity verification, bank-verified income, employment and payroll confirmation, rental payment history, and a credit check into a single verified profile, rather than a credit score alone.
How much does a portable tenant screening report cost?
Pricing varies by provider. Settl’s Verified Passport is $99 one time, valid for 30 days, and can be shared with an unlimited number of landlords during that window at no additional cost, compared with paying a separate $35 to $50 application fee at every property.
Verify once. Apply everywhere.
2 min · Soft pull only