Accounts can sometimes be placed 'On-hold' on Prolific, meaning you can't take part in studies. You'll know if your account has been placed on hold as you'll see an orange label on your account page.

Why would my account be on hold?

Holds are usually temporary and triggered because our auto-review software noticed an inconsistency in your account information. For example:

• you're not in the country listed on your account
• you used a VPN while trying to take a study
• you reside in the US but don't have a US PayPal
• you used a PayPal already linked to a Prolific account
• you accidentally entered your date of birth incorrectly and told us you're under 18

How can the hold be removed?

Whatever the reason, you'll need to get in touch with our Support Team using the button at the bottom of the page so they can double-check your information. It's likely we'll explain why the hold has been triggered, and how to fix it.

We do our best to get you up and running again, as soon as we can.

In some cases, we won't remove the hold or you may be permanently stopped from taking studies with us. This is to keep our data quality high, to make sure research conducted on our platform is trustworthy and applicable to wider society. You can read more about data quality, trustworthiness and account bans on our blog:

• Bots and data quality on crowdsourcing platforms
• Data quality at Prolific - Part 1: What is a "good participant"?
• Data quality at Prolific - Part 2: Naivety and Engagement
• Why participants get banned

Need further help?
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