Manually Add an Attendee

 🎓 This article is for instructors. 

There may be times when an attendee participated in your event but didn't pre-register and didn't record their own attendance during the event. As an instructor, you can manually add them to the event's attendee list — but this should be your last resort. Self-service methods are faster, more accurate, and avoid common pitfalls like account-linkage issues.

 ⚠️ Important: When you manually add an attendee, the Certificate column will show Sign-In Required until they complete the sign-in process. You won't be able to download their certificate during this time — and they won't see the event in their account either. To resolve this, send them a Certificate Notice (see the section below). Once they sign in or create a free attendee account using the link, the event automatically links to their account and the certificate becomes available. 

Try these methods first

Before manually adding an attendee, encourage them to use one of these self-service options:

• Paperless Attendance Slide. If your event hasn't ended yet, display the slide and have the attendee scan and record. See Use the CEU Events Paperless Attendance Slide.
• Attendance Recording Guide. Send the PDF to attendees who reach out after the event. They can record their attendance from the Guide on their own. See Use the Attendance Recording Guide.

Both of these approaches link the attendance to the attendee's own CEU Events account automatically — avoiding the dashboard linkage issue described above.

When manual entry makes sense

Manual entry is appropriate only when:

• The attendee genuinely refuses or is unable to use self-service options.
• The attendee is okay with completing the sign-in process via Certificate Notice afterward to link the event to their account and access their certificate.

How to manually add an attendee

1. From your event in CEU Events, click the Menu (⋯) button on the event page.
2. Click Add attendee to start the process.
   
   
3. Enter the attendee's email address. As you type, the system scans your past events and contact lists for matches.
4. If the attendee is found: Click the + button next to their name to add them. This is the preferred path because it reuses their existing record.
5. If the attendee is not found: Click the Add manually button to enter their information from scratch. Use this only as a last resort.
6. Fill in any required information and click Submit to save.

The attendee is now added to your event's attendee list.

Next step: mark them as Attended

Adding an attendee to your list isn't enough on its own — they also need to be marked as Attended for credit to be reported and a certificate to be issued. See Mark Attendees as Attended for the marking workflow.

Sending a Certificate Notice to a manually added attendee

Manually added attendees show Sign-In Required in the Certificate column rather than Ready. This means they need to either sign in to their existing CEU Events account or create a free attendee account before they can download their certificate. You can't download their certificate on their behalf until they complete this step.

CEU Events provides two ways to send them the sign-in link:

Option 1 — Individual: Send Certificate Notice from the attendee's row

1. From the event's attendee list, click the (⋯) menu next to the attendee.
2. Click Send Certificate Notice.
3. The system sends the attendee a personalized sign-in link.

Option 2 — Batch: Use the "Certificate is ready" email for multiple attendees

If you have several manually added attendees, send all of them the sign-in link at once:

1. From the event page, click Share > Send.
2. Under Make a selection, choose Certificate is ready.
3. (Optional) Select Exclude previous recipients if you've sent this before.
4. Click Submit.

What happens after the attendee completes sign-in

Once the attendee clicks the link in the Certificate Notice and signs in (or creates a free attendee account):

• The event is automatically linked to their account.
• Their Certificate column status updates from Sign-In Required to Ready.
• They can immediately download their certificate from their CEU Events account.

Best practices

• Always try pre-registration and marking attendees as Attended first. When pre-registration isn't possible, the Paperless Attendance Slide and Attendance Recording Guide both link attendance to the attendee's own account automatically — avoiding the Sign-In Required step that manual entry creates. 
• Use the search/contact match (+) over true manual entry when possible. If you've worked with the attendee before, the system likely has their record already — reusing it is faster and keeps your records cleaner.
• Set expectations with the attendee. If you do enter someone manually, let them know they may need to contact CEU Events support to see the event on their dashboard.
• Don't manually add attendees during the event. During the event, point attendees to the Paperless Attendance Slide instead. Manual entry should only be a post-event recourse, after self-service options have been declined or are unavailable.

Troubleshooting

• The system says it found the attendee, but you're not sure they're the right person. Double-check the email address you entered matches the attendee. If multiple results appear, verify before clicking the + button.
• An attendee you added manually says the event isn't on their dashboard. Their Certificate column likely shows Sign-In Required. Send them a Certificate Notice from the (⋯) menu — this gives them a sign-in link. Once they sign in (or create a free attendee account), the event automatically links to their account and the certificate becomes available. 
• You entered the wrong information for an attendee. Edit the attendee record from the event's attendee list, or remove them and re-add with the correct details. See Remove an Attendee from a Registered Event (Instructors).
• Still having trouble? Contact CEU Events support and we'll help.