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Where pending users appear depends on how your site handles registration. On WordPress Multisite, look for pending signup records in Network Admin or list them with WP-CLI. On a single-site installation, check the registration form, membership, or user-registration plugin that created the account: WordPress does not provide one universal pending-email-confirmation list for every standard single-site signup.

First identify the registration route

Before searching for a user, determine whether the site is a Multisite network and which system handled signup. A pending record may represent a user waiting to confirm an email address, or an application waiting for an administrator’s approval. Those are different states, and the right place to find the record depends on the workflow.

  • Multisite: Check network signup records using the Network Admin interface, if available, or WP-CLI.
  • Single site or custom registration: Check the plugin or form used to register users. Its list and status labels apply to that plugin’s workflow, not necessarily to every WordPress user.

Find pending signups on WordPress Multisite

Use the Network Admin dashboard

If the network has a pending-user interface, open Network Admin → Users → Pending Users. The Network Pending Users Manager plugin documents this path and lists pending records from the network’s signup table. It can also provide actions to resend an activation email, regenerate an activation link, activate a signup, or delete a signup record. The plugin is for Multisite only; availability of this screen depends on the site’s setup.

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The WordPress.org listing reports version 1.0.5, fewer than 10 active installations, and testing up to WordPress 7.1.2 at the time of the listing accessed in 2026. Treat those as listing details, not evidence of broad adoption or a guarantee that the plugin suits your installation.

List signups with WP-CLI

If you have shell access and WP-CLI configured for the network, run:

wp user signup list

The command lists Multisite signup records. Its documented fields include signup_id, user_login, user_email, registered, active, and activation_key. In the official example, active set to 0 marks a pending signup; 1 marks an active one. WP-CLI also supports choosing output formats and filtering fields; consult the WP-CLI command reference for available options.

Multisite signup records are distinct from ordinary user accounts. WordPress core’s signup validation reference checks the signup table for username and email records. Its validation logic can remove a record older than two days when a later signup validation encounters it. That is not a universal scheduled cleanup rule, so an older pending signup may not disappear on a predictable timer.

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Find pending users on a single-site installation

On a standard single-site WordPress installation, there is no universal core filter that finds every user who has not confirmed an email. Start with the plugin, membership system, or form that created the registration; that system determines whether pending records are stored separately, shown among all users, or labeled as awaiting approval.

BuddyPress and the Unconfirmed plugin

The Unconfirmed plugin listing says it supports Multisite with or without BuddyPress, and single-site installations that use BuddyPress for registration. It explicitly excludes ordinary single-site WordPress registration without BuddyPress, so it is not a general-purpose pending-user list.

The listing reports version 1.3.7, last updated December 4, 2023, and tested up to WordPress 6.4.10. Those details do not establish compatibility with WordPress releases current in 2026; check the listing and your site’s compatibility requirements before installing it.

WPForms registration

For registrations created through WPForms, the workflow described by WPBeginner’s email-verification guide is to enable activation in the form’s User Activation & Login settings, then look for unapproved registrants under Users → All Users. This applies to that WPForms registration flow; it is not a WordPress-wide location for pending users. The guide describes access to its registration template as requiring a Pro plan, but plan names and availability can change.

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Choose the route that matches your access

Route Best fit Access needed Scope and caveat
Network Admin pending-user interface Multisite administrator who prefers a dashboard Network administrator access and a compatible pending-user interface Network Pending Users Manager is Multisite-only; email delivery still depends on mail setup.
wp user signup list Technical Multisite administrator who needs a direct list or export Shell access and WP-CLI Lists Multisite signups; inspect active and select fields or output format as needed.
Registration plugin’s own list Single-site or custom registration form administrator Admin access to the plugin or form Location, labels, and meaning of “pending” vary by the registration workflow.

If a user says they signed up but is not listed

  1. Confirm the signup method. Ask which form or registration route they used, then check that system’s own list rather than assuming every signup appears in WordPress core.
  2. Check what “pending” means there. Determine whether the record is waiting for email activation or administrator approval before activating, approving, resending, or deleting it.
  3. For Multisite, check signup records. Use the pending-user interface if installed, or run wp user signup list and inspect the active field.
  4. For single-site plugin-managed registration, check the plugin’s documented admin screen. A form may show unapproved registrants under a user list, while another plugin may use a separate queue.
  5. If the activation email is missing, troubleshoot delivery separately. A resend action calls WordPress email functions but does not prove that the message reached the inbox. Ask the user to check spam, then inspect the site’s mail configuration, SMTP integration, and mail-provider or server logs.

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