California Rental Application Form: What to Include

A rental application is usually the first formal step in renting a California home. It gives you the information you need to evaluate an applicant consistently and the written permission you need to run screening reports. A complete, well-organized form saves time for you and the applicant, and it helps you treat every applicant the same way.

This page outlines our original California rental application template and explains the state rules that shape it. It is a general template, not legal advice. Laws change, and local ordinances can add requirements, so have a California attorney review the form before you use it.

What it is

A rental application collects an applicant’s identity, contact details, residence history, income, occupants and references, along with consent to check credit and background. Every adult who will live in the unit should complete their own application. If an applicant needs a guarantor, the guarantor typically completes a separate application too.

The application is not a lease. Approving an application does not create a tenancy until both sides sign a lease, such as our California residential lease agreement.

California rules to know

California regulates rental applications more closely than many states. Key points, which you should verify against current law:

• Screening fee cap. State law limits the application screening fee, and the cap adjusts each year based on the Consumer Price Index. You may charge only your actual out-of-pocket screening costs plus reasonable time, up to the cap.
• Itemized receipt and refunds. You must give the applicant a receipt itemizing the screening costs. If you do not run a screening report, or spend less than you collected, refund the difference.
• Copy of the credit report. On request, you must give the applicant a copy of the consumer credit report you obtained.
• No fee without an available unit. Generally, you cannot collect a fee when no unit is available within a reasonable time unless the applicant agrees in writing.
• Expanded fair housing protections. California protects more groups than federal law, including source of income, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, ancestry, genetic information and military or veteran status. Source of income includes housing vouchers.
• Applicants with rent subsidies. For applicants who receive government rent assistance, California law requires landlords to accept reasonable alternative evidence of ability to pay rather than relying on credit history alone.

If you decline an applicant or add conditions based on a screening report, federal law generally requires an adverse action notice. Our how to screen tenants guide covers that process.

What you cannot include

Some questions create legal risk in California. Leave these out:

• Immigration or citizenship status. California law bars landlords from asking about it. You may still verify identity and financial qualifications in other lawful ways.
• Questions about protected characteristics, such as religion, national origin, disability, pregnancy or family plans.
• Requirements that screen out voucher holders, such as a rule that income must come from employment only.
• Blanket criminal history bans. State regulations and several city ordinances limit how criminal history can be considered.
• Nonrefundable holding fees disguised as application fees. Keep screening fees separate from any holding deposit, and put holding deposit terms in writing.

How to fill it out

For landlords, the process works best in this order:

1. Write your criteria first. Set minimum income, credit factors, rental history standards and occupancy limits before you advertise.
2. Share the criteria and fee with every applicant before they apply.
3. Have each adult complete the form, including all fields and signatures. Incomplete applications should be returned for completion, not guessed at.
4. Collect supporting documents, such as pay stubs, offer letters, benefit statements or bank statements.
5. Run screening only after receiving written consent, and provide the itemized receipt.
6. Decide consistently and document the reason for each approval or denial.
7. Store applications securely. They contain sensitive personal data.

eSignature and online applications

Paper applications are slow and easy to lose. With TenantLoop, applicants can apply online and sign electronically, and tenant screening is coming soon. Once approved, you can send the lease for signature with TenantLoop eSignature without leaving the platform. For more on what to ask, see our rental application guide.

Bottom line

A strong California rental application asks for what you need, avoids what you cannot ask, and follows the state’s fee and receipt rules. Apply the same criteria to everyone and keep good records. Use this outline as a starting point, check current state and local law, and have an attorney review your final form. For more context, see California landlord tenant rights.