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A watchlist is your school’s own list of people staff need to know about at check-in, such as a parent who isn’t allowed to pick up their child under a custody order, or someone with a restraining order against them. If a GoGuardian Visitor form is set up to check watchlists, Visitor checks every adult who uses it to check in or out, such as visitors and guardians picking up students. If staff confirm a match, Visitor denies the check-in or check-out and alerts the notification lists attached to the watchlist. You need the Site Admin role at the site to manage watchlists.

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Understand How Watchlist Screening Works

Watchlist screening runs during the Confirm Visitor Identity step, so it covers visitors and guardians, not students. The step’s Watchlists security check is on by default in every form that has the step. To check that a form screens watchlists, go to Forms and open the form, then find Watchlists under Security Checks in its Confirm Visitor Identity step. Visitor finds a possible match when the person’s identity matches a watchlist entry:
  • First and last name: must match exactly, ignoring capitalization.
  • Date of birth: if the entry has one, it must match exactly. An entry without a date of birth matches anyone with the same name.
  • Middle name: matches loosely. If either the entry or the person has no middle name, Visitor doesn’t compare middle names. An initial matches any middle name that starts with it.
When there’s a possible match, staff at the check-in point see a Potential Watchlist Match to review. They see the watchlist entry, including its note, next to the person’s identity. If staff confirm the match, Visitor denies the check-in or check-out and alerts the watchlist’s notification lists. If they choose Not a Match, the check-in or check-out continues. For how staff review matches, see Review Screening Alerts. Visitor checks watchlists on every visit. Not a Match applies only to that visit, so a person who resembles an entry is a possible match each time they check in. Watchlists belong to 1 site. If several sites need to watch for the same person, add the person to a watchlist at each site.

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Plan Your Watchlists

Each watchlist alerts its own notification lists, so group people by who should respond to a match. For example, you might keep 1 watchlist for custody orders that alerts your front office and administrators, and another for restraining orders that also alerts school security. Every watchlist needs at least 1 notification list, so create your lists first. One watchlist can alert several lists. See Notification Lists.

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Create a Watchlist

  1. In Visitor, go to Watchlists.
  2. Click Create Watchlist.
  3. Enter a Name and, optionally, a Description.
  4. In Notification Lists, select at least 1 list to alert on a match.
  5. Click Add Identity and add at least 1 person. See Add People to a Watchlist.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Verify the result: The watchlist’s page opens with its entries and Notification Lists.
Custody Orders watchlist page with its description, the Front Office Safety and Administrators notification lists, and 2 fictional entries with dates of birth

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Add People to a Watchlist

You add people while you create or edit a watchlist. Screening matches names and dates of birth exactly, so enter each person as they appear on their government ID. If a person goes by more than 1 legal name, such as a former last name, add an entry for each name.
  1. To add people to an existing watchlist, go to Watchlists, open the watchlist, and click Edit.
  2. Click Add Identity.
  3. Enter the First Name and Last Name, and a Middle Name if you know it. A middle initial without a period works too, since it matches any middle name that starts with it.
  4. Optionally, enter a Note, such as why the person is on the watchlist. Staff see the note when they review a match, and it stays in that check-in’s Activity Log details, so keep it factual.
  5. Enter a Date of Birth if you know it. Without one, anyone with the same name is a possible match, so add it when you can.
  6. Click Add.
  7. Click Save.
  8. Verify the result: The watchlist’s page shows the person in its entries.
Add Identity dialog filled in for a fictional person, with First Name, Last Name, a Note, and a Date of Birth

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Edit a Watchlist

  1. In Visitor, go to Watchlists and open the watchlist.
  2. Click Edit.
  3. Change the Name, Description, or Notification Lists, or add people with Add Identity.
  4. To change or remove a person, click Manage next to them, then:
    • Select Edit, make your changes, and click Update.
    • Select Remove, then click Remove to confirm.
  5. Click Save.
  6. Verify the result: The watchlist’s page shows your changes.
Changes apply from the next check-in or check-out. Past matches in the Activity Log still show the entry as it was at the time, even if you later edit or remove it.

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Archive a Watchlist

Archiving can’t be undone. An archived watchlist no longer screens anyone. To stop screening 1 person, remove their entry instead. See Edit a Watchlist.
  1. In Visitor, go to Watchlists and open the watchlist.
  2. Click More actions, then select Archive.
  3. Click Archive to confirm.
  4. Verify the result: The watchlist no longer appears under Watchlists.

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Troubleshoot Watchlists

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Resources

Last modified on November 3, 2026