Dancer getting a license

Many federations require dancers to have a valid license before registering for events or earning rankings. This step walks you through understanding which license you need and how to get it.

Not all federations require licenses. Some competitions are open to anyone without licensing. Ask your federation or the event organizer whether you need one.

What this step is for

You’ll:

  • Identify which license your federation requires
  • Understand who applies (you or your school/club)
  • Complete the application and payment
  • Verify your license is active before registering for events

Who applies for the licence

This is not a federation-wide setting — it is decided per licence item, by that item’s organization mode and by whether it allows self-application:

Route When it applies Where it is done
You apply yourself The item allows self-application. You are usually the payer too. Account → Licenses, see Dancer self-service
Your club applies for you The item requires an organization, or forbids self-application. The club is often the payer. The club’s License Applications page, see Organization admin
The federation issues it The federation adds it directly, for example for officials. Federation admin, see Federation admin

Every licence records which of these it came through, as Applied via: Self, Club or Federation admin.

If you don’t know which applies to you: open Account → Licenses, pick the federation, and see what the list offers. What you can apply for yourself is exactly what is shown.

Before you start

Answer these first. If you cannot, ask your federation or your coach before touching anything.

Question Why it matters
Which federation? Licences belong to a federation, and you pick it first.
Which licence item? The federation defines the products (“licence items”); you apply for one of them.
Which season year? Most licences are per season. Officials’ and music licences can be lifetime instead.
Season or single competition? A licence item covers either a full season or a single competition.
Do I apply, or my club? Each licence item is set to require an organization, allow one, or forbid one. That decides who can apply.
Is my date of birth on my account? Applying is blocked without it: “A date of birth is required before applying for a license.”
Does the item need a federation ID? Some items require your external federation ID, verified beforehand.

Step-by-step: Get your license

Step 1: Find the licence item

If you apply yourself:

  1. Sign in and open Account → Licenses
  2. Under Apply for a license, select your federation
  3. The page lists the items you can apply for yourself. It shows only those: an item is left out when the federation wants your club to apply, or when it needs a membership or an approved issuer you do not have. If the list is empty you get “No licenses available for self-application” — which is the answer, not an error.
  4. Pick the item that matches you

If your club applies for you:

  1. Tell your club they should apply
  2. They do it from the organization’s License Applications page, picking you under Member
  3. Your date of birth must be on your account first, or you are shown as “No birthdate” and they cannot apply for you
  4. Skip to Waiting for approval below — they handle applying and, usually, paying

Step 2: Fill in the application

Field What to do
Federation The federation you are applying in.
License item The item you picked.
Season year The season. Left blank only for lifetime licences, which are for officials, music and DJs — not dancers.
Competition ID Only for an item scoped to a single competition. Leave blank for a season licence.
Organization Only when the item requires or allows it. Required items say so, and need an approved issuer membership. A club still awaiting approval shows “awaiting approval” and cannot be used yet.
Federation ID Only when the item requires your external federation ID. It must already be verified, and the date of birth on the federation’s record must match your account.
Note Optional.

Then press Apply for license.

Full field-by-field detail, including what the page hides and why: Dancer self-service.

Step 3: Pay, if you are the payer

Each licence has a payer type. If it is self and the payment status is unpaid, your row shows a Pay button, which takes you through Stripe checkout to the federation’s own Stripe account. If the payer is your organization, there is no button for you — the club pays from its own page.

Two things stop payment before it starts: a federation that has not connected Stripe (“This federation hasn’t set up online payments yet”), and a licence that is not approved yet (“Payment will be available once this license has been approved”).

If your season fee already covers the item, the row says “Covered by your season fee for this license group” instead of asking for money.

Step 4: Wait for approval

A licence can sit waiting on any of four checks, and this is the part worth understanding, because it explains nearly every “why is my licence still not active”:

Check What it means
Club has approved this license A club-held application needs a manager or administrator at the club to approve it.
Club approved by the federation If your club is itself still pending federation approval, no licence it holds can be issued.
Payment received Approval opens once payment lands.
Within the license window The licence’s validity window must be open.

When all four pass, the federation sees “All four checks pass · ready to approve”. The federation still has to approve it — that is a person, not a timer, so there is no fixed waiting time.

Step 5: Check the status

Account → Licenses lists your licences with their status and payment status. A licence is one of:

Status Meaning
Draft Created but not submitted for approval.
Pending Submitted, waiting on one of the four checks or on the federation.
Active Valid. This is what lets you register and earn rankings.
Expired The validity window has passed — see Renew license.
Suspended Held by the federation. Contact them.
Cancelled Withdrawn or replaced.

Payment status is separate: a licence can be paid and still pending.

Do not apply twice because a licence is slow. If the application is wrong and unpaid, a pending one can be deleted (“Delete this license? You can apply again with the corrected ID”) — only pending applications can be deleted.

Who applies, in practice

The licence item decides this, through its organization mode:

Organization mode What it means for you
Not allowed You apply yourself, with no club attached.
Optional Either route works; the federation’s own rules say which it prefers.
Required The item needs a club, and an approved issuer membership. If the item also forbids self-application you are told “This license can’t be applied for directly. Apply through your organization.”

What to do if things go wrong

“My licence is still Pending”

Work through the four checks above, in that order: is the club’s own approval in, is the club approved by the federation, is the payment settled, is the validity window open. Whatever is outstanding is named on the licence itself. If all four pass, it is waiting on a person at the federation.

“I paid but it is still not active”

Payment and approval are separate. A paid licence stays Pending until the federation approves it. Do not apply again; refresh, and if it stays paid-but-pending, contact the federation.

“I applied for the wrong item”

If it is still Pending and unpaid, delete it and apply again. If it is Active, contact the federation — an active licence’s organization can only be changed by cancelling and reissuing it.

“The item I need is not in the list”

The list only shows what you may apply for yourself. Check the federation is the right one, then whether the item expects your club to apply, and whether it needs a membership or an approved issuer you do not have. If in doubt, ask the club or the federation.

“It says my date of birth is missing”

Add it in your account settings, then apply. A club applying on your behalf hits the same block.

“My federation ID will not verify”

The ID must be verified before you apply, the date of birth on the federation’s record must match your account, and a revoked membership cannot be used.

When you’re ready

Once your licence is Active, you can register for that federation’s events, and your results can count towards its rankings.

Next step