---
title: Creating Prerequisites (Admin Guide)
description: Creating Prerequisites
---

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# Creating Prerequisites (Admin Guide)

## As an Admin, you are the architect of your organization’s safety. You’re setting the standards that protect your mission. We know building these rules is a heavy responsibility, so we’ve designed the Prerequisite tool to handle the "verification" for you.

Think of this article as your guide to building the "blueprints." Once you create these rules, your Coordinators can apply them to any opportunity they manage.

### How to Create a New Prerequisite

1. Go to **Tools** → **Administrative Options** in the top menu.
2. **Open the Prerequisites Tab:** You’ll see a list of your existing rules on the left. On the right, the system shows you which opportunities are currently attached to whatever rule you have selected.![2021-03-08\_12-13-00-3](https://help.samaritan.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2021-03-08_12-13-00-3.jpg?width=670&height=847&name=2021-03-08_12-13-00-3.jpg)
3. Click the **New** button in the bottom left.
4. **Name and Describe:** Give the prerequisite a clear name (e.g., "Annual Background Check").
   
     1. **Expert Note:** You can also add a description here. Don't worry about making it "customer-facing". This description is internal only, so use it to leave notes for yourself or other admins about why this rule exists.
5. **Manage Access:** Click on **Set Prerequisite Permissions and Sharing** to specify which staff members or departments should have access to use this rule.

### Building the "Brain" (The Logic Editor)

This is where you tell the system exactly what "success" looks like. Building a prerequisite feels very much like building a filter in our system. You’ll choose fields (Standard Attributes or your custom UDFs) and tell the system how to evaluate them.

- **Simple Logic:** One field must match one value. *(e.g., Status = Cleared)*.
- **AND Logic:** Use this when a volunteer **must have both.** *(e.g., Background Check = Passed **AND** Orientation = Complete)*.
- **OR Logic:** Use this when **either option works.** *(e.g., Driver’s License = Yes **OR** Walking Volunteer = Yes)*.
- **Parentheses (Advanced):** If your rules get complex, use parentheses to group logic chunks together. This tells the system to evaluate everything inside the brackets as one single requirement.
  
    - *Example:* **(Background Check = Passed AND Orientation = Complete) OR (Returning Veteran = Yes)**.

Once your logic looks right, click **OK**. Your blueprint is now ready for your team to use!

### Attaching Prerequisites in Bulk

You don't have to wait for your Coordinators to add these one by one. If a rule applies to dozens of roles, you can "push" it out from this same screen.

1. **Select the Rule:** Click on your prerequisite from the list on the left side of the page.
2. **Filter your Opportunities:** Use the **Show / From** fields at the top of the page to display the specific opportunities you want to work with.
3. On the right side, select the opportunities you want to attach.
4. Click **Attach selected prerequisite(s) to selected opportunities**.![2021-03-08\_12-28-32](https://help.samaritan.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2021-03-08_12-28-32.jpg?width=670&height=478&name=2021-03-08_12-28-32.jpg)

- **To Detach:** Simply adjust the **Show** option to see attached opportunities, select them, and click the **Detach** button.
- Click **Finish** when you're done.

**The "Auto-Attach" Secret:** If you check the **New** box next to a prerequisite name, the system will automatically attach that rule to every single *new* opportunity created in the future. It’s a huge time-saver for standard compliance!

### How the System Enforces the Rule

To keep things consistent across your entire organization, the way the system handles a volunteer who hasn't met a rule is set at the global level in the system backend (AMS).

Depending on your organization's setup, your system is configured to do one of two things if a rule isn't met:

- **Block (Hard Stop):** The volunteer is prevented from signing up or being placed until the requirement is met.
- **Refer (Soft Warning):** The volunteer can still sign up, but the system flags their record for a coordinator to review.

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