Drafts: Save Participants Before You Issue

Time to read: 5 minutes

Overview

Drafts let you record a participant the moment they enroll, without issuing their credential yet. A typical case: a student signs up for a course in January, but the credential shouldn't exist until the course ends in June. Save them as a draft now, then issue with one click when the time comes.

Drafts live in the same Credentials table as your issued credentials, marked with a Draft status chip.

Save a Draft

1. Click Credentials in the left navigation
2. Click Add (top right) — the Issue Credential drawer slides in from the right
3. Fill in at least the recipient's Name and pick a Category — email, title, description, and any custom fields are optional and can be completed later
4. Click Save as Draft

The drawer closes and the participant appears in the table as a Draft row.

A few things to know:

• Issue and expiry dates aren't part of a draft. The date fields stay visible in the drawer, but a draft deliberately has no dates — you set them when you actually issue. That's the point of a draft: the dates aren't known yet.
• Several people at once: click Add another recipient to add more names before saving. One click on Save as Draft saves each recipient as its own draft row — handy when entering a whole enrollment sheet in one sitting.
• Duplicate warning: if a draft with the same name or email already exists in the chosen category, you'll see a hint — "A participant with this name or email already exists in this course — you can still save." It never blocks you; two participants can legitimately share a name.
• Out of credits? You can still save drafts. Running out of credits gates issuing, not enrollment — queue up as many drafts as you need and issue once you've topped up or upgraded.

Find and Edit Drafts

In the Status filter above the Credentials table, select Draft. The toggle shows a count badge whenever you have pending drafts, so you always know how many people are waiting to be issued.

Draft rows are easy to spot: a Draft chip, slightly dimmed text, and blank cells in the columns that only apply after issuance — Credential Number, PDF, Wallet Card, Badge, and Email Status.

To edit a draft, open its row actions and choose Edit. The drawer opens pre-filled with everything you saved. Click Save as Draft to update it — the same draft is re-saved, nothing is duplicated.

Issue a Draft

When it's time to make it real:

1. Open the draft row's actions and click Issue
2. The Issue Credential drawer opens pre-filled with the participant's details
3. Add anything that was missing — issue date, expiry date, email options
4. Click Issue Credential

The draft is converted into a real credential, linked back to the original entry, and the row's status changes from Draft to Active. On metered plans, this is the moment a credit is used — never earlier.

Issue Several Drafts at Once

1. Filter the table by Draft status
2. Tick the checkboxes of the drafts you want to issue
3. Click Issue Selected in the bulk action bar
4. The drawer opens with all selected participants as recipients — set the shared details and issue them together

Two rules to be aware of:

• One category at a time. If your selection spans more than one category, issuing is blocked with the message "Select drafts from a single category to issue them together." Filter by category first, or issue each group separately.
• Don't mix drafts and issued credentials. If your selection contains both, all bulk actions are disabled — clear the selection and pick one type.

If you run out of credits mid-batch: the credentials that fit within your remaining credits are issued, and the rest simply stay as drafts. Nothing is lost — buy a credit pack or upgrade, then select the remaining drafts and issue them.

Delete a Draft

Open the draft row's actions and choose Delete. Deleting a draft is permanent and involves no credits — nothing was ever issued.

Two related behaviors worth knowing:

• Deleting a category also removes its drafts. The confirmation dialog warns you how many unissued drafts will be removed along with it.
• Deleting an issued credential does not bring its draft back. Once a draft has been issued, the two are linked — but deleting that credential later permanently removes the link and does not restore the draft. If you need to re-issue that person, save them as a new draft or issue a credential directly.

FAQ

Q: Do drafts appear on my public verify page?

A: No. Drafts are internal to your organization. They never show up in verify searches, reports, CSV exports, or anywhere a recipient or third party could see them.

Q: Do drafts use credits or count against my plan limit?

A: No. A credit is used only at the moment you issue. You can save drafts freely even when you've used all your credits.

Q: Can I set an issue or expiry date on a draft?

A: No — dates are set when you issue. A draft exists precisely because those dates aren't known yet.

Q: Can two drafts have the same name or email?

A: Yes. You'll see a non-blocking hint about the duplicate, but saving is always allowed — two participants can share a name.

Q: I deleted a credential that was issued from a draft. Where did the draft go?

A: It's gone. Deleting an issued credential permanently removes its link to the original draft — the draft is not restored.

Q: How do I turn a draft into a credential for someone who's on the roster but selected with others from another category?

A: Bulk issuing works one category at a time. Filter the table by category, select the drafts within it, and click Issue Selected — then repeat for the next category.