North Carolina Rental Application Form

What this form is

The "North Carolina Rental Application" is a three-page general template for applying to rent a home or apartment in North Carolina. It is not a state-issued form, and North Carolina does not prescribe an official rental application. Page 1 covers the primary applicant, a spouse and other occupants, plus rental history. Page 2 covers employment, bank accounts, pets, vehicles and references. Page 3 has the background questions, a notes area and the signed Agreement and Authorization.

Who uses it

Landlords and property managers use it to screen applicants in a consistent way, and renters use it to prepare a complete application. Because page 1 includes a spouse section, a married couple can apply on one form; unrelated adults usually fill out separate copies.

What to have ready

• Driver's license number, issuing state and expiration date for you and your spouse, if applying together
• Your current and previous addresses, rent amount, how often rent was paid, and each landlord's name, phone and email
• Current and previous employer, position, supervisor's name, phone and email, salary and how long you worked there
• Bank names, account numbers and balances for checking and savings
• Pet, vehicle and reference details
• Dates for any bankruptcy filing, grant and discharge, if that applies to you

How to fill it out online

Click "Fill Template Now," type into the fields and tick the boxes, sign on page 3, and download the PDF. This is what each page asks for.

Page 1: applicants, occupants and rental history

• Primary Applicant: First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Driver License Number, Driver License State, Expiration Date, Phone Number (mark Cell, Work or Home) and E-mail.
• Spouse: the same fields, starting with Spouse's First Name.
• Occupants That Will Live in the Property: Full Name, Age and Relationship for each person.
• Primary Applicant's Rental History: for your Current Address, give City, State, ZIP, the date you have lived there Since, Rent Amount, Rent Payment Period, Landlord's Name, Phone Number and E-mail, and answer "Was Your Rent Up to Date?" For your Previous Address, add Move In Date and Move Out Date.

Page 2: employment, credit, pets, vehicles, references

• Applicant's Employment History: Current Employer and Previous Employer, each with Position, Supervisor's Name, Supervisor's Phone Number, Supervisor's E-mail, Salary and How Long Worked There.
• Applicant's Credit History: Bank Name, Checking Account # and Balance, and Savings Account # and Balance, with room for more than one bank.
• Pets That Will Live in the Property: Number of pets, Type/Breed, Indoor/Outdoor and Name/Age.
• Applicant's Vehicle Information: Make, Model, Year and License Plate.
• Applicant's Reference: Full Name, Relationship, Phone and E-mail for each reference.

Page 3: background questions and signature

Answer yes or no for the applicant and every occupant named: ever filed for bankruptcy (with Date Filed, Date Granted and Date Discharged); ever evicted or had a judgment issued against them; any outstanding judgments; property foreclosed upon or a deed given in lieu of foreclosure in the past seven years; pending criminal charges or convictions other than traffic infractions; obligation to pay alimony, child support or separate maintenance; and being a party to a lawsuit. Use the Notes lines for any explanation.

Signing and submitting

The Agreement and Authorization confirms your statements are true, authorizes a credit check, and states that this is an application, not a lease. Sign in the Applicant Signature field and fill in the Signature Date (see how to sign a PDF online), then send the PDF to the landlord or property manager.

North Carolina rules to know

General information as of October 2026, not legal advice. See the linked sources for the full text.

• Application fees: North Carolina's Tenant Security Deposit Act regulates deposits, not application fees. The North Carolina Real Estate Commission has advised property managers to tell each applicant in writing which application and hold or reservation fees are non-refundable (NCREC Bulletin). Ask for that information before you pay.
• Security deposit limits: under G.S. 42-51, a deposit may not exceed two weeks' rent for a week-to-week tenancy, one and one-half months' rent for a month-to-month tenancy, or two months' rent for terms longer than month to month.
• Where the deposit is held: the landlord or agent must tell the tenant, within 30 days after the lease term begins, the name and address of the bank or institution holding the deposit, or the insurance company providing a bond.
• Return deadline: under G.S. 42-52, the landlord must deliver an itemized list of damages and the balance of the deposit within 30 days after the tenancy ends and possession is returned. If the claim cannot be determined in that time, the landlord must send an interim accounting within 30 days and a final accounting within 60 days. NCREC's plain-language guide to the Act summarizes these rules.

Common mistakes

• Leaving "Was Your Rent Up to Date?" unanswered for your current or previous address.
• Answering the page 3 questions only for yourself. They cover every occupant named in the application.
• Forgetting Rent Payment Period (for example, monthly or weekly).
• Listing a supervisor without a phone number or email the landlord can use to verify employment.

More rental and lease templates are in real estate forms.