> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.tahua.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.tahua.io/knowledge-base/administrator-help-guides/milestones/applicant-and-verifier-milestone-creation.md).

# Applicant & Verifier Milestone Creation

Previously, Milestones could only be created by an Admin and then published to the Applicant or Verifier/Institution. This meant that if an Applicant wanted to proactively upload a report, receipt, or other piece of information — outside of anything an Admin had already set up for them — they had no way to start that process themselves.

Applicant & Verifier Milestone Creation solves this: once enabled, Applicants and/or Verifiers/Institutions can create and submit their own Milestones directly from their Milestones list, using a Milestone Template you've made available to them.

{% hint style="info" %}
This is an **opt-in** feature — it's switched off by default, so it isn't available to your Applicants or Verifiers/Institutions unless an Admin turns it on for your Organisation. Nothing changes for your Applicants or Verifiers until you do.
{% endhint %}

### Turning it on

Under your Organisation's settings, in the **Milestones** section, two separate toggles control this:

* **Applicant Milestone Submission** — enables self-service Milestone creation for Applicants.
* **Verifier Milestone Creation** — enables the equivalent for Verifiers/Institutions.

These are independent — you can enable one, both, or neither.

{% hint style="info" %}
There's also a related setting, **Require Application when creating milestones**, in the same section. See [below](#requiring-a-linked-application) for what this changes.
{% endhint %}

### Choosing which Milestone Templates are available

Turning the org setting on doesn't make every [Milestone Template](/knowledge-base/administrator-help-guides/milestones/milestone-templates.md) available — you need to opt each one in individually. On each Milestone Template, you'll see:

* **Allow applicants to submit this milestone** — makes this template selectable by Applicants.
* **Allow verifiers to create this milestone** — makes this template selectable by Verifiers/Institutions.
* **Applicants/Verifiers can set the amount when creating** — if checked, the person creating the Milestone is prompted to enter a funding amount themselves. If left unchecked, the amount comes straight from the template.

Only templates with the relevant checkbox ticked will appear as an option — this lets you keep some Milestone Templates admin-only (e.g. contract-linked payment milestones) while opening others up for self-service use (e.g. a "Compliance Report" or "Additional Documentation" template).

### What the Applicant or Verifier/Institution sees

Once at least one eligible template exists, a **"+ Create New Milestone"** button appears at the top of their Milestones list. Clicking it opens a short form:

1. **Milestone Type** — a dropdown listing only the templates that have been made available to their role.
2. **Application** — a searchable dropdown to choose which Funding Application the Milestone relates to (optional for Verifiers, unless [Require Application](#requiring-a-linked-application) is turned on).
3. **Contract** *(only shown if the selected Application has one or more Contracts)* — optionally link the Milestone to a specific Contract.
4. **Amount** *(only shown if the template allows it)* — lets the user enter the funding amount for this Milestone.

The **Continue to Deliverables** button stays disabled until the required fields are filled in. Once submitted, the Milestone is created immediately from the template and the user is taken straight to the deliverables form to fill in and submit — there's no separate Admin approval step to create it. Ordinary Milestone review then applies once it's submitted, the same as any other Milestone.

If an Application is selected, the Milestone is linked to that Application (and to the Contract too, if one was chosen). If no Application is selected, the Milestone is instead linked directly to the person's own record as a standalone "contact" Milestone — useful for things like general compliance reporting that isn't tied to any one Application.

{% hint style="warning" %}
If a Milestone already exists for the same template and Application (or the same template with no Application selected), the user will see a warning with a link to the existing Milestone, so they complete that one instead of creating a duplicate.
{% endhint %}

### Requiring a linked Application

By default, an Applicant or Verifier/Institution can leave the Application field blank when creating a Milestone, which creates a standalone Milestone against their own record rather than a specific Application. If you'd rather every self-created Milestone be tied to an Application, turn on **Require Application when creating milestones** in the same Milestones settings section. With this on:

* The Application field becomes required in the creation form, and **Continue** stays disabled until one is selected.
* Even if bypassed client-side, the request is rejected server-side and the user is sent back to their Milestones list.

This is off by default, so existing behaviour won't change unless you turn it on.

## See Also

* [Milestone Templates](/knowledge-base/administrator-help-guides/milestones/milestone-templates.md)
* [Create Singular Milestone](/knowledge-base/administrator-help-guides/milestones/create-singular-milestone.md)
* [Applicant Milestones](/knowledge-base/applicant-help-guides/milestones/applicant-milestones.md)