Best Tenant Background Check Services | Screen Tenants With a Background Check App

The best tenant background check services are an essential part of the screening process for landlords. While many websites are available, not all offer the same services or have the same accuracy. Choosing a reputable website that’ll give you the most accurate information about your potential tenant is crucial. If you fail to do a proper background check, you could end up with a tenant with a history of not paying rent, damaging property, or even engaging in criminal activity.

We’ve reviewed and compared the best background check sites in 2025, looking at price, features, public records, and accuracy, and put together a list of the top 5 best tenant background check sites. Read on to find how providers like US Search, CheckMate, and Intelius can help you avoid problematic tenants.

Top 5 Best Tenant Background Check Services in 2025 | Shortlist

There are a lot of providers to choose from, and they boast a range of different offerings and features. It can be hard to know where to start or what’s most important in a tenant screening service. Our research found that US Search is the #1 pick among tenant screening apps. Here’s a quick breakdown of all the top apps:

1. US Search — Best Tenant Background Check Site in 2025 | Take Advantage of its Unlimited Searches for Only $19.95.
2. CheckMate — Excellent for Report Monitoring | Try it Free for 5 days.
3. Intelius — Cheap Tenant Background Check Service | Get a Full Background Check for Only $21.13.
4. TruthFinder — Great for Criminal Record Checks. FCRA-Compliant Reports Give You Everything You Need to Know About an Applicant.
5. Certn — Best for Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses | Affordable + Customizable.

Top 5 Tenant Background Screening Service Solutions for 2025 | Reviewed

1. US Search — Best Tenant Background Check Site in 2025

US Search has been one of the most popular and well-known online public records search engines for 20 years. They have an extensive database that includes information on criminal records, bankruptcies, liens, and more. You can also use their site to run a standard credit check.

Their screening services are some of the best in the business. For just $39.95, you can get a comprehensive report that includes credit scores, rental history, eviction history, criminal background checks, and more. This certainly beats spending hours scouring the internet or driving to the courthouse – tenants aren’t always what they seem.

US Search focuses on finding someone’s location and basic information about them, gathering court records, and producing background check reports. The website only offers these functions and, in doing so, offers relatively few bells and whistles, but what’s nice is that you can choose from three separate reports, meaning you only need to pay for the data you actually want.

This flexibility is a major plus. Getting the criminal record instead of the entire background check can help you save money if your aim is simply to identify someone’s traffic offenses or determine whether they have ever committed a felony.

US Search provides customers with a sample of each type of report, so you can make an informed decision about which one best suits your needs.

Overall, if you’re a landlord or property manager looking for a comprehensive and affordable tenant screening solution, US Search is definitely worth checking out.

Pricing:

The best plan that US Search offers is the OmniSearch membership. Instead of paying per search, you pay a monthly fee of $19.95 and can run as many searches as you want.

This is the best value if you plan on running multiple searches per month. As such, landlords who are constantly screening new tenants (or property managers that manage multiple properties) will undoubtedly find this very beneficial.

2. CheckMate — Excellent for Report Monitoring

CheckMate is a full-scale tenant screening company that’ll give you an added level of protection against problem renters. You’ll get access to a wide range of reports, including criminal and eviction history, that can help you make an informed decision about each applicant.

Plus, if there’s ever an issue with a tenant, you can quickly pull up their report to see if there’s anything in their past that might be causing problems.

CheckMate is one of the few companies that offers continuous monitoring of your tenants’ reports. That means if something changes after they’ve moved in, you’ll be notified so you can take action quickly.

CheckMate is connected with a vast number of public sources and databases, and they use this data to look for the appropriate information whenever you search for a person using any linked information. Searching through the databases, which include countless millions of records, takes some time, but you’re given all the matching profiles as soon as the data is discovered.

Using the other criteria or reading the profile overview, you may zero in on the precise profile.

One of the best things about CheckMate is its mobile app, which is available on Android. It gives you the ability to run a background check from anywhere. Overall, if you need to screen a tenant quickly and easily, CheckMate is an excellent option.

