Description: How to review testers, approve or deny them, and manage your organization's copy of their certifications in SwiftComply.
Who this article is for: Authority Users
Overview
When a tester is new to your organization — or when one of their certifications is updated or renewed — they land in your review queue. As an authority user, your primary job is to review what the tester has on file and decide whether to approve them to submit test reports to your organization or deny them. You can also add, edit, or delete your organization's copy of their certifications when you need to clean up records or correct something on your end. This article walks through both the review workflow and how certification copies work across organizations.
How Certification Copies Work
This is the most important thing to understand about certifications in SwiftComply. Each certification has multiple copies:
The tester's master copy lives on their SwiftComply profile under MY CERTIFICATIONS. The tester owns this copy.
Your organization's copy lives on the tester's profile in your Service Provider Users list, under the CERTIFICATIONS tab. You own this copy.
Every other organization the tester works with has its own copy too, in the same way.
When changes happen, they stay scoped to the copy that was edited:
Who Changes It | What Happens |
Tester edits their own MY CERTIFICATIONS | The change automatically pushes out to every organization that accepts that certifying agency and allows updates from service provider users. Your org's copy is updated (unless your org opts out of accepting tester updates). |
Authority user (or SC Admin) edits your org's copy | Only your org's copy changes. The tester's master copy and every other organization's copy are unaffected. |
📝 This means your org's copy and the tester's master can drift if you've edited your copy locally. That's by design — it protects each organization's records from being overwritten by other organizations. If you want the tester's master reflected on your side, ask the tester to save their certification again from MY CERTIFICATIONS; that will push it to your org (overwriting your edited copy).
Where to Start: The Notifications Tab
Click Notifications in the left navigation.
Look for two rows:
Click the open icon next to the count to jump to a pre-filtered list of testers in that queue.
You can also reach the full list of testers from Service Providers in the left navigation, then switching the selector at the top of the table from Service Providers to Service Provider Users.
Reading the Service Provider Users List
The list shows every tester associated with a service provider that works with your organization. Default columns:
Column | What It Shows |
The tester's login email | |
Name | The tester's first and last name |
Certification Status | A green ribbon if the tester has a valid certification on file that satisfies your requirements; a red warning triangle if something is missing or expired |
Job Title | Tester's job title (optional) |
Phone | Contact phone |
Organization Name | Your organization name |
Last Login | The tester's most recent login timestamp |
When you reach the list from the Notifications tab, it's pre-filtered to the review queue (testers with a "pending" status). Additional columns like Status are available from the Reporting view (Service Provider Testers List).
Reviewing a Tester
Click the tester's row to open the profile flyout on the right side of the page.
The flyout has two tabs: DETAILS and CERTIFICATIONS.
Details Tab
Shows the tester's profile information: First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone #, User Type (Service Provider), Job Title, and an Allow Login Access checkbox.
Below the profile fields is an Auto Accept Settings block that tells you whether this tester's test reports and surveys are set to auto-accept by default in your organization settings.
At the bottom of the Details tab are two action buttons:
Approve (green) — approves the tester to submit to your organization
Deny (red) — removes the tester's ability to submit to your organization
Certifications Tab
Shows your organization's copy of the tester's certifications and how they match your organization's requirements:
Required Certifications panel — lists the certifications your organization requires, joined with OR logic (so the tester only needs to satisfy one of each group). An orange warning icon appears next to a requirement that isn't currently satisfied.
Certification cards — one card per certification on file for this tester at your organization, with a status badge:
Card details include Certification Number, Certifying Agency, Expiration Date, Certification Type, and an image preview of the uploaded certificate.
Each card has a pencil (edit) icon and a red trash (delete) icon — these act on your organization's copy only.
An Add Certification button at the bottom adds a certification to your organization's copy only.
Use this tab to verify the tester's credentials before approving. If a requirement shows the orange warning or a cert is Expired, the tester is not ready to be approved at your organization — either ask them to upload a current certification from their profile (which will push to your org), or add a certification to your org's copy yourself.
Approving a Tester
Open the tester from the Service Provider Users list.
Review the Certifications tab and confirm all Required Certifications are satisfied with current (non-expired) certs.
On the Details tab, click Approve.
The tester is immediately approved — no date picker or additional step required.
💡 Tip: Approval has no expiration date for most organizations. The tester stays approved until you deny them or their certifications trigger a re-review. If a tester's cert lapses, the system automatically blocks submission — you don't need to manually set an expiry on the approval.
What Happens After Approval
The tester's Status changes from pending to approved.
The tester can now submit test reports to your organization (as long as they also have a valid certification that satisfies your requirements).
The approval has no expiration date — it stays active until you take action to deny them.
