The Rent-A-Center order form is the rental-purchase application you complete online at rentacenter.com or in a local store to start renting furniture, electronics, appliances, or a computer. It asks for your personal, income, residence, and reference details, and it does not involve a traditional credit check. Once you submit, a store associate verifies your income and calls your references, and approval can come the same day.
What You Need Before You Start
The application itself is short. Have this information in front of you before you open the form:
- Your full legal name, date of birth (you must be at least 18), phone number, and email address.
- A verifiable source of income. Traditional employment is not required — Social Security, disability, and other steady income sources can qualify. Keep a recent pay stub or benefits letter nearby so you can enter exact figures.
- Your current address plus contact information for your landlord or mortgage company.
- Two to four personal references, with at least two of them relatives who live at a different address than yours.
That is the full list from Rent-A-Center’s own requirements page: name, birthday, contact info, income, residence, and references.1Rent-A-Center. How Rent-A-Center Works The standard application does not ask for a Social Security number and does not trigger a traditional credit check. A store associate may ask for a utility bill or government-issued photo ID as a local verification step, but that is not a universal requirement.
How to Submit the Application
You can apply two ways.
Online
Browse products at rentacenter.com and add the item you want to your cart. When you go to checkout, the site walks you through the application fields in order: personal details, income, residence, and references. Enter each section using the information you already gathered. Check every phone number twice, including your references’ numbers, because the store will call to verify them. Submit the form and the Rent-A-Center nearest your delivery address begins reviewing it.
In Store
Walk into your local Rent-A-Center, tell an associate which item you want, and they will either hand you a paper form or open the same digital application on a store tablet. In person is often faster because the associate can verify your income and call your references while you are there. Bring a pay stub or benefits letter so they do not have to wait on documentation.
Filling Out the References Section
References are where applicants get stuck. Rent-A-Center requires two to four people, and at least two must be relatives living at a separate address from yours.2Rent-A-Center. Rent-A-Center Frequently Asked Questions For each one you list a full name, phone number, and relationship.
Tell your references you are putting them down before you submit. A store associate will call to confirm they know you, and an unreachable reference can stall your approval. Choose people who actually answer their phone during business hours. If you cannot come up with two relatives at different addresses, the form will not let you finish, so solve that step before you sit down to apply.
What Happens After You Submit
A store associate reviews the application, verifies your income, and calls your references. If everything checks out, approval can happen the same day, sometimes within hours if you apply in person. Once approved, you pick a payment schedule and arrange delivery or pickup.1Rent-A-Center. How Rent-A-Center Works Delivery is free at most locations, though not all, and it does not apply to cash sales, so confirm with your store when you set up the order.
If you are not approved, Rent-A-Center sends a detailed email within 3 to 10 business days explaining the reason, and you can reapply after 30 days.3Rent-A-Center. Rent-A-Center Frequently Asked Questions The two most common denial reasons are unverifiable income and unreachable references, both fixable before you try again.
Choosing a Payment Schedule
Once you are approved, you pick the payment frequency that matches your pay cycle. Rent-A-Center offers weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly payments.4Rent-A-Center. Rent-A-Center Lining the payment up with your payday is the simplest way to keep from missing one. Late-fee caps vary by state and typically run from 5 to 15 percent of the payment amount, so call your store as soon as you know a payment will be late.5Rent-A-Center. Rent-A-Center Frequently Asked Questions
Read the Total Cost Before You Sign
This is the part most applicants underestimate. The total you pay through the full rental term is significantly higher than the item’s cash price. The FTC warns that rent-to-own plans can cost roughly twice what you would pay in cash. Some states cap total rental payments at 2.0 to 2.4 times the disclosed cash price; others impose no ceiling. Your written agreement lists both the cash price and the total cost to own, along with your early purchase rights, and most states require those disclosures in writing.6Federal Trade Commission. Buy Now, Pay Later, Rent-to-Own, Lease-to-Own, and Layaway Compare the cash price on the form against the same item at a regular retailer before you sign, because sometimes the cash price itself carries a markup.
The Cheapest Way Out: Same-as-Cash and Early Purchase
If you plan to keep the item, the fastest path to ownership is the six-month same-as-cash window. Pay the full cash price plus tax within the first six months and you owe no rental markup at all. At any point during those six months you can pay the difference between what you have already paid and the listed cash price to close out the agreement. The window is four months in some states and is not available in Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, or West Virginia; select franchised locations may set a different window.2Rent-A-Center. Rent-A-Center Frequently Asked Questions The same-as-cash payoff is a separate payment on top of your regular rental payments, so budget for both.
If you miss that window, most locations offer 50 percent off the remaining balance if you pay off the agreement early.2Rent-A-Center. Rent-A-Center Frequently Asked Questions The exact discount varies by state, so check the agreement for your terms. Even with the discount, the total is more than the cash price, which is why the same-as-cash window is the cheapest exit.
A Final Check Before You Submit
Before you click submit online or hand the form back to an associate, run through this quickly: your income figure matches your pay stub, your references have been warned and pick up during business hours, at least two references are relatives at a different address, and you have the cash price and total cost from the agreement in front of you. Keep every payment receipt after your first payment, since your store uses those to track the balance. Doing that up front is what turns the order form from a hurdle into a same-day approval.