Pricing:

Unlike US Search, CheckMate only offers unlimited plans. At $35.12, it’s on the higher end of the price spectrum, but you get what you pay for. You can do countless searches and get unlimited reports.

There’s also a 7-day trial for $1, which gives you full access to all features for a week. After that, you’ll be automatically charged for the monthly plan unless you cancel.

3. Intelius — Cheap Tenant Background Check Service

Intelius is a public records search company founded in 2003, that’s based in Seattle, Washington. They offer various services, including people search, background check, reverse phone lookup, and email search. For landlords, they offer the people search plan, which includes a national criminal database search, eviction history search, and sex offender registry check.

More than 20 billion public documents are available on Intelius. The platform’s data repository, amassed over its 15-year history, is so enormous that it’s considered an authority on personal information. With access to vast stores of information, Intelius can naturally deliver the most comprehensive reports.

It also has a feature called “Intelius Connections”. This is an interactive tool that allows users to see the relationships between people. This is incredibly useful for landlords because it helps them understand who their tenant knows. Are they connected to sex offenders or other criminals? Do they have a history of not paying rent on time? All of this information can be found with a simple search on Intelius.

Intelius is not a scam; it is a real, recognized company with an A rating from the Better Business Bureau. Despite previous legal issues, the business now includes a disclaimer that warns customers against using their service in ways that violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This federal regulation governs the use of consumer credit information.

While Intelius has a few drawbacks, such as sensationalized advertising and a confusing price structure on the website, these shortcomings are more common to all online background check services as a whole than they are to Intelius specifically.

Pricing:

The ‘People Search’ plan costs $21.13 per month and offers unlimited searches. This includes address history, criminal records, and other public information. Unfortunately, since these reports are very comprehensive and offer such a high volume of data, the company charges $3.99 for you to download each report.

4. TruthFinder — Great Criminal Record Checks

TruthFinder does it all, whether you’re looking for criminal records or traffic violations. You can get hold of public records, social media activity, and more with a simple search.

TruthFinder was established in San Diego, California, in 2014, and since then, it’s conducted tens of thousands of background checks throughout its history.

TruthFinder sifts through hundreds of millions of documents during background checks, including information from social networking platforms and open sources. Amazingly, it does all of this within just a couple of minutes. Even private or secret material doesn’t escape TruthFinder’s search, which means clients have access to more than simply public records.

Once TruthFinder uncovers pertinent data, it provides users with several reports. It assists users in locating information such as difficult-to-find social media accounts, criminal records, or ambiguous contact details, among other things.

There are two things that TruthFinder has that most other companies don’t: dark web scans and private records databases.

Its ability to search not only public but also private databases is what gives TruthFinder the edge over similar companies. By scouring through the dark web and other private databases, you can get a much more comprehensive view of someone’s background.

Lastly, its criminal record checks are top-notch. With over 20 million criminal records in their database, you’re sure to find what you’re looking for. As a result, you’ll be able to feel secure and safe in your tenanting decisions.

Pricing:

Since TruthFinder offers a more comprehensive service than most other companies, it’s no surprise that it’s also one of the more expensive options. TruthFinder exclusively accepts payments through subscriptions, and there’s no way to purchase reports separately.

The basic membership, which contains the majority of services, is $28.05 per month. If you pay for those months in advance, there’s a two-month savings of $23.28 each month. After two months, the price goes back up.

5. Certn — Best for Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses

Certn offers a variety of different searches, including criminal record searches, sex offender registry searches, and global watchlist searches.

Founded in 2015, Certn is one of the newer companies in the background check industry, but they’ve quickly become a favorite among small and medium-sized businesses due to how comprehensive their criminal record searches are (they search both provincial and federal databases in the US).

In addition to offering traditional background check services, Certn also provides what they call “lifestyle screening.” This is a set of searches that are designed to help employers screen for things like drug use and alcohol abuse.

Certn is one of the few companies that offers global watchlist searches. This is a critical search to run if you’re leasing to someone who has lived or worked in multiple countries.

Certn utilizes SSN Trace technology, the most accurate way to verify someone’s identity. It can give you information about places of residence, employment history, criminal records, and more.

