GET /v1/renter/check — look up a renter

The /v1/renter/check endpoint searches the RentFAX network for a renter record and returns a real-time screening result. You can pass any one of the supported identifiers — the API will match the first record found, working through the priority order member_id → email → phone → license → name. When no record exists, the API still returns ok: true with found: false and a default recommendation of APPROVED, so you can safely screen first-time renters without special-casing a 404.

Every call is logged against your API key and billed as one screening credit. The searched renter can also see which organizations have looked them up via the RentFAX Renter Portal.

Endpoint

GET https://api.rentfax.io/v1/renter/check

Authentication

Include your API key in one of two ways:

x-api-key: <your-api-key>

Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key>

Query parameters

member_id

string

The renter’s RentFAX member ID. Checked first when multiple identifiers are supplied.

string

The renter’s email address. Normalized to lowercase before matching.

phone

string

The renter’s phone number. Non-digit characters are stripped before matching, so (555) 867-5309 and 5558675309 resolve to the same record.

license

string

The renter’s driver’s license number. Normalized to uppercase before matching.

name

string

The renter’s full name. Matched against the normalized name index; useful as a last resort when no other identifier is available.

At least one parameter is required. If you supply none, the API returns 400 Bad Request.

Response fields

boolean

required

true when the request was processed successfully, regardless of whether a record was found.

found

boolean

required

true if a matching renter record exists in the network; false otherwise.

recommendation

string

required

Screening recommendation derived from the composite score.

Value	Score range	Meaning
`APPROVED`	800 – 1000	Clean record; proceed normally
`CONDITIONAL`	600 – 799	Minor history; review summary before proceeding
`REVIEW_REQUIRED`	400 – 599	Significant history; manual review strongly recommended
`DENIED`	0 – 399	High-risk record
`APPROVED`	not found	No record in network (no history)

risk_tier

string

required

Bucketed risk classification.

Value	Score range
`LOW`	800 – 1000
`MODERATE`	600 – 799
`HIGH`	400 – 599
`CRITICAL`	0 – 399
`UNKNOWN`	record not found

score

number

Composite risk score, 0 – 1000. Present only when found is true.

score_max

number

Maximum possible score. Always 1000.

match_method

string

The identifier used to locate the record: member_id, email, phone, license, or name. Present only when found is true.

renter

object

Basic profile of the matched renter. Present only when found is true.

Show renter properties

member_id

string | null

The renter’s RentFAX network member ID.

name

string | null

The renter’s full name as recorded in the network.

verified

boolean

true if the renter’s identity has been verified by RentFAX.

verification_level

string

Verification status. Common values: IDENTITY_VERIFIED, UNVERIFIED.

summary

object

Aggregated incident and financial summary. Present only when found is true.

Show summary properties

total_rentals

number

Total number of completed rentals on record.

incidents

number

Number of incident reports associated with this renter.

outstanding_balance

number

Total unpaid balance across all reports, in cents.

last_incident_date

string | null

ISO 8601 timestamp of the most recent incident report, or null if none.

network_reports

number

Total number of reports filed against this renter across the network.

cross_operator_flags

number

Number of incident reports filed by organizations other than your own.

flags

string[]

Array of risk flag identifiers attached to the renter’s record. Empty array when no flags are set.

message

string

Human-readable summary of the screening result, suitable for display in your UI.

checked_at

string

ISO 8601 timestamp of when this check was performed.

api_version

string

Version of the API that served the response. Currently "1.0".

Examples

curl --request GET \
  --url "https://api.rentfax.io/v1/renter/check?email=jane.doe%40example.com" \
  --header "x-api-key: rfx_live_your_api_key_here"

curl --request GET \
  --url "https://api.rentfax.io/v1/renter/check?email=unknown%40example.com" \
  --header "x-api-key: rfx_live_your_api_key_here"

Response — renter found

{
  "ok": true,
  "found": true,
  "recommendation": "CONDITIONAL",
  "risk_tier": "MODERATE",
  "score": 710,
  "score_max": 1000,
  "match_method": "email",
  "renter": {
    "member_id": "MBR-00291847",
    "name": "Jane Doe",
    "verified": true,
    "verification_level": "IDENTITY_VERIFIED"
  },
  "summary": {
    "total_rentals": 14,
    "incidents": 2,
    "outstanding_balance": 0,
    "last_incident_date": "2025-11-03T18:42:00.000Z",
    "network_reports": 2,
    "cross_operator_flags": 1
  },
  "flags": ["LATE_RETURN"],
  "message": "Renter has minor history. Review summary before proceeding.",
  "checked_at": "2026-05-04T10:15:30.000Z",
  "api_version": "1.0"
}

Response — renter not found

{
  "ok": true,
  "found": false,
  "recommendation": "APPROVED",
  "risk_tier": "UNKNOWN",
  "message": "No record found. Renter has no history in the RentFAX network.",
  "data": null
}

When found is false, you can proceed with the rental. The renter simply has no history in the RentFAX network yet.

Overview

Renters

Reports & Incidents

Webhooks

GET /v1/renter/check — look up a renter

Endpoint

Authentication

Query parameters

Response fields

Examples

Response — renter found

Response — renter not found

​Endpoint

​Authentication

​Query parameters

​Response fields

​Examples

​Response — renter found

​Response — renter not found

Endpoint

Authentication

Query parameters

Response fields

Examples

Response — renter found

Response — renter not found