Eviction "dismissed without prejudice"

[Susan M.]

When researching applicants I review county court records.  I've recently had several applicants with eviction cases that were dismissed without prejudice.

Our policy is to not rent to anyone that has ever been served an eviction notice, and they are asked the question multiple times (most lie), so they get turned down anyway, but I really would like to know what this means exactly.  I've never been evicted nor have I ever had to evict anyone so I'm unfamiliar with the process.

At the very least, someone with this on their record was served an eviction notice, right?  Their landlord actually had to go to court and file an eviction against them?  That's the only part I really care about. My assumption is either they moved out before the eviction was finalized or they paid whatever money was due and the landlord dropped the eviction, would that be somewhat accurate explanation of how this "dismissed without prejudice" would appear on someone's record?