A reviewer in Dapple is someone who scores, votes on and comments on the submissions assigned to them, without access to your admin dashboard. Judges, panel members and external experts should all be added this way. To add one, invite them as a user and give them the Reviewer permission only — no Organisation or Team role. You don't need to wait for them to accept. Add them to a Review Round and assign submissions straight away: everything assigned while their invite is pending is waiting in their Review Account the moment they accept.
How do I add a reviewer or judge in Dapple?
You add a reviewer the same way as any other user, then limit their permission to Reviewer. Only Organisation Administrators can invite users.
Select your Organisation name in the top left-hand corner, then select Organisation Users. You can also select Invite.
Select Invite User.
Enter the reviewer's email address. Use the address they actually check — they must sign in with this exact email to accept.
Set their permission to Reviewer Only. Don't give them an Organisation role or add them to a Team.
Select Send Invite.
The reviewer receives an email invitation straight away. Next, add them to the Review Round they'll be judging — see How to Add Reviewers to a Review Round in Dapple.
Why should judges only have the Reviewer permission?
The Reviewer permission keeps judges inside their own Review Account. Any Organisation or Team role on top of it opens up your admin dashboard.
Permission | What they see | Use for |
Organisation Administrator | Everything — settings, billing, every project and submission | Your core admin team (2–3 people) |
Organisation User + Team role | The admin dashboard for their Teams' projects and submissions | Internal staff who manage submissions |
Reviewer only | Their own Review Account — the submissions assigned to them, nothing else | Judges, panel members, external experts |
A Reviewer-only user cannot:
Open the admin dashboard.
Edit projects, forms or settings.
See other reviewers' scores, votes or comments.
See Applicant profiles — reviews are blind by default.
For the full breakdown, see What Are the Different User Permissions in Dapple?.
Can I assign submissions before the reviewer accepts their invite?
Yes. A reviewer appears as pending until they accept, but you can add them to a Review Group and assign submissions to them in the meantime. When they accept, those submissions are already in their account. There's nothing to resend or release.
This lets you set up your whole judging panel in one sitting:
Invite each judge with the Reviewer permission.
Add them to the Review Round — on the Members step of the setup wizard, or from Review Group → Edit members on an existing round.
Judges accept their invite and find their submissions waiting.
What does a reviewer see when they accept?
The reviewer clicks View Invitation in their email, signs in with the same address the invite was sent to, adds their name and accepts the organisation invite. Dapple then takes them to their Review Account, which shows the Review Rounds they belong to and any submissions awaiting feedback.
If they can't see the invite screen, they've almost always signed in with a different email. Send them I'm a Judge, How do I join an Organisation — it walks them through every step.
What if I've added a judge with the wrong permission?
Change it. Open the user's record, remove any Organisation role and Team membership, and leave them with the Reviewer permission only. Their review assignments stay in place. See How to Edit a User for the steps.
Check this before judging opens — a judge with a Team role can see and manage every submission in that Team's projects.
Can an admin or team member also be a reviewer?
Yes. Every Organisation Administrator and Team member already has a Review Account, so you don’t need to invite them again or change their permissions. Assign them submissions in the exact same way as reviewers and they'll be able to go the "My Reviews" section of their account to see them.
To find the submissions assigned to you:
Open the side panel on the right.
Select My Reviews.
Your Review Account shows only the submissions assigned to you. While you’re reviewing, you see the same view as an external judge. Your admin access stays as it was.
Best practice for adding reviewers and judges
Give everyone outside your admin team the Reviewer permission only.
Confirm each judge's preferred email before you invite them — a mismatch is the most common reason an invite fails.
Ask judges to add noreply@dapplehq.com to their safe senders list so the invite doesn't land in spam.
Make sure a judge uses the same email address to create a Dapple account as the one you have added them with.
Assign submissions as soon as you've invited people — don't wait for everyone to accept.
Set a due date on the Review Round so judges know when feedback is needed.
Use the reviewers overview to spot anyone still pending as your deadline approaches.