Use an email-verification hold when you want staff to review an order until the customer has confirmed an email address. The customer can place the order; this control is a hold after order creation, rather than a requirement to verify before checkout.

Check the verification prerequisite

Enable WHMCS’s own email verification and confirm that its normal verification email reaches a controlled test account. PD Shield reads the platform’s verification result; it does not replace the verification-link email. If native verification is disabled, this rule treats customers as verified and does not impose a verification hold.

Where several users share a client account, one verified linked user is sufficient for this check.

Enable the hold

1. Open PD Modules → PD Shield → Settings.
2. Enable Hold an order for review until the customer verifies their email address.
3. Review Alert recipient email(s) and your customer email templates, including PD Shield Order Under Review and PD Shield Order Cleared.
4. Press Save settings.
5. Review the intended order and activation workflow before relying on the rule for an automatically provisioned offering.

This setting is separate from Action when a rule matches, which controls velocity. Switching velocity to Flag does not turn this verification hold into observation mode.

Understand the customer and order states

An unverified customer’s order is placed and should enter WHMCS’s Fraud state for review. PD Shield attempts to send the under-review notice; check actual delivery rather than assuming that a recorded hold proves an email arrived.

The hold uses the platform’s fraud workflow, which can cancel the order invoice. After an eligible verification release, PD Shield attempts to return the order to Pending and reopen a cancelled invoice as Unpaid. Confirm both states if the customer cannot pay.

Check release after verification

PD Shield checks eligible verification holds through its scheduled work. Confirm that the normal cron is running, then review Activity and the actual order after the customer verifies. Release depends on scheduled checks; confirm payment and provisioning separately.

Automatic release is limited to a hold caused only by email verification. Another recorded hold, a staff review decision, or a client marked fraud or closed can keep the order with staff. Confirm the original reason before approving an order; email confirmation alone does not establish that the order is safe.

If the order stays held

Check that the platform recognises the relevant user or contact as verified, that the rule caused the hold, and that scheduled work has run. Inspect other hold reasons and staff decisions. Keep verification links, personal details and account credentials out of shared screenshots.

See the PD Shield WHMCS guide for related setup, or explore PD Shield.