Can I Do A Background Check On Someone Without Their Ssn

Updated August 2021

As a landlord, you might be at a loss for what to practice whenever a rental applicant doesn't provide their Social Security number (SSN). After all, choosing the right tenant for your property requires tenant screening, and it's not possible to do tenant screening without a Social Security number, right?

That'south not exactly true!

While it is definitely easier to do a thorough tenant screening with a Social Security number provided by a rental applicant, SSNs aren't always a necessity. Frequently, yous can adjust your screening practices to nonetheless get the information that you need to make up one's mind if you accept found the correct tenant or non.

The but way to know if screening without an SSN will work for your business is to learn about how to practice this, what information yous volition all the same exist able to run across, and what you'll be missing out on. Today, learn all about tenant screening without a Social Security number.

A Table Of Contents: Background Bank check Without SSN

While doing a tenant groundwork check with a Social Security number on file is easier, there are situations when yous might want to run i without this data. Is it possible, and how tin can you do this? Learn more today:

Tenant Screening Without A Social Security Number: Why Is This Necessary?
Tin Yous Practise A Background Check Without A Social Security Number?
RentPrep: How Y'all Can Screen Tenants Without An SSN
- Step 1: Signup For A Free Account.
- Step two: Choose A RentPrep Background Check
- Pace iii: Tip-Off Our Screeners That You lot Do Not Take The SSN
Privacy First: Screening With Tenant Interest
- 1: Permission
- two: Tenant-Involved Screening
- Choosing The Correct Screening
FAQs: Screening Without A Social Security Number
- Why do landlords ask for Social Security numbers on rental applications?
- Is it legal for landlords to require a Social Security number on the rental application?
- Does information technology thing if I don't have a rental applicant's SSN?
- What responsibilities practise landlords have to protect a tenant'south individual information?

Tenant Screening Without A Social Security Number: Why Is This Necessary?

Landlords who used to have every single rental applicant fill out a newspaper application that included their Social Security number might not understand why they should larn how to do tenant screening without admission to this number. After all, don't tenants have to provide this information?

While some states allow you to require that rental applicants provide their Social Security number, other states practice non allow this. As laws regarding privacy modify, more and more than states may forbid landlords from requiring this information on an awarding.

The bottom line is that due to their hesitations most identity theft and other bug, some rental applicants may not want to make full in their Social Security number on an application.

Over time, people have become accepted to not giving out their Social Security number when they tin can avoid doing so. Rather than giving it to an private or filling it in on paperwork, people prefer to use secure websites to provide this data in an encrypted style.

Thankfully, at that place are other ways to have the tenant provide their SSN without giving it directly to you lot or to avoid needing to use their Social Security number at all. Either method can notwithstanding set up y'all up with the loftier-quality screening, which is necessary to boost your business organization.

Can Y'all Practise A Background Check Without A Social Security Number?

Landlords who apply groundwork checks to screen tenants volition be asking this question: Tin can a groundwork check be washed without an SSN? Let'due south take a look at how background checks commonly find information about potential tenants.

When screening tenants, there are three chief identifiers a groundwork check service typically looks for:

Date of Birth
Name
Social Security Number

Some tenant screening services start by using the Social Security number and cannot work without that information. These are typically instant service platforms using software that relies on the SSN to find your bidder.

If you use a background service that utilizes FCRA Certified Screeners, the service will be able to utilise your applicant's name, current address, and engagement of birth to identify the applicant and pull related records.

Since our RentPrep Background Bank check is manus-compiled by an FCRA Certified Screener, we are able to perform searches without an applicant'due south SSN.

RentPrep: How You Tin Screen Tenants Without A SSN

If you are comfortable screening tenants without them providing their Social Security number, yous volition however be able to exercise a basic background check using some screening services. These services make it fast and easy to get the data you need.

When you don't have access to a potential tenant'due south Social Security number, using one of these services can simplify the screening process. Researching information on your own tin can accept a long fourth dimension.

Here at RentPrep, information technology's a uncomplicated three-step process:

Step ane: Signup For A Gratis Account

You can create an account with RentPrep by clicking hither.

