Member Sign-up and Application Form
Let people create their own member record, or submit an application for staff to approve.
Overview
Members can fill in the membership profile form themselves from your website or app, or you can restrict this functionality.
In the members settings page you can control who can create a profile:
| Setting | Functionality | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-ups allowed, no approval required | The joining form is publically accessible. Anyone can complete the application form and immediately purchase membership and book events without staff interaction. | Salons, gyms, museums, and similar public programs. |
| Sign-ups allowed, approval required | The joining form is publically accessible. Anyone can complete an application form, but staff must review and approve their profile before they can purchase memberships or book events. | Country clubs, members' clubs, some sports and social clubs. |
| Sign-ups disallowed | The joining form is accessible only by invite. Staff can create profiles, or send invites. | The most discreet, invite-only clubs and organizations. |
If you already have the profile and only need the person to claim it, invite them instead. An invite does not create a new member.
Joining form
When sign-ups are allowed, a person creates their own profile on the joining form. They do not need a record first, and staff do not add them by hand.
Open the form
Send them the joining form, or let them open it themselves. By default the URL is https://portal.members.dev/o/<your-org-slug>/join.
Complete the form
They fill in the member application form: name, plus the built-in and custom fields you have configured. Required fields must be completed before they can submit. See Customising Member Profile Fields.
Submit
Submitting creates the member record.
- No approval required. The profile is active immediately, the same as when staff add a member by hand. They can then purchase a membership and book events.
- Approval required. The profile is pending. They cannot purchase a membership or book events until staff approve it. See Applications.
Applications
A membership application is the same form, with a review first. The record is created as pending and waits for staff approval in the applications section of the admin dashboard. If you do not accept it, set the status to rejected.
This still applies if they arrived by invite. The invite lets them open the form. It does not approve the profile.
Use applications when joining is not automatic: a club that vets members, a professional association, or any program where staff decide who is accepted.
Pending and rejected records stay on file, so you can see who applied and what they submitted. If you made a mistake, you can approve previously rejected applications. However, once you have approved a member profile, you cannot move it back into the pending state.
By default, no automated email is sent on acceptance or rejection.
Application Form
The joining form is fully customisable. It is not a fixed set of questions.
You build it from sections. Each section has a title, an optional description, and the fields in that section in the order you set. A form can have as many sections as you need, for example contact details, then membership questions, then a waiver.
Built-in fields (name, email, phone, address) and custom fields can sit in the same section. You choose which fields appear, which are required, and the order they are asked. See Customising Member Profile Fields.
Required fields apply to the person filling the form. Staff adding a member by hand can override those requirements and leave a field for later.
The form definition is available on the Get Member Application endpoint if you are building the sign-up or application flow yourself.