Custom Grade Validation limits each offering to participants born within birth-date ranges you set, such as one range for each school grade. Build a list of ranges under Programs > Configurations > Custom Grade Validation, choose it on the program's 1 Setup with Age Validation Type Custom Validation, then pick the ranges and an Age Restriction Action of Warning or Prevent on each offering.

Applies to: Org admins · All plans · Youth Registration, Adult Registration and Youth Camp programs

Where: Programs > Configurations > Custom Grade Validation; Programs > Manage Programs > (program) > 1 Setup and 2 Configuration

Before you start

• Two options with similar names. On 1 Setup, Age Validation Type offers Custom Validation, which uses the birth-date ranges in this article, and Grade Validation, which uses the Player Grade on each player's profile. For Grade Validation, see How to set up Grade Validation using each player's grade (Auto Grade).
• Program types. Custom Validation is offered on Youth Registration, Adult Registration and Youth Camp programs. On Adult Registration programs, Age Validation Type appears only when the adult birthday is collected: Birthday under Customer Fields on Customers > Configurations > General is Yes, Required or Yes, Optional.
• Birth dates. Ranges are checked against the birth date on the participant's record.

Step 1: Create the list

1. Go to Programs > Configurations > Custom Grade Validation.
2. Click Add Validation.
3. In Description, enter a name, such as 2026-27 School Grades.
4. Click Add.

What you'll see: "Custom Grade validation has been successfully added", and the list's Custom Grade Validation Items page opens.

Step 2: Add a birth-date range for each grade

1. On Custom Grade Validation Items, click Add Item.
2. In Description, enter the grade's name, such as 1st Grade. This is the name you'll pick on offerings.
3. In Birth Date Range, enter the first and last birth dates for that grade. Both dates are included.
4. Click Add. You'll see "Custom Grade validation item has been successfully added".
5. Repeat for each grade, then drag the rows into the order you want them listed on offerings.

To come back to a list later, go to Programs > Configurations > Custom Grade Validation and click its Add Items icon. Use the Edit icon on an item to change its name or dates.

Step 3: Choose the list on the program

1. Go to Programs > Manage Programs, open the program and click 1 Setup.
2. In Age Validation Type, choose Custom Validation.
3. In Custom Grade Validation, choose your list.
4. Click Save.

Step 4: Set each offering

1. Click 2 Configuration. For each offering, click Add Offering or the offering's Edit icon.
2. Set Age Restriction Action to Warning or Prevent. With None, birth dates aren't checked.
3. In Custom Grade Validation Item, check every range the offering is for. You can check more than one, such as 3rd Grade and 4th Grade, or use the check-all box.
4. Click Save (or Add for a new offering).

What you'll see: under each offering on 2 Configuration, "Custom Grade Validation:" with your list's name, and "Custom Grade Validation Items:" with the ranges you checked, or None.

What families see

• Prevent: when a family registers a youth player, offerings whose ranges don't include the player's birth date aren't listed for that player. For an adult, adding a non-matching offering stops with "Player age does not match Offering age restrictions. Please check offering details for age restrictions. (Note: Age is calculated based on the Age As Of Date.)"
• Warning: every offering is listed. A participant outside the ranges gets the same message as a warning, and the registration is still added.
• No birth date on file: with Prevent, the family sees "Enrollee birthday is required. Navigate to the profile page and update before adding this enrollment to the cart." With Warning, the registration is added without a check.

The message mentions the Age As Of Date even though the offering checks your birth-date ranges.

Keep the ranges up to date

• The ranges are fixed dates and don't move up on their own. Before each season, update each item's dates, or create a new list and choose it on the season's programs.
• Editing an item changes the check right away for every offering that uses it, including programs that are already open.
• If you choose a different list on a program's 1 Setup, check the new list's ranges on each offering again; ranges from the old list no longer count.
• Update Multiple Offerings can set Age Restriction Action on many offerings at once, but it has no Custom Grade Validation Item field, so choose ranges on each offering.

If it doesn't work

• Custom Validation isn't in Age Validation Type. The program isn't a Youth Registration, Adult Registration or Youth Camp program (Team Registration plus Youth Roster programs offer Age As Of only), or your admin role doesn't have the Custom Grade Validation permission.
• There's no Age Validation Type on an Adult Registration program. Set Birthday to Yes, Required or Yes, Optional on Customers > Configurations > General.
• "Please make a selection from the Custom Grade Validation drop down list." Choose a list in Custom Grade Validation before you save 1 Setup. If the list is empty, do Step 1 first.
• "A Custom Grade Validation Item must be chosen." Check at least one range on the offering, or set Age Restriction Action to None.
• "Description is required.", "Custom Grade validation already exists." or "Custom Grade validation item already exists." Enter a name that isn't already used in that list.
• "Start Date is required.", "End Date is required." or "Birthday End Date must be after Start Date." Enter both birth dates, with the earlier one first.
• A delete icon is grayed out. A list can't be deleted while a program uses it, and a range can't be deleted while an offering uses it. Change those programs or offerings first.
• A family can't find an offering. With Prevent, offerings outside the player's range aren't listed. Check the player's birth date and the offering's ranges.
• Everyone gets through. The offering's Age Restriction Action is None.
• No one can register for an offering. It shows "Custom Grade Validation Items: None", for example after you chose a different list on 1 Setup, so no birth date matches: with Prevent it isn't listed for anyone. Check its ranges again.

Good to know

• Prevent applies to families registering online. When you register someone with Place Order or move a registration with Transfer, a mismatch shows the same message as a warning and you can continue. Adding someone to a roster, changing an enrollment's offering, and imports don't check the ranges.
• A program uses one Age Validation Type: Age As Of (ages on a date), Custom Validation (birth-date ranges) or Grade Validation (each player's grade).
• One list can be used by many programs, and each offering can use any of the list's ranges.

Related articles

• How to set up Grade Validation using each player's grade (Auto Grade)
• Setting Up Programs for Specific Age Groups with Age Validation (Age As Of)
• How to create an individual (youth or adult) registration program
• How to register a participant or place an order for a customer (admin Place Order)