Legacy organizations (Approved Until Date setting ON): If your organization has this setting enabled, the Approve button opens a date picker. Choose the date you want the approval to expire — typically the earliest certification expiration date on file — then click Approve. The stored date is enforced at submission. Contact your CSM if you have questions about your org's setting.
Denying a Tester
Use Deny when you've reviewed a tester and decided not to let them submit test reports to your organization — for example, they're not actually a licensed tester in your service area, or their credentials won't be resolved.
Open the tester from the Service Provider Users list.
On the Details tab, click Deny.
Confirm in any prompt that appears.
What Happens After a Denial
The tester loses the ability to submit test reports to your organization.
They remain a visible record in your Service Provider Users list (denial does not delete their profile).
If circumstances change later, you can re-approve them using Approve — the button stays available.
Editing Your Organization's Copy of a Certification
When you need to clean up your records — for example, correct a typo, update an expiration date based on a paper certificate the tester mailed you, or remove a duplicate — you can edit or delete your organization's copy directly.
Adding a Certification to Your Org's Copy
Open the tester from the Service Provider Users list.
Go to the Certifications tab.
Click Add Certification.
Fill in the form: Certification Number, Certifying Agency (dropdown), Expiration Date, Certification Type (dropdown), and upload the Certificate Image (.jpg, .jpeg, .pdf, .png).
Save.
Editing a Certification on Your Org's Copy
Find the certification card on the Certifications tab.
Click the pencil (edit) icon.
Update the fields.
Save.
Deleting from Your Org's Copy
Find the certification card.
Click the red trash (delete) icon.
Confirm.
⚠️ Any change you make here is to your organization's copy only. The tester's master copy and every other organization's copy are not affected. If the tester subsequently saves their own certification from MY CERTIFICATIONS and your org accepts tester updates, your local edits will be replaced by the tester's version.
The Re-Review Queue
Testers land in the Service Provider Users To Re-Review queue when their certification was updated in a way that needs a new review — for example, the tester pushed a renewal or added a new cert.
Work the Re-Review queue the same way you work the initial review queue: open the tester, confirm the Certifications tab looks right, and either approve them or deny them.
Note (Legacy organizations): If your organization has the Approved Until Date setting enabled, testers also appear in Re-Review when their stored approval date passes.
When to Let the Tester Update vs. Edit Your Org's Copy
Both you and the tester can change certification data, but each has a different effect:
Let the tester update from MY CERTIFICATIONS — best when the tester's actual credential has changed (they renewed, got a new number, etc.). Their update pushes to every organization that accepts tester updates, keeping records consistent everywhere.
Edit your org's copy yourself — best when you need a correction local to your org (a typo on your side, a record you want to clean up for your own compliance reporting) that doesn't reflect a real change in the tester's credential.
When in doubt, ask the tester to update from their side. That keeps everyone in sync.
FAQ
Q: How does a tester stay approved if there's no expiration date?
A: Once approved, a tester stays approved until you manually deny them. If their certification expires, the system automatically blocks submission even with an approved status — you don't need an expiry date on the approval itself.
Q: If I delete a certification from my org's copy, does the tester lose it too?
A: No. Deletion is scoped to your organization's copy only. The tester's master copy in MY CERTIFICATIONS and every other organization's copy are unaffected. This is a recent change — previously, deletions could affect multiple organizations; now each org's copy is independent.
Q: A tester says they uploaded a new certification but I still see the old one. What do I do?
A: Two likely reasons: (1) your organization may be configured to not accept tester updates automatically, or (2) the tester's save may not have fully completed. Ask them to open Profile → Certifications → MY CERTIFICATIONS on their side and re-save the certification. If your org accepts tester updates, that will push the fresh copy to you. If your org doesn't accept tester updates, you can add or edit your org's copy manually from the Certifications tab.
Q: Can I approve a tester with an Expired certification?
A: The system lets you, but you generally shouldn't — an expired certification means the tester isn't currently credentialed. Even with an approved status, the tester won't be able to submit test reports while their certification is expired.
Q: The tester list shows a red warning icon next to a tester's name. What does that mean?
A: It means the tester does not currently satisfy your organization's Required Certifications — either they don't have one of the required certifications on file for your org or the one they have is expired. Open the tester's Certifications tab to see the specific issue (the unsatisfied requirement will show an orange warning icon).
Q: My organization used to have an "Approved Until" date field. Where did it go?
A: Approval has been simplified to a status-only model for most organizations — no expiration date is set or enforced on the approval itself. Certification expiration still enforces date-based validity at submission. If your organization needs the date field for business license tracking, contact your CSM — the Approved Until Date setting can be re-enabled.