When someone opens the application page for a program, Rhythm does not show every process attached to that program. Rhythm first checks which processes fit that person or organization based on the certification they already hold and that certification’s status. Use this article to understand why someone saw the process you expected, or why they saw no process at all.
In most cases, Rhythm offers a first-certification, renewal, or reinstatement route based on the certification record it currently has for the applicant and the dates on that record. Some certification records were imported or loaded as history instead of created from an application in Rhythm. For those records, the imported status and dates drive these checks, so confirm what the certification record shows before assuming it reflects recent activity in Rhythm.
Not Yet Certified in the Program
Someone with no certification record in the program sees only the routes meant for a first certification. A certification in another program does not change this, so a person certified elsewhere in your Rhythm account does not see a transfer route into a program they have never held.
Already Certified: Renewal and Transfer
When someone holds an active certification with an expiration date, Rhythm can offer renewal and transfer processes, but it uses different timing for each one. A renewal process appears only during the renewal window your administrator set, counted back from the certification’s expiration date. A transfer process does not use that renewal window, so an active holder can be offered it at any point before expiration.
Rhythm handles certifications with no expiration date differently. It offers only the program’s transfer processes because there is no expiration to renew. Activating a transfer application does not move this kind of certification into another program by itself; the transfer goes to the program that owns the transfer process.
Suspended, Lapsed, or Dropped
A holder with a suspended certification sees no application process, and Rhythm does not show a message explaining the empty list. Staff can still create an application for that person directly from the Console. When staff activate that application, Rhythm sets the certification active again and removes the suspension.
A holder whose certification has lapsed, shown as inactive or retired, sees reinstatement or renewal processes when those processes still apply. Rhythm treats a retired certification the same as an inactive one for this purpose. Reinstatement is available after a certification expires but before it is terminated. When someone renews a certification that is expired but not yet terminated, Rhythm advances the certification from where it left off instead of starting a fresh term. Rhythm uses the day after the certification's prior expiration date as the new term's start date and calculates the new expiration from there.
A lapse or expiration date by itself does not remove renewal access. Termination requires both a termination date on the certification and an Inactive status; if either condition is missing, the person keeps access to renewal. An application can also sit past its expiration date and still show active until a certification billing run processes that date. If you need to move an expired certification and its application out of renewal reach, run a billing run that includes the expiration date in its selected range. Because termination depends on the termination date specifically, an imported certification record with a populated termination date can make Rhythm offer different process options than you expect, even when the rest of the record looks current. Correcting or removing an incorrect termination date restores the options that match the certification's real status.
After a certification is terminated, it can no longer use a renewal process. Rhythm generally treats it as dropped, the same way it treats a dropped membership, and the person should re-enter the program through a join-style, first-certification application instead of a renewal. Some programs also keep a configured reinstatement period open for a time after termination. While that period is active, Rhythm can still offer reinstatement instead of a new application. Once the time since termination is longer than the configured period, Rhythm offers only a new-certification process. In some cases, the certification options list can still show the original join process while a reinstatement window is active for that holder. When you see both listed, treat reinstatement, or renewal if it still applies, as the intended path.
Tip
If your association does not want old expiration dates extended through renewal, drop the certifications you consider fully lapsed through your regular billing runs. A certification that expires but is never terminated keeps its renewal route open indefinitely.
One Open Application at a Time
When an applicant already has an application in a program that is missing requirements or waiting for approval, Rhythm offers no process for that program and does not explain why the list is empty. An approved application does not count as open for this check, so someone already approved for a program can still start a second application in it.
Rhythm runs this check before it confirms whether the person requesting the list is allowed to ask about that applicant. Because of that order, an empty list can mean either “you can’t ask about this person” or “there’s nothing to apply for.”
To let someone reapply while an open application is still blocking them, staff need to remove the existing application from that person's Applications tab in Application 360 before starting a new one. Simply starting a new application does not work while the old one is still open. A Rejected application does not count as open either. Once an application's order is cancelled and the application itself is set to Rejected, the applicant should be able to submit a new application for the same certification.
Applying for an Organization
A contact can apply on behalf of their own organization when their contact role is set up in Certifications settings to allow applying for or renewing a certification. Rhythm considers only the contact’s own organization for this purpose. A descendant organization farther down the structure is not included, even if the contact could otherwise act for it. When a contact applies for their organization’s renewal, Rhythm checks the organization’s certification status, not the contact’s personal certification status.
Eligibility criteria on the process itself do not help if you need to restrict which contacts within an organization may submit on its behalf. When a process's applicant type is Organization, its eligibility checks evaluate the organization, not the specific contact submitting for it. If you need that finer restriction, manage it through contact roles and permissions instead of the process's eligibility criteria.
What Determines Eligibility Overall
The same eligibility rules decide the list an applicant sees in all of the situations above. Rhythm applies these rules only when it displays the list of available processes to that person. Building a draft application, completing its order, or saving an application directly does not run the checks again. In practice, the eligibility rules control what someone is offered, not what staff can do when they work directly on a record.
Warning
Because certification eligibility criteria treat certifications as either “all of these” or “none of these,” a rule that expects more than one active certification at the same time can fail unexpectedly when your program design allows only one to be true at a time. If you write eligibility criteria across multiple programs, consider using a separate rule for each program instead of one combined rule. The same all-or-none evaluation can also fail in the opposite direction. A process using “Meet ALL of the requirements below” together with a Certificants condition set to “The following are NOT true” can fail eligibility testing for a person who does not hold the named certification at all, even though not holding it should make that person qualify. If a test result looks backwards like this, review how the ALL/NOT-true combination is being evaluated instead of assuming the applicant’s record is wrong.
Related
After a process is offered, see How Application Requirements Are Evaluated to learn what happens when someone starts it, including how its requirements are checked and rolled up into the application’s status.