Rental Application and Tenant-Screening Fee Requirements in Wyoming
At a glance
| Governing law and coverage | No general statewide application/screening-fee statute after audit of W.S. §§ 1-21-1201 to -1211 and ch. 33-28; the former governs residential owners and renters, while the latter covers licensed leasing activity |
|---|---|
| Fees allowed or prohibited | No statewide provision specifically authorizes or prohibits residential application, processing, credit-check, background-check, or tenant-screening fees |
| Maximum charge and adjustment | No statewide numeric, actual-cost, reasonable-cost, customary-cost, per-applicant, per-household, or indexed ceiling in the audited statutes |
| Permitted costs and charge timing | No statewide fee-component, unit-availability, charge-when-considered, multiple-concurrent-application, or repeat-charge restriction |
| Before-screening disclosures | No special statewide application-fee, unit-availability, screening-criteria, report-source, dispute-right, reusable-report, or application-order disclosure |
| Receipt, report copy, and refund | No special statewide application-fee receipt, landlord-obtained-report-copy, unused-fee refund, or unconsidered-application refund rule |
| Applicant-supplied or reusable reports | No statewide applicant-supplied or reusable screening-report acceptance or no-fee procedure |
| Application order and adverse action | No statewide first-in-order, first-qualified, single-application, or state denial-reason notice process for rental applications |
| Remedies and stronger local rules | No application-fee-specific statutory damages or enforcement provision; audited statutes state no application-fee local-preemption clause |
Wyoming has no special statewide fee process
The complete current Residential Rental Property article, W.S. §§ 1-21-1201 through -1211, contains no rule specifically addressing a residential application, processing, credit-check, background-check, or tenant-screening fee. It instead covers owner and renter duties, habitability, notices and repairs, deposits, abandoned property, eviction, and damages.
Accordingly, the audited article creates no special statewide requirement for:
- a maximum dollar amount, actual-cost formula, or annual adjustment;
- proof that a unit is available or that an application will be considered;
- advance disclosure of the fee basis, screening criteria, or report source;
- an application-fee receipt, screening-report copy, or unused-fee refund;
- acceptance of an applicant-supplied or reusable report;
- first-in-order or first-qualified processing; or
- a state-format denial or conditional-approval notice.
Section 1-21-1201 defines an owner to include an owner, lessor, sublessor, and, for article notices and communications, a managing agent, leasing agent, or resident manager. A residential rental unit is the renter’s principal residence, with mobile-home lots and occasionally rented recreational property excluded from that definition.
Licensed leasing activity does not add an applicant process
The complete Real Estate License Act, W.S. chapter 33-28, was also audited. W.S. § 33-28-102(b)(viii) treats a tenant as a “buyer,” while the same definitions section treats a landlord as a “seller,” for rental, leasing, and management activity. W.S. § 33-28-311 ordinarily treats the licensee as working with the landlord as agent or intermediary and with the tenant as a customer unless the parties provide otherwise in writing.
Those relationship rules do not state an applicant-fee cap, cost formula, precharge disclosure, receipt, screening-report copy, refund, reusable-report procedure, application-order rule, or denial notice.
W.S. § 33-28-122(a) supplies general trust-account and money-handling rules for a responsible broker. It addresses down payments, earnest money, advance listing fees, other trust funds, compensation, and disputed deposits. It does not create a tenant-screening-fee process or a special refund deadline for an unconsidered rental application.
What trips people up
The Residential Rental Property Act starts with existing rental relationships. Its definitions center on an owner, a renter entitled to occupy under a rental agreement, and the residential rental unit. It does not add a prospective-applicant fee system.
Broker trust-account duties are not a fee cap. General duties to safeguard and account for transaction money do not supply the missing application-fee amount, disclosure, report-copy, or refund rules.
Professional background checks concern license applicants. Chapter 33-28’s background-check language applies to a person seeking a real-estate license, not to a prospective tenant or the cost of screening that tenant.
Common questions
Is there a statewide maximum rental application fee? No numeric or cost-based cap appears in the current audited statutes.
Must the landlord refund the fee if another applicant rents the unit? The audited statutes create no special statewide unused-fee or unconsidered- application refund rule.
Must the landlord provide the credit or background report? The audited statutes impose no special report-copy duty tied to a rental application charge.
Does Wyoming require reusable screening reports? No statewide applicant- supplied or reusable-report acceptance procedure appears in the audited statutes.
Statutes and sources
- W.S. §§ 1-21-1201 through -1211 — complete current Residential Rental
Property article audited for applicant-fee and screening rules.
1-21-1201. Definitions. 1-21-1202. Duties of owners and renters; generally. ... 1-21-1207. Required notice of nonrefundable deposit. ... 1-21-1211. Owner’s remedies; eviction; judicial remedies; damages.
Official source: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21) - W.S. § 1-21-1201(a)(i)-(iv) — owner, rental-agreement, renter, and residential-rental-unit definitions.
“Owner” means the owner, lessor or sublessor of a residential rental unit ... “Residential rental unit” means a renter’s principal place of residence ...
Official source: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21) - W.S. chapter 33-28 — complete current Real Estate License Act audited for tenant-facing application and screening rules.
33-28-122. Responsible broker’s trust accounts ... 33-28-306. Relationship disclosures. ... 33-28-311. Licensees working with landlords and tenants.
Official source: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title33.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21) - W.S. §§ 33-28-102 and 33-28-311 — landlord, tenant, and licensee relationships.
[A] licensee shall be deemed to be working with ... [t]he landlord as an agent or intermediary pursuant to a written agreement; and ... [t]he tenant who is a customer unless otherwise provided for in writing ...
Official source: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title33.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21) - W.S. § 33-28-122 — broker trust-account and transaction-money rules.
No responsible broker shall use deposits in a trust account for a purpose other than the transaction for which they were provided.
Official source: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title33.pdf (accessed 2026-07-21)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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