Your account is free to create; you will not exist billed for setting it up. You will only be billed one time you select and complete checkout for certain products, and all potential charges volition exist shown for review before they are processed.

Step 2: Choose A RentPrep Groundwork Check

Y'all have the selection with our service to run a SmartMove or RentPrep tenant screening written report.

SmartMove reports cannot be run without a Social Security number because they include a credit check, which relies on the tenant providing their SSN. Instead, you'll desire to select the RentPrep Groundwork Check.

The RentPrep Background Check includes data about evictions, bankruptcies, judgments, liens, and a search of the National Criminal and Sex Offender lists. This can all exist done without tenant involvement. With tenant involvement, you can also receive income verification even without a SSN.

Step 3: Tip Off Our Screeners That You Do Non Have The SSN

The easiest style to notify our screeners is to enter all zeros (000-00-0000) as the SSN for your applicant when filling out the report data.

This will notify our screeners that you don't have a Social Security number for your potential tenant. If you lot want to be thorough, you can also email us at screening@rentprep.com. Let united states know your order number and that you won't exist providing an SSN and then that the screeners don't recall the data was accidentally omitted.

Privacy Get-go: Screening With Tenant Involvement

Privacy First: Screening With Tenant Involvement

1 of the significant concerns that some rental applicants have with providing their Social Security number is that they are worried information technology will not be fairly protected. Writing it on a physical awarding or sending it in an electronic mail to a landlord, for example, are not very secure ways to give out their Social Security number.

In reality, however, many landlords no longer employ these types of collection methods when getting information from tenants.

Suppose yous adopt to use a tenant screening method that uses the applicant'south Social Security number for the most complete data. In that instance, at that place are a few things you should consider and share with your tenant when doing so.

1: Permission

Landlords must take the potential tenant'due south permission to run a credit report on them or utilize their Social Security number to collect sensitive information. Private information furnishers like landlords are, in most states, allowed to require a Social Security number. However, they must communicate to the individual exactly how that number will be used.

If you take an applicant who expresses business concern, let them know exactly how you volition be using the data and what types of limitations forestall you from abusing that power. This can help them to feel more comfortable providing a SSN on their application.

2: Tenant-Involved Screening

Another way to reassure potential tenants is to use tenant-involved screening services. With these screening services, y'all collect an e-mail and name from the tenant and provide these to your chosen service, such equally RentPrep.

And then, the service emails the tenant directly. They log into a secure site, enter their information, and give their permission to use that data. So, the screening service deeply collects relevant data and provides information technology to the landlord. At no time is the landlord given access to individual or confidential data they should non be able to see.

This type of screening is very common today, and many tenants are more than comfortable with this type of screening software. Providing their Social Security number to a secure site feels safer to many individuals, so this may exist something y'all want to consider using.

Choosing The Right Screening

As mentioned, the RentPrep Background Check will not include a credit check or credit information if a Social Security number is not provided. If this volition not exist enough information for your needs, y'all may want to consider using the SmartMove report instead.

This report does require an SSN, but the tenant can requite information technology to the platform directly rather than requite it to you. Many tenants volition be more than comfortable doing this than giving information technology to a landlord or property director, so you lot may desire to cheque in with your bidder to find out what they think.

To learn more than about the tenant screening options at RentPrep, check out our full packages page today.

FAQs: Screening Without A Social Security Number

Why exercise landlords inquire for Social Security numbers on rental applications?

Most experienced landlords ask for a Social Security number when collecting rental applications, but why is this? There are a few reasons why landlords want to have this important slice of identifying data about their potential tenants.

Outset, landlords demand to be able to verify that applicants are actually who they say they are. A straightforward way to do this is to confirm that the name nether the SSN matches the name on the application. Other forms of identification can be faked more than hands; notwithstanding, Social Security data is adjacent-to-impossible to fake.

This is a business organisation for some landlords because unreliable tenants will endeavour to rent under different names to avoid the consequences of their by bad renting situations or legal issues. To ensure they are not being tricked, landlords desire to be able to verify the identity of all applicants.

