How to Claim Your Hackathon Cash Prize (Winners Only)

When Devpost administers a hackathon, we are sometimes responsible for distributing prize money directly to prize winners. In order to claim your prize payment, you may receive an email from prizes@devpost.com asking you to fill out a form that verifies your eligibility. (Note that not all potential winners will receive this email, particularly if their eligibility has been previously verified.)

This form will ask for basic details including the hackathon name, your submission name, as well as personal details including your full legal name, date of birth, city/state/province/country of residence, email address, and whether or not you are an employee of the Hackathon Sponsor.

Once your eligibility has been verified and the winner announcement has been made, you will begin the process of claiming your prize payment, at which point you can follow the steps outlined below.

• If Devpost is not administering the hackathon, please contact your hackathon manager directly to inquire about claiming prizes.
• In the case of a team of individuals, Devpost will send the full prize payment to the team representative, and it is the responsibility of that individual to distribute it to the rest of the team.

Step 1: Make sure you are signed into your Devpost account.

Step 2: Check your email for a message from prizes@devpost.com with the subject line “Woo hoo! Guess who’s a winner in [Hackathon Name] (hint: it’s you)” and click the Claim your prizes link within the email:

This will take you to a 3-step prize claim form.

Step 3: Fill out page one of the prize claim form. You will need to complete the following:

• Enter your first and last name
• Enter your country of residence
• Check the box to confirm the prizes being awarded to you
• If you worked as part of a team, check the box to confirm the members of your team that you worked with
• Check whether you worked on the project as an individual, on behalf of an organization, or as a member of a team
• Check the box to confirm your age
• Check the box to confirm your eligibility in regards to residence

Once you have completed page one, click Continue.

Step 4: Fill out page two of the prize claim form. Page two of the form isonly visible to individual submitters and the team representative. If you are not the team representative, skip to step 5. 

Here you will need to:

Select a Payment Method. Note that payment method options vary based on the country of residence of the winner. 

• If you choose to receive a paper check (US residents only), fill out the name to whom the check should be issued and the address where it should be mailed.
• If you choose Paypal or Payoneer, fill out the email address associated with that payment method. Note: In order to receive your payment, you must make sure that your PayPal/Payoneer account is fully set up, that it can receive international transfers, and that your account does not have a maximum transfer amount that exceeds your prize. If your prize is undeliverable, you may incur fees that will be deducted from your prize, or be delaying or forfeiting receipt of the prize.

Upload the relevant Tax Form. The options include:

• US residents: Upload a W-9. 
• International winners who are claiming the prize as an individual: Upload a W-8BEN. 
• International winners who are claiming the prize on behalf of an organization: Upload a W-8BEN-E. 

You can ​​open the document in a PDF editor like HelloSign (a free service), fill it out electronically, and upload your e-signature. Your signature must be your real signature, it cannot be typed out. Alternatively, you can print out the tax form, physically fill it out, hand sign it, and scan it back into your computer.

It is the responsibility of each winner to determine which tax form should be completed and submitted. Devpost encourages its members to consult the instructions of each form and/or consult an attorney, tax professional, or other expert for advice if you have any questions regarding which form you should complete and/or the proper completion of that form.

Once you have completed page two, click Continue.

Step 5: Fill out page 3 of the prize claim form. Read the affidavit in full, type your full name, and check the box to confirm that you acknowledge and agree to the Affidavit.

Click the button to Confirm.

Step 6: Once you have completed the above steps, the Prize Team will review your paperwork. If they have any questions or need anything further from you, you will receive an email from prizes@devpost.com. At this point, no further action is needed. 

Step 7: For winners who choose Payoneer as their preferred payment method, you will receive an email from prizes@devpost.com asking you to click a link that will register your Payoneer account with the Devpost Payoneer account. You must complete this step in order to be paid via Payoneer.

The prize fulfillment process can take up to 60 days from receipt of paperwork.