# What is “Approval-based registration”?

Approval-based registration is a flow in which a person's request to join an occasion is reviewed and approved or rejected by the organiser, with a message sent to the applicant.

Also called: approval flow, gated registration

SSociana team·19 Oct 2026·2 min read

## Approval-based registration in detail

Where whitelists admit known people, approval-based registration admits requested ones, after a human decision. The visitor signs up, supplies the required profile details, and lands in a pending state. The organiser reviews the application in the registration review queue and approves or rejects it; the applicant receives a message, which for a rejection can include a reason, and for approval can include onward instructions. Approval creates the membership with role and groups. This is the right fit for members-only conferences, invitation-led conclaves, competitions with eligibility and any gathering where the organiser must control the room. The trade-off is operational: a queue that nobody monitors becomes a bottleneck. Set a turnaround target, allocate reviewers per group and decide the criteria before opening registration. Report approval and rejection counts in the post-event pack, as they show demand as well as control.

## How Sociana uses it

Approval-based registration is one identity model in the admin panel, feeding the registration review queue and creating members on approval.

## Example

An association conference reviewed requests to join before creating member records.

[Guest lists, whitelists & registration reviewWhere this term lives in the Sociana app.See how it works](https://sociana.in/features/guest-lists-and-approvals/)

## Questions

What happens after someone requests to join?

They wait as pending until a reviewer approves or rejects, and the applicant receives a message with the outcome. The organiser reviews the application in the registration review queue and approves or rejects it; the applicant receives a message, which for a rejection can include a reason, and for approval can include onward instructions.

When should I use approval instead of a whitelist?

When you do not know everyone in advance, so requests arrive from people who need a human decision before entering. Where whitelists admit known people, approval-based registration admits requested ones, after a human decision. Approval creates the membership with role and groups.

What is the main risk?

An unmonitored queue becomes a bottleneck. Set a turnaround target and assign reviewers before registration opens. The trade-off is operational: a queue that nobody monitors becomes a bottleneck. Approval-based registration is one identity model in the admin panel, feeding the registration review queue and creating members on approval.

## Keep reading

[Guest lists, whitelists & registration review](https://sociana.in/features/guest-lists-and-approvals/)[Member imports & profile fields](https://sociana.in/features/member-imports-and-profiles/)[Association & member events](https://sociana.in/event-types/association-events/)[Executive conclaves & destination MICE](https://sociana.in/event-types/executive-conclaves/)[Registration review](https://sociana.in/glossary/registration-review/)[Whitelist](https://sociana.in/glossary/whitelist/)[Member](https://sociana.in/glossary/member/)

[Back to Glossary](https://sociana.in/glossary/)

## Want this off your desk?

Our team sets it up before the event and sits on the ops desk with you on the days.

[Book a demo](https://sociana.in/contact/)[Talk on WhatsApp (opens WhatsApp in a new tab)](https://wa.me/919145897433?text=Hi%20Sociana%2C%20I'm%20looking%20at%20Approval-based%20registration%20%28%2Fglossary%2Fapproval-based-registration%2F%29%20and%20would%20like%20to%20know%20more. "WhatsApp · replies Mon–Sat, 10:00–19:00 IST")

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Canonical: https://sociana.in/glossary/approval-based-registration/
Publisher: Sociana by Alien Brains Private Limited (https://sociana.in/)