One of the best things about Certn is its turnaround time. They promise to deliver results as early as 15 mins to 48 hours. This is much faster than most of their competitors.

Overall, if you’re looking for a comprehensive background check company that can also screen for lifestyle issues, Certn is an excellent option. They have fast turnaround times and use SSN Trace technology to ensure accuracy.

Pricing:

Certn has two types of criminal record search plans, USA Criminal Record Checks, and Global Criminal Background Checks. If you’re a landlord or property manager in the United States, you’ll be interested in their USA Criminal Record Checks plan. For just $24.99, this plan gives you access to criminal record databases in all 50 states.

If you need to screen tenants who have lived or worked outside of the United States, you’ll need to sign up for their Global Criminal Background Checks plan. This plan costs $30.99 per search and includes searches of international databases.

Comparison Table

With everything mentioned above, we’d understand if you’re a bit overwhelmed by all the different choices for tenant screening. That’s why we’ve put together this comparison table, so you can see all your options at a glance and make an informed decision about which service is best for your needs:

Why You Need a Screening Company as a Property Manager

As a property manager, you need to make sure you’re renting to the best and most qualified tenants before you put your apartment for rent. The best way to do this is by using a tenant screening company.

A tenant screening company will run a background check on potential tenants to look at their criminal history, credit score, and eviction history. This information is important for several reasons.

Security

Background checks can help you weed out potential tenants who may pose a security risk to your property or other tenants. For example, if someone has a history of violence or drug use, they’re likely not going to be the best tenant.

Financial Responsibility

A good credit score and rental history are indications that a tenant is financially responsible. This means they’re less likely to skip out on rent or damage your property.

Peace of Mind

Screening tenants can give you peace of mind knowing that you’re renting to someone who’s unlikely to cause problems. This can save you a lot of time and stress in the long run.

Avoid Liability

If a tenant does cause problems, you could be held liable. For example, if a tenant damages your property or hurts another tenant, you could be sued. By screening tenants, you can avoid renting to someone who’s likely to cause problems.

Save Money

In the long run, screening tenants can save you money. For example, if a tenant skips out on rent or damages your property, you’ll have to spend money to fix the problem.

Professionalism

By using a screening company, you’ll come across as a professional and responsible property manager. This can help you attract and retain good tenants.

Get Better Tenants

Overall, using a screening company can help you get better tenants, saving you money and headaches in the long run.

How We Chose the Best Tenant Background Check Sites for 2025

This comprehensive review of these five companies is designed to help you choose the best tenant background check site for your needs. The process of choosing the best tenant background check site begins with a comprehensive analysis of the features each company offers, as well as a review of customer feedback and independent user reviews. Here’s what we took into account:

Ease of Use

If you’re not comfortable using computers or the internet, you’ll want a company that offers paperless background checks and makes the process as simple as possible.

Accuracy

No background check is 100% accurate, but some are better than others. We looked for companies that use data from reliable sources and update their databases regularly.

Cost

Prices for tenant background checks vary depending on the features you need — we took this into consideration and ensured our top 5 offered competitive pricing and don’t charge hidden fees.

Customer Support

If you have questions about your background check or need help interpreting the results, you’ll want to choose a company with good customer support. With our top 5, this is something you’re guaranteed if ever you need a helping hand.

Data Security

Background checks contain sensitive information, so it’s important to choose a company that takes data security seriously and has a good privacy policy.

Database Size

The bigger the database, the more likely it is that you’ll find the information you’re looking for. We looked for companies with large, national (and international) databases.

Report Turnaround Time

How quickly you receive your report depends on the company you choose and the type of background check you order. We looked for companies that offer fast turnaround times.

Types of Checks Available

Most tenant background check companies offer criminal history, eviction history, and credit reports, but some offer additional services like sex offender registry checks and employment verification.

User Reviews

We read user reviews to get a sense of what real customers think of the companies on our list.

BBB Rating

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a good resource for finding out if a company has a history of customer complaints. We looked for companies with a high rating from the BBB.

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