How to Create and Manage a Location Watchlist in Visitly

Modified on Wed, 27 May at 2:55 AM

Learn how to create and manage visitor watchlists and set up notifications for watchlist hits using Visitly.

Strengthen your business security with Watchlist feature. Configure a Location Watchlist for specific sites — with severity-based flagging and automated notifications for every watchlist hit.

Enable the Watchlist for a Location

Navigate to the Admin Dashboard > Select the Location > Edit .
Toggle the Enable Watchlist Check button to activate visitor checks against the watchlist for that location.

Your watchlist check is now active for this location.

Add a New Location Watchlist Entry

Navigate to the Admin Dashboard> Select a Location> Edit.
Click the Location Watchlist tab at the bottom of the left panel.
Select Add New in the top-right corner to open the Create Local Watchlist panel.
Select a Watchlist Group Type:

Group Type	What it monitors
Visit Field	A specific data field collected during check-in (e.g., Full Name, Company)
Face Picture	A photo of a person to match against visitor face data at check-in
ID Validation	Visitor identity documents scanned during check-in
Offender Check	Flags visitors matched against registered offender records

Set the Severity level for this watchlist entry:

Severity	When to use
Low	General awareness; low-risk flag
Medium	Moderate concern requiring review
High	Elevated risk requiring immediate attention
Critical	Highest risk; requires urgent action

Complete the remaining fields based on your selected group type:

For Visit Field:

Select a Field Name (e.g., Full Name) to specify the attribute to monitor.
Enter the Value that will trigger a watchlist match (e.g., a specific name or company).

For Face Picture:

Click Upload Face Picture to upload a clear image of the person to include in the watchlist.

For ID Validation:

Select the Value that will trigger a watchlist match:

Value	Description
Skipped	Visitor skipped the ID scan step
Valid	ID was scanned and verified as valid
Invalid	ID was scanned but failed validation
ID Unrecognized	ID was presented but could not be read
System Error	A technical error occurred during the ID scan

For Offender Check:

Select the Value that will trigger a watchlist match.

Value	Description
Match Found	Visitor matched a record in the offender database
Match Not Found	No offender record match was found
System Error	A technical error occurred during the check
Unable to Perform	The offender check could not be completed

Add an optional Rule Description to clarify the purpose of this entry.
Click Save to activate the watchlist rule.

Tip: Use descriptive Rule Descriptions so your team understands why each entry was added — especially helpful for entries created by others.
Managing multiple locations? Repeat these steps for each location where you want the watchlist rule to apply. Global watchlist entries apply automatically across all locations.

Set Up Watchlist Notifications

Configure automated alerts so the right people are notified the moment a watchlist match occurs.

Navigate to Admin Dashboard> Select the location with the watchlist rules> Edit> Notifications page for the target location.
Click Add New in the top-right corner.
Set the Event to Visitor Watch List Hit.
Select the Severity levels that should trigger this notification. Use Select all to notify for every severity level, or choose specific levels (Low, Medium, High, Critical) to target alerts by risk tier.

Choose the Recipient for this notification:

Recipient Type	Description
Host	The person expecting the visitor
Custom	A person not listed as a Visitly user — enter their email address
User	A registered Visitly user or employee — search and select their name
Channel	A connected messaging channel (e.g., a Slack or Microsoft Teams channel)

Select the Method for delivery:

Method	Notes
Email	Standard delivery, no add-on required
SMS	Available as an add-on feature — contact support to enable
Slack	Delivers notifications to a connected Slack channel
Microsoft Teams	Delivers notifications to a connected Microsoft Teams channel

Optionally, select a Visitor Type to limit notifications to a specific visitor category. Leave blank to receive notifications for all visitor types.
Click Save to apply the notification rule.

Your watchlist notification is now active for this location.

Review Flagged Visitors Flagged in the Visitor Log

Visitors who match watchlist criteria during sign-in are flagged for review.

Navigate to Admin Dashboard>Visitor Log> Visitor Details for the flagged visitor.
Review the visitor's information and the watchlist match details.
Select Approve or Decline to record your decision.
Add relevant notes for record-keeping and future reference.

Best practice: Always add a note when declining a visitor so your team has a clear record of the reason.

Troubleshooting

A visitor wasn't flagged despite matching a watchlist entry.
Confirm the Enable Watchlist Check toggle is active for the location. For Visit Field entries, verify the Field Name and Value match the visitor's submitted data exactly, including spacing and capitalization.
The watchlist notification wasn't delivered.
Check that the notification rule is saved and that the correct severity levels are selected. If using SMS, confirm the add-on is enabled for your account by contacting support@visitly.io.
The severity level isn't saving correctly.
Severity is a required field — ensure one level is selected before clicking Save. If the issue persists, refresh the page and re-enter the entry.
A Face Picture entry isn't matching on check-in.
Ensure the uploaded image is clear, well-lit, and shows the person's full face. Low-resolution or partially obscured images may reduce match accuracy.

Need help? Contact the Visitly support team at support@visitly.io.