Step 2: Setting eligibility requirements

Before you launch your hackathon on Devpost be sure you provide clarity on who your hackathon is for and who is eligible for prizes. It is unfair for a participant to work on a project for a hackathon, only to find out they are not eligible after they submit their project. In this article, we will cover the below questions:

• What are eligibility requirements?
• How do I set up eligibility requirements?
• What are the different types of eligibility requirements?

What are eligibility requirements?

Eligibility requirements created through the manager dashboard are a high-level overview of who your hackathon is for and who is eligible for prizes. These requirements will help Devpost match your hackathon to eligible participants and help participants know if your hackathon is right for them.

Please note: A complete version of your eligibility requirements should also be included in your rules.

How do I set up eligibility requirements?

In the Eligibility area under Edit Hackathon in your manager dashboard you will find a list of 6 types of requirements. This area is where you will need to edit and save your eligibility requirements before you launch your hackathon. 

It is best practice to only limit participation when necessary as this will reduce the number of developers participating in your hackathon. Here are some things to consider when setting up eligibility requirements:

• Are there any regions or countries where you will be unable to pay prizes?
• Will you be able to reward a project submitted on behalf of a company?
• Do you need to restrict or require team sizes due to the hackathon theme or prizes?
• Would it be inappropriate for a specific age group or occupation level to participate?
• Is your hackathon limited to a specific school, company, or group? 

What are the different types of eligibility requirements?

There are six types of eligibility requirements found on the Eligibility area under Edit Hackathon in your manager dashboard.

• Hackathon Community

  Most hackathons are Public, but sometimes a hackathon is limited to a specific school, company, or group. If this type of restriction is needed, select Invite Only and provide a name for your community under Who can participate?

  

  
  

• Participant Age

  For legal agreements to be binding, like your hackathon rules, we require a person to be Above legal age of majority in the country of residence. If you plan on hosting a hackathon for underage participants, please consult legal counsel for consent forms and other requirements.

  

  
  

• Participant Occupation

  This restriction allows you to choose Students or Professional / Post grad only. You can even restrict down to just College, High School, and Middle School students if required.

  

  
  

• Team Requirements

  We would recommend not adding Team requirements because this would not allow individuals to participate. However, if this goes against your hackathon theme or core mission, we provide an option to require teams and restrictions on the team sizes.

  

  
  

• Company Requirements

  Including companies or professional organizations in your hackathon is a great opportunity to get small dev shops or partners submitting projects. Setting up company requirements will let participants know if they cannot submit on behalf of a company or if they are required to.

  

  
  

• Geographic Restrictions

  In our experience, there are specific regions where prizes for global competitions cannot be awarded. We have provided an easy way to set these restrictions and you can read more about standard exceptions here.  

  

Check out a full walkthrough of how we're implementing eligibility requirements: