Planning a monthly review of unverified records
A monthly review of unverified records works best as a fixed sweep: list every record where the verification field is empty, sort by the date the record was entered, and leave the oldest ones first. The goal is to make sure no record sits unverified indefinitely without someone knowing about it.
Build the unverified list
Filter the roster to records where the verification field is empty. For each, capture four things: the holder's name, the credential type, the date the record was entered, and the name of the person who entered it. Sort by entry date, oldest first.
Set a clearing rule
A simple rule keeps the list from growing: every unverified record must be either verified or escalated within two review cycles. Verification means the paperwork is attached and a named person has confirmed the details against the source. Escalation means the record owner has been told in writing that the credential cannot be relied on until verified.
| Age of record | Action |
|---|---|
| Under one cycle | Leave; will be reviewed next month |
| One to two cycles | Contact the holder for paperwork |
| Over two cycles | Escalate to the record owner in writing |
A worked case
Imagine a review in early March. The unverified list holds four records. Two were entered in February and can wait. One, a food handler card for a warehouse worker named Priya Raman, was entered in December and still has no attached document. One, a forklift evaluation for a different worker, was entered in January.
The reviewer contacts both holders. Priya supplies a photo of the card, which is attached and confirmed, so her record leaves the list. The forklift evaluation has no paperwork and the holder has not responded, so it moves to escalation and the record owner is notified. The change to verify is the count at the top of the list: it drops from four to two, and the remaining two are both under one cycle old.
When a record cannot be verified at all
Some credentials genuinely cannot be confirmed — the issuer no longer exists, or the holder has left. Do not delete these silently. Mark them as unverifiable with a short note explaining why, and keep them visible in the monthly count so the gap is documented rather than forgotten. After the sweep, the observable change is a shorter unverified list and a written trail for anything that could not be cleared.
Related: Cert Expiry Tracker features.