Use this guide if you run courses and want to stop someone holding more than one current place on the same course. A Registration is one person’s place on a course or course date. The person making the booking can be different from the person attending.
The setting checks the person attending, across the whole course, including its other dates and bookings made by somebody else. For example, if Fiona already has a place on an upcoming date, a manager cannot book her onto another upcoming date of that same course while prevention is on. Fiona can still book places for other people without attending.
Turn duplicate prevention on or off
You need System Admin access or Course Owner access to the course. The setting is available on all Cademy plans for On set dates, On-demand online course and Blended course. It is not available for On-request courses.
Sign in to the Cademy admin dashboard. Open Courses and select the intended course.
Select Edit Course, then Settings, then Booking Options.
Find Duplicate Registrations. Its choices are Allow duplicate registrations and Prevent duplicate registrations, in that order.
Choose Prevent duplicate registrations to turn the check on. Choose Allow duplicate registrations to turn it off.
Review other pending edits, select Save and check for Course saved.
Reopen Settings and Booking Options to check the saved choice.
New courses start with Allow duplicate registrations. Set the choice separately for each course; there is no account-wide default. Turning prevention on does not cancel or remove duplicate places already held.
Moving to another page inside an existing course editor can save pending changes automatically. Review your choices before navigating away. If a save fails, check what was retained before retrying.
When an existing place prevents another booking
With prevention on, these existing places count:
On set dates: a place on a date or block that has not finished. A place on a finished date does not prevent a later booking, so somebody can return for a refresher.
On-demand online course: a place whose online access has not expired. Completing the course does not release the person to enrol again while that access remains valid. Unlimited access continues to prevent repeat enrolment.
Blended course: a place whose date or block has not finished, or whose online access remains valid. Both must have ended before that place stops preventing another booking. Unlimited online access continues to prevent repeat bookings after the date finishes.
Unpaid bookings: an upcoming invoice booking still counts before payment. An on-demand or blended place awaiting the required payment also counts while its order remains live.
A cancelled Registration does not count. If that person has another current place on the same course, that other place can still prevent rebooking.
After on-demand access expires, the learner can enrol again without cancelling the old Registration or deleting their history, provided no other current place prevents it and the course is still available to book. The new enrolment creates a separate place with its own access period. For access dates and individual overrides, see Set and Change Course Access Expiry.
What customers see
At checkout, an attendee who already has a current place receives This person is already registered for this course. The booker must correct the details if the wrong person or email was entered. To book fewer places, select Back to return to Spaces and reduce the quantity before continuing. The same check applies when the same person is entered more than once for the course in one basket, including on different dates.
If a duplicate is found at the final booking step, the message names the person and course and offers Edit Basket. Select Edit Basket to return to Your Details and correct the affected person. To reduce places or remove a course, select Back from Your Details to open Spaces, then use the quantity buttons or Remove on the course card. That rejected attempt does not create another order or take another payment.
When trying to enrol themselves again, a signed-in learner who already has valid access to their own online course sees You already have access to this course and Open Course. This opens their existing course instead of creating another enrolment. It also applies to free and private on-demand courses.
On an existing order, the check also applies when the order owner adds or invites a participant, replaces a participant, transfers their own place, or adds themselves as a participant. Being registered on another upcoming date of the same course can prevent these changes. For the available actions, see Manage Participants and View Their Course Progress and Certificates.
What the setting does not prevent
Your team adding a place manually: your staff are not stopped by this course setting. If Add Registration shows Already Registered, review the existing place before choosing Create Another Registration.
Moving an existing place: staff and learners can still reschedule when the normal permissions, availability and course terms allow it. Changing a purchased option for the same person and booked date also remains available under its normal rules.
Requests and applications: submitting an application, an alternative-date request or a group request is not checked by this setting. Joining a waitlist is not prevented either.
Bookings on another website: Cademy cannot apply this check to a purchase completed in an external booking system.
Cademy matches people by their email address, ignoring capital letters and spaces around the address. Use each participant’s own email. A different address or a place with no email can escape the check. Two checkouts submitted at exactly the same time can also leave a duplicate. The setting reduces duplicate bookings; review your registrations when you need to confirm who holds a place.
Frequently asked questions
Can a registered person still book for somebody else?
Yes. The check applies to the people attending. A booker who is not attending can buy places for other people.
Does finishing an online course allow another enrolment?
No, while the existing access remains valid and prevention is on. Expired access stops that place from preventing a fresh enrolment. Unlimited access does not expire.
Why does someone who abandoned payment appear to be registered?
An unfinished card or PayPal checkout can temporarily count as an existing booking until Cademy clears it. Resume the existing checkout rather than starting several attempts. If the person cannot find a completed place or continue their original checkout, ask Cademy Support to check the course, participant email and exact message.
Can I use this to remove existing duplicates?
No. It checks later bookings and participant changes. It does not remove places that were already created.