Does my guest need the pass on their phone, or can they just give their name at the gate?

Every invite creates a visitor record the guard can check in by name, so the pass is a convenience — with a caveat about dates.

J Joey Zach · Last updated Sep 20, 2026

They can give their name. Every invite creates a visitor record that your gate staff can see, so a guest who never opens the link can still be checked in by name. The pass just makes it faster. Here is what each route looks like.

What an invite creates

When you send an invite, in the app or on the web, two things are made: a visitor record with the name, phone, plate, and any arrival window you set, and a pass linked to it. Your community's guard sees the visitor on their expected list; the pass is what your guest can scan.

Checking in by name

Your guest tells the guard their name and who they are visiting.
The guard finds them on the expected list and checks them in. That marks the visitor Arrived in the app (On Site on the web).
You get a “has arrived at the gate” notification if arrival alerts are on for your community and in your preferences.

Check-in runs the same denied-list checks as any other entry, and the barrier opens on check-in only where the gate is set up to do so — otherwise the guard opens it as usual.

Who is on today's list

The guard's expected list shows visitors expected today plus anyone invited with no date at all (an “anytime” invite, and recurring visitors). A guest you dated for tomorrow is not on today's list, so choose the right date or leave it open if the day is uncertain. In the app, the Home screen's Expected today card shows the same idea from your side: one-time visitors arriving today and recurring passes open today.

Watching the visit

Under Visitors, each invite shows Pending, Arrived (On Site on the web), Departed, or Expired. You can cancel a visit only while it is still Pending; cancelling also deactivates its pass.

Good to know

Arrival alerts are on by default; departure alerts are off by default. Both can be changed in your notification preferences.
A guest without the pass depends on a staffed gate. Where entry is unattended — a door station or kiosk — they need the pass link or its 6-digit code.

See “Invite a guest & send a visitor pass” and, for what the guard does, “Logging a visitor at the gate”.