Another reason landlords prefer that applicants provide their Social Security number is to run a credit check. Once landlords have permission from an bidder, they tin use the applicant's proper noun and SSN to check into how financially reliable the applicant is. The credit cheque shows various financial information that tin inform the landlord most a potential tenant's fiscal and rental record.

Suppose a landlord uses dissentious information from a credit bank check to deny a rental application. In that case, the applicant should exist given the reason and reasonable access to the credit report in question. This is to ensure the bidder has the opportunity to verify that the data showing on their credit history is authentic.

Is it legal for landlords to require a Social Security number on the rental application?

In most cases, it is legal for a landlord to require a Social Security number on their rental application as long as the potential tenant is provided with confirmation and proof that the number will exist kept secure. Additionally, the bidder usually has a right to turn down to provide their number if they do not believe the security method is secure enough.

In California, for instance, businesses and services may crave a Social Security number. Still, they have to follow the rules about how that information is stored, the type of encryption used on whatsoever websites, and several other necessary security protocols.

As a landlord, it is reasonable and fair for you to request a Social Security number from potential tenants in most situations. In some situations, y'all might even demand that information to follow other aspects of landlord–tenant laws.

Some cities, for case, require that landlords place security deposits in a specific blazon of bank account nether the tenant's data, and that would crave a Social Security number. If that is the case, you may need to request that a tenant provide this information when signing a rental understanding, fifty-fifty if they do not provide it for the application.

Does it matter if I don't take a rental applicant'south SSN?

In an ideal state of affairs, you lot would be able to utilise your tenant'south SSN to get the virtually accurate background check on them. While this isn't always the case, a tenant who is uncomfortable giving out their SSN may be trying to keep something hidden in their records.

Hither at RentPrep, information technology'due south preferable that you have your applicant's SSN prior to requesting the RentPrep Background Bank check, especially if they have a very common name.

If your bidder's name is John Smith, there is a good chance at that place are other John Smiths who were born on the aforementioned day, and that could pb to some problems.

However, it is nevertheless possible for us to cross-reference databases to narrow down the field. Unfortunately, if your applicant does not accept a valid US Social Security number, the best pick would exist to run an international search on your applicant.

If you accept whatever questions virtually screening your tenants, experience gratis to click the Live Chat box on our website to start a conversation with one of our FCRA Certified Screeners.

Information technology is up to you to decide if y'all desire to go through tenant screening without a tenant'due south Social Security number. In nearly cases, the records would still provide a lot of slap-up data, just you would be lacking fiscal history that may be intrinsic to your screening process.

What responsibilities practice landlords take to protect a tenant's private information?

Though landlords are legally permitted to request a Social Security number from potential tenants on their rental applications, the applicants as well have rights that need to be maintained.

First, applicants are allowed to enquire questions almost how that information is going to be used, and they must be asked for permission before any blazon of credit report or credit check is run on them. If an bidder does non grant this permission, a landlord cannot do a credit cheque.

Additionally, applicants are allowed to ask how the information will be secured, and landlords are expected to follow those rules. Landlords or property managers may, for instance, keep any paper applications in a lockbox and then cross-shred the documents one time they no longer need the information on file.

If an applicant's private information becomes compromised due to neglect by the landlord, this could lead to legal action or fines. Landlords demand to have the right protections in place when collecting sensitive data from tenants.

Be Alert: Running A Groundwork Cheque Without A Social Security Number

Ultimately, it is up to y'all every bit the landlord to determine whether or not you desire to crave a Social Security number on your rental awarding. Of course, this depends on whether your country or local governments permit this blazon of screening requirement.

Regardless of what you determine, ensure that you are consistent across all applications. It is a violation of Fair Housing Laws to enquire one rental applicant to provide their SSN when other applicants did not need to exercise this. Cull whether or not you will absolutely crave this number, and then stick to information technology.

Don't rule out tenants just because they are unsure almost providing their SSN; work with them to find a fashion around this effect equally this is a common and reasonable fear. In that location are ways to do tenant screening without a Social Security number, later all, and so you can try to provide alternatives when possible.