Applicable to: Super Admins, Association Administrators and Club Administrators
Applicable to: Rugby Canada, Basketball England
Application(s): Admin Portal > Participants > International Clearance
This article will cover the following:
- Understanding International Clearance statuses
- Checking a player's International Clearance status
- Updating a player's International Clearance status (Super Admins only)
- Finding your governing body's clearance rules
Related articles:
Overview
International Clearance (also called a Letter of Clearance, or LOC) records whether a player has been cleared out of one national federation and cleared in to another. Players who move between federations, for example a basketball player moving from Basketball England to Australia, or a rugby player moving in or out of Rugby Canada, must be cleared before they are eligible to play in a competition that requires it.
Where International Clearance is enabled, every player profile shows an International Clearance box, and every status change records who made it, when, and why.
The platform also detects a likely clearance case for you. Participants registering into a competition are asked a clearance question worded by your governing body, and their answer sets the player's clearance status automatically. Where a competition has the International Clearance eligibility setting switched on, a player who needs clearing has their registration held at Pending until a Super Admin clears them.
International Clearance is switched on per governing body by PlayHQ, for federations that need it. If you do not see an International Clearance box on participant profiles, it is not enabled for your organisation.
Clearance paperwork itself stays outside PlayHQ. There is no integration with FIBA, World Rugby or any other federation clearance system, so forms and letters are still exchanged the way your federation exchanges them today.
What you'll need before starting
Required information
Before you begin, make sure you have:
- Confirmation that your organisation has International Clearance enabled
- The player's name or PlayHQ profile, so you can find the correct participant
- The outcome of the clearance itself, for example the FIBA or World Rugby paperwork, or your federation's own sign-off, since PlayHQ records the outcome rather than producing it
- Super Admin access, if you need to change a status
💡 Tip: Association and Club Administrators can still help
You can view a player's clearance status and the note against it, which is usually enough to answer "why is this player not active yet?" without contacting your governing body.
Understanding International Clearance statuses
A player's clearance status sits on their profile and takes one of five values. The explanations below are the ones shown in the About International Clearances panel in the Admin Portal, so what you read here matches what your clubs see in the platform.
Each international clearance status is explained below. If international clearance eligibility is turned on for this competition, some of these statuses may affect a player's registration.
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Not Applicable | International clearance doesn't apply to this person. They're not required to complete this process. |
| Check Required | The governing body needs to review this person's international clearance status. This is triggered when a participant indicates their most recent registration in the sport (for example basketball or rugby) was outside this governing body, which requires an international clearance check, or when they register for the sport for the first time and their nationality or country of birth requires an additional check. |
| Pending | The governing body is currently reviewing this person's international clearance. |
| Cleared In | This person's international clearance has been approved by the governing body. If they continue to register into this governing body, they will remain Cleared In. To play with organisations in the sport outside the governing body in future, they'll need to complete the clearance process again before registering elsewhere. |
| Cleared Out | This person's international clearance has been approved and they're now cleared to register with organisations in the sport outside of the governing body. To return to the governing body, an international clearance will need to be obtained from their current national organisation for that sport. |
How the status affects a registration
A player's status only holds up a registration where the competition has International Clearance eligibility switched on.
| Player's status | Competition has IC eligibility ON | Competition has IC eligibility OFF |
|---|---|---|
| Not Applicable or Cleared In | Registration is Active, and the eligibility line is ticked automatically | Registration is Active, and no eligibility line is shown |
| Check Required, Pending or Cleared Out | Registration is held at Pending, and the eligibility line stays unticked | Registration is Active, and no eligibility line is shown |
Once the player is cleared and International Clearance is the last outstanding eligibility item, the registration moves to Active on its own. You do not need to flip it manually.
💡 Tip: Program registrations are never affected
International Clearance applies to competition registrations only.
Two things about status behaviour are worth knowing:
- An override to Cleared Out, Pending or Check Required blocks the player. If a player is overridden by an admin to Cleared Out, Pending or Check Required, an automatic block is applied to any of their active player registrations. This means the player will be blocked from continuing to play within that season of the competition.
- A "No" answer never resets a Cleared Out player. If a player who has been cleared out answers the registration question to say their last registration was not elsewhere, they stay Cleared Out. Only a Super Admin can clear them back in.
Checking a player's International Clearance status
Administrators at every level can view a player's clearance status and the note held against it.
-
Open the participant's profile
Open the profile of the player you want to check.
-
Find the International Clearance box
Scroll to the International Clearance box on the profile. It appears on every profile in an enabled organisation, whether or not the player has ever registered into a competition that requires clearance.
-
Read the current status and its detail
Check the current status, the date it applied from, and the note recorded against it, since the note is where the reason for the status lives. A player with a Cleared Out status also shows a badge at the top of their profile, alongside suspensions, so the status is hard to miss.
-
Review the change history
Open the profile activity log to see every clearance status change, who made it, and the reason they gave. This is the audit trail your federation can rely on if FIBA, World Rugby or another body queries a player's history.
You can now tell a club whether a player is cleared, and why their registration is or is not active.
