How parent approval works

We check your date of birth when you sign up. If you're under 18 at any point, your account is flagged "requires parent setup" until both pieces are in place: a signed parent consent and a connected payout account.

• 18 or over — no parent approval needed. You can use everything immediately.
• Under 18 — profile and link-in-bio work right away, but anything that earns or spends money is gated until a parent approves.
• Turn 18 mid-account — the gate lifts automatically on your birthday. You can switch your account to self-managed payouts whenever you want after that.

This isn't a NILify rule — it's the law. A minor can't legally enter into the kinds of contracts NIL deals require, and we can't legally send earnings to a minor's bank account. So we built a flow that:

• Protects the athlete — every deal has an adult who agreed to the terms.
• Protects the parent — full visibility into deals, brands, and payouts.
• Protects NIL eligibility — clean paperwork is what schools and the NCAA expect.
• Makes taxes simple — payouts and tax forms go to the parent until the athlete turns 18.

The first time you try to do something that earns or moves money, you'll hit a friendly gate that says "Parent setup required." Common triggers:

• Turning on shoutouts, mentoring, or your merch store.
• Accepting a brand deal or campaign offer in the marketplace.
• Adding a payout / bank account.
• Replying to a paid recruiting / NIL message thread.

You can keep building your profile and your link-in-bio at any time — that part is never gated.

The gate has one big button: "Invite my parent". Tap it and fill in:

• Parent's full legal name — must match the name on their ID and bank account.
• Parent's email — where the secure approval link goes.
• Their relationship — Parent, Legal Guardian, or Custodial Parent.

We send a one-time, signed link valid for 7 days. If it expires, you can resend from the same screen — old links are auto-invalidated.

Tip: a parent doesn't need a NILify account first. The invite link creates everything they need on the spot.

The email comes from notify@nilify.ai with the subject "Approve [athlete's name]'s NILify account." It includes:

• A short explainer — why they're getting this and what they're signing.
• A "Review and approve" button that opens a secure, signed URL.
• A note that they don't need a NILify account to approve.

If they don't see it, tell them to check Promotions and spam. Adding notify@nilify.ai to contacts prevents future emails from getting filtered.

When the parent opens the link, they see a one-page screen with the full Parent/Guardian Consent Agreement and three checkboxes they have to tick:

• Identity — they confirm they're the parent / legal guardian of the athlete.
• Acknowledgement — they've read the agreement and the terms of service.
• Authority — they're authorized to receive earnings on the athlete's behalf.

Then they type their full name to sign and tap "Approve and continue." We store the version they signed, their IP, and a timestamp.

Right after signing, the parent is handed off to Stripe Connect to add a bank account in their own name. This is where all of the athlete's earnings will land until they turn 18.

• Stripe asks for the parent's legal name, DOB, address, last 4 of SSN (US), and bank routing + account.
• NILify never sees the bank or SSN — Stripe holds it. We just get back a "verified" flag and a payout account ID.
• Most onboardings take 5–8 minutes and verify instantly. Some require a quick document upload.

The athlete's gate doesn't fully lift until both the agreement is signed AND the payout account is verified.

As soon as Stripe flips the account to verified, the athlete's profile updates in real time — no need to log out and back in:

• Marketplace go-live — flip shoutouts, mentoring, merch, and rate card switches to Live.
• Accept deals — brand campaigns, gifted offers, and direct messages with money attached.
• Receive payouts — every order pays into the parent's connected account on the normal Stripe schedule (2–5 business days).
• Tax forms — 1099s at year-end are issued to the parent's legal name.

You can use the social side of NILify forever without parent approval, but anything financial stays gated:

• Setting a price on a shoutout / mentoring session / merch product.
• Flipping any marketplace product to Live.
• Accepting a paid brand campaign.
• Adding a payout method or viewing earnings detail.

Each locked button shows a small banner explaining what's needed and links straight back to the invite screen.

Both sides have full control after approval is set up:

• Athlete can re-invite a different parent (e.g. switch from Mom to Dad) from Account → Parent Setup. The old consent is revoked the moment a new one is signed.
• Parent can revoke consent at any time from their parent dashboard. Revoking immediately re-locks the athlete's earning features until a new approval is signed.
• On the athlete's 18th birthday, we email both the athlete and the parent. The athlete can keep the parent on payouts or switch to their own Stripe account.

Can two parents both have access? One parent is the legal account approver and payout owner; the other can be added as a viewer with read-only access to deals and earnings.

What if my parents are divorced? Use the parent who has custodial authority for income / financial decisions. Stripe will verify against that adult's documents.

Can my coach or agent approve instead? No — only a legal parent or court-appointed guardian. NIL law requires it and Stripe verifies identity.

How long does the whole flow take? 10–15 minutes if your parent has their bank info handy and a US driver's license / ID for verification.

If you're an athlete, send the invite now while it's fresh: