Verified members

A verified badge is a small tick shown next to a member’s name. It tells visitors that you, the marketplace owner, have checked this person, for example a dealer who sent you their business registration, or a seller you’ve traded with. Badges build trust, and trusted sellers get more replies.

Only you decide who gets the badge. Members can’t add it to their own account. They can ask for it, though: with verification requests, a seller uploads a document and approving it verifies them for you, at a level that matches the document (see Verification levels).

Switch on verified badges

The badge is a user custom field with a special name. You create it once:

1. Go to Users and click User fields.
2. Click New field.
3. Enter verifiedbadge as the Name (exactly like that) and choose Checkbox as the Type.
4. Give it a Label, for example “Verified seller”. The label is what you’ll see when you edit a member.
5. Switch on Admin only, so the box only shows up for administrators.
6. Switch on Searchable if you want visitors to be able to list only verified members in the members directory.
7. Click Create field.

Verify a member

1. Go to Users and click Edit next to the member.
2. Tick the box with your badge’s label.
3. Click Submit.

To take the badge away, untick the box and click Submit.

Where the badge appears

The tick, with the tooltip “Verified!”, is shown next to the member’s name:

• on their public profile,
• on their listings, where the seller’s name is shown,
• on blog posts they wrote,
• in the members directory.

Some older themes show it in fewer places. With verification requests on, the tooltip names the level instead (see below).

Verification levels

When you use verification requests (Settings › General › Trust & safety › Verification requests), verification has levels. Each verified seller shows one badge, the highest they hold:

Badge	How a seller gets it
Verified business	You approved a business document, such as a registration certificate. It has its own, darker badge.
ID verified	You approved an ID document.
Verified	You ticked their verifiedbadge box by hand, without a document.

The levels show:

• as a badge on profiles and listings, with Earned badges on (Nova and default themes);
• in the check mark next to the seller’s name, in every theme, with the level in its tooltip. Sellers you approved get it even if your site has no verifiedbadge field.

An ID-verified seller can send a business document later to move up to Verified business: their Get verified card on the Trust & verification page says which badge they hold and offers the upgrade. A seller with Verified business has nothing more to send.

If your site has the verifiedbadge field, it has the last word: approving a request ticks it, and unticking it removes the seller’s verification, whatever they sent.

With verification requests off, the check mark works as described above: it shows for members whose box you ticked.

Tips

• Decide what “verified” means on your site and say so on a page, such as your FAQ: for example “we’ve seen an ID and a utility bill” or “registered business”. Then apply it consistently.
• Verification is a trust signal, not a guarantee. Keep your scam advice visible too.
• If a verified member’s circumstances change (they close their business, or you get complaints), remove the badge straight away.

Related guides

• User custom fields — other fields you can add to member accounts.
• Manage users — find and edit members.
• Member profiles — what visitors see on a member’s page.
• Verification requests — sellers send a document to be verified.
• Auctions — you can let only verified members bid.