Updating a player's International Clearance status (Super Admins only)
Use this when clearance paperwork or information arrives outside the registration flow, for example a signed FIBA form or a federation email.
⚠️ Important: Only Super Admins can change a clearance status
Association and Club Administrators can view a status but cannot change it. If you need a player cleared and you are not a Super Admin, contact your governing body.
⚠️ Important: Overriding an active player's international clearance status mid-season will block their registrations
Overriding a player who currently holds an Active registration to a status that requires clearance places a temporary block on their registrations in active and upcoming seasons. Only the governing body can remove that block. Check the confirmation screen before you save.
A Super Admin changes the status from the International Clearance box on the player's profile, selecting the status that reflects the paperwork they are acting on and recording a note explaining the change. The note is kept permanently and is never cleared, even when the status changes again later, and it is visible to every administrator in your organisation, so write it for that audience.
Once saved, the player's registrations respond as follows, and the change appears immediately in the profile activity log.
| Registration is currently | You set the status to | What happens to the registration |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | Cleared In or Not Applicable | Moves to Active |
| Pending | Check Required or Pending | Stays Pending |
| Pending | Cleared Out | Stays Pending |
| Active | Cleared Out, Check Required or Pending | A temporary block is applied to active and upcoming season registrations, removable by the governing body only |
Finding your governing body's clearance rules
PlayHQ records the outcome of a clearance. The rules themselves belong to your governing body and its international federation: when a clearance is needed, what paperwork has to be completed, who signs it, and how long it takes.
Use the table below to find the current rules for your sport before you clear a player in or out.
| Governing body | Where to find their clearance rules |
|---|---|
| Basketball England | NBL FAQs, Basketball England |
| Rugby Canada | International Player Clearance, Rugby Canada |
💡 Tip: Clearance applies at every level, not just elite competition
Rugby Canada's rules, for example, extend to friendly matches organised by Rugby Canada or its member unions. Check your own federation's scope rather than assuming a local competition is exempt.
⚠️ Important: PlayHQ cannot advise on clearance rules
PlayHQ Support can help with the platform, for example a status that will not update or a registration that has not moved to Active. It cannot tell you whether a player needs a clearance, chase one with another federation, or interpret FIBA or World Rugby regulations. Those questions go to your governing body.
If your organisation has International Clearance enabled and is not listed above, ask your governing body where their rules are published so your clubs have somewhere to point players.
Important considerations
Impact on Club and Association Administrators
Clubs and associations will see registrations sitting at Pending that they cannot clear themselves. Before switching eligibility on for a competition:
- Tell your clubs what each status means and that only the governing body can clear a player
- Give them a clear contact point, so a held registration does not become a support ticket to PlayHQ
- Consider the timing against your registration open dates, since a clearance backlog at the start of a season lands on your desk, not the club's
Impact on registering participants
Every participant registering into a competition in an enabled organisation is asked the clearance question, whatever their age. Players outside your configured age range pass through as Not Applicable regardless of how they answer, so the question is asked but their answer is disregarded.
Participants cannot see their own clearance status or change their own answer. Whether they are emailed when their registration is held depends on a setting your organisation controls, so confirm which behaviour applies to you before telling clubs what players will receive.
Impact on profile merges, permits and transfers
- Profile merges carry the clearance status and its detail across. Where both profiles hold a status, the one with the later "from" date wins.
- Transfers into a competition with an unmet clearance requirement are held at Pending, the same as any other registration.
- Permits take the player's current clearance status and apply the same competition eligibility rules.
Frequently asked questions
Who can change a player's International Clearance status?
Super Admins only. Association and Club Administrators can view the status and its note, but cannot change either.
Why is a player's registration still Pending after I cleared them?
International Clearance has to be the last outstanding eligibility item for the registration to move to Active automatically. Check whether the player also has an unmet accreditation, visa or child safety requirement on the same registration.
A player who was cleared out answered "no" at registration and is still Cleared Out. Is that a bug?
No, that is deliberate. A Cleared Out status is never reset by a registration answer alone, which is what stops a cleared-out player registering back in without being cleared. A Super Admin has to clear them in.
Can I undo a status change?
Set the status again to whatever is correct. Both changes stay in the profile activity log, nothing is overwritten silently, and earlier notes are kept.
Does clearing a player in PlayHQ satisfy FIBA or World Rugby?
No. PlayHQ records the outcome of a clearance, it does not exchange the paperwork. Your federation's process with FIBA, World Rugby or the other national body still happens outside the platform.
Does International Clearance affect program registrations?
No. Only competition registrations are affected. A player with any clearance status can register into a program.
Is International Clearance available to my organisation?
It is switched on per governing body by PlayHQ, for federations that need it. If you do not see an International Clearance box on participant profiles, it is not enabled for your organisation. Contact your sport's support team if you think it should be. Visit the Contact Us page and select your sport.
A player's nationality is Northern Irish. Should they need a clearance?
For Basketball England, yes. Northern Ireland is affiliated to the Ireland Federation rather than Great Britain, so it is treated as a clearance case. Check your own federation's rules for equivalent edge cases.