What is covered in this article?
- Overview
- When Would You Force Submit?
- How to Force Submit an Application
- Activity Log Entry
- Important Notes
Overview
In some situations, a contact who has been requested to sign a form may refuse to do so, causing the application to remain indefinitely in a Pending Signatures status. Where a school has lawful authority to proceed — for example, where a court order or other enforcement mechanism is in place — a school user can manually force submit the application, bypassing the outstanding signature requirement.
When a force submission is made, an entry is automatically recorded in the application's activity log, providing a clear audit trail of the action taken and the circumstances surrounding it.
When Would You Force Submit?
A force submission may be appropriate when a contact is refusing to sign and there is no reasonable expectation they will do so, when a legal or court order grants the school authority to process the application without that contact's signature, or when a deadlock situation exists between caregivers and the school needs to progress the application to the next stage.
Force submitting should only be used where the school has appropriate authority to do so and is satisfied that proceeding without the outstanding signature is justified.
How to Force Submit an Application
- Go to Applications > Apply Forms.
- Filter by Pending Signatures status to locate the relevant application.
- Open the application.
- Click the Force Submit button.
- You will be prompted to confirm the action and provide a reason — this reason will be captured in the activity log.
- Click Confirm to proceed.
The application will move to Submitted status and all relevant contacts will be notified.
Activity Log Entry
When a force submission is made, an entry is automatically added to the application's activity log recording the date and time of the action, the school user who performed the force submission, and which contact's signature was outstanding at the time of submission.
This log entry is important for accountability and compliance purposes, ensuring there is a clear record in the event the decision is ever queried or reviewed.
Important Notes
Force submitting cannot be undone — once submitted, the form cannot be returned to Pending Signatures. The activity log entry is permanent and forms part of the application record. Schools should ensure they have appropriate authority and documentation before using this feature.