Review and approve a membership application

This guide shows you how to open a pending application, review the applicant’s details and payment status, and either approve, activate without payment, or reject the application.

Who can do this: Admins. The “Activate without payment” option requires additional override permission.

Before you start

You’ll receive an email from your organization’s address when a new application arrives. The email contains a direct link to the application.
Applications appear in the Applications inbox under Memberships > Applications.

Steps

Open the application

Go to Memberships > Applications in the admin sidebar. The inbox shows pending applications by default.
Select the applicant’s name in the list to open the application detail page.

Review the application

Read the Application data section to check the fields the applicant submitted (name, email, and any custom fields on the form).
Check the Payment status card on the right. It shows whether payment was collected, held pending your approval, still pending, or declined.
If a Possible duplicate card appears, review the suspected matching member before taking action.

Approve, activate, or reject

Choose one of the three actions in the top-right corner of the page:

To approve: Select Approve. The applicant becomes a member. A welcome email with a sign-in link goes to their email address.

To activate without payment (override): Select Activate without payment (visible only when the applicant has not paid). A confirmation dialog opens. Select a reason from the list — for example, “Cash at meeting” or “Check mailed” — and optionally add a note. Select Activate without payment to confirm. This action is logged in the audit log with your name and reason.

To reject: Select Reject. A confirmation dialog opens. Select a reason from the list and select Reject application. A rejection email goes to the applicant.

Verify

After you approve, the application leaves the pending inbox. A “Approved” or “Member activated” toast message appears at the top of the page. The applicant receives a welcome email with a sign-in link.

After an override, a notice confirms that the action was logged to the audit trail, and you can reverse it within 48 hours from the audit log.

If something goes wrong

The “Activate without payment” button is missing — you may not have override permission, or the applicant has already paid. Only applications with a non-paid status show this option.
A “Possible duplicate” warning appears — review the matched member before approving. If the applicant is genuinely a duplicate, you may want to reject or contact the applicant directly.
“Payment is in flight” — the applicant’s payment is being processed. Wait a few minutes for it to complete, or select Activate without payment to override and proceed immediately. If you override, the payment will be recorded separately when it resolves.