# Refuse or restore an applicant

Refuse an application with a reason and, if you want, an e-mail to the applicant, refuse the duplicates with it, then bring a refused application back into the pipeline when it deserves a second look.

Refusing closes an application with a reason. The application leaves the pipeline but stays in the database, and the applicant can receive an e-mail written from the template of the reason. A refused application comes back with **Restore**. In the example below, `Recruitment demo: Karim Al-Nouri` has just applied for **Trainee**.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- Officers refuse any application; interviewers refuse those they are named on.
- Sending the e-mail needs an e-mail address on your own user, and one on each applicant.

## Refuse an applicant {#refuse}

1. Open the applicant from the pipeline of the position, or from **Recruitment/Applications/All Applications**.
2. Open **Actions** and choose **Refuse**. The menu of a card in the pipeline offers it too.
3. Choose the reason, here **Does not fit the job requirements**. The first reason of the list is chosen until you pick another.
4. **Send Email** is on when the reason carries a template: the subject and the text below it are the e-mail the applicant will receive. Switch it off to refuse without writing. When an applicant has no e-mail address, the switch starts off; switched on, it names that applicant in a warning, and the refusal cannot go through with the e-mail.
5. When other ongoing applications share the applicant's e-mail, phone number or profile link, **Refuse Duplicate Applications** appears: switch it on to refuse them as well. Each of them then notes in its chatter that it was refused as a duplicate of this one.

![The reasons, the switch that sends the e-mail and the e-mail itself, filled from the template of the reason.](https://jaah.app/web/image/15776-b597f09c/recruitment-refuse-or-restore-an-applicant-refuse_dialog-en.png)

6. Click **Refuse**.

![The refused applicant, with its ribbon and its reason; it leaves the pipeline.](https://jaah.app/web/image/15778-d83362ff/recruitment-refuse-or-restore-an-applicant-refused-en.png)

The form carries the **Refused** ribbon and the **Refuse Reason**, the e-mail sent appears in the chatter, and the card leaves the pipeline. The application is archived with its reason and the date of the refusal.

## Restore an applicant {#restore}

1. Open **Recruitment/Applications/All Applications**, choose the **Refused** filter and open the application.
2. Open **Actions** and choose **Restore**.

![Restore in the Actions menu of a refused applicant.](https://jaah.app/web/image/15780-e2a3590e/recruitment-refuse-or-restore-an-applicant-restore_action-en.png)

On a phone, **Actions** sits at the top of the form as well.

The reason is cleared, the application is active again and goes back to the first stage of its position.

## Archive without a reason {#archive}

**Actions**, **Archive** hides an application without refusing it: it gets the **Archived** ribbon and shows under the **Archived** filter. **Unarchive** puts it back in the first stage, like **Restore**.

## FAQ {#faq}

### Which e-mail does each reason send? {#which-email}

Four reasons propose **Recruitment: Refuse**: **Does not fit the job requirements**, **Job already fulfilled**, **Duplicate** and **Spam**. The two reasons that start with **Refused by applicant** propose **Recruitment: Not interested anymore**. [Customize stages and refuse reasons](customize-stages-and-refuse-reasons#refuse-reasons) changes them.

### Can I refuse several applicants at once? {#several}

Yes. In **Recruitment/Applications/All Applications**, tick the applications and click **Refuse**: one reason and one e-mail template serve them all.

### Why can't I send the e-mail? {#no-email}

The reason has no template, or an applicant has no e-mail address. Add the address on the applicant, or refuse without the e-mail.

### Is a refused application deleted? {#deleted}

No. It is archived with its reason: the **Refused** filter finds it, and the list of applications can group the refusals by **Refuse Reason**.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/recruitment/refuse-or-restore-an-applicant
- Updated: 2026-10-28
- Version: Recruitment 19.0.1.1
- Verified: 2026-10-28