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Submissions

Submissions are saved immediately with metadata, then processed asynchronously.
For bulk management of test data and archived submissions, see Admin Bulk Management below.

Submission Flow


Reference IDs

Human-readable IDs for status lookup. Uses safe characters (no confusing 0/O, 1/I/l):
The prefix is configurable per form via submission_prefix. Once set, the prefix becomes immutable to prevent broken references.

Submission Data Model


Soft Deletion

Submissions are soft-deleted to preserve auditability and prevent accidental data loss. Instead of deleting rows, we set:
  • deleted_at — when the record was removed
  • deleted_by — who removed it
All standard reads filter out soft-deleted records.

Geolocation Tracking

Every submission captures location data for compliance and fraud detection:

IP Anonymization

For privacy compliance, IP addresses are anonymized before storage:

Data Sources


Outcome Field

The outcome field stores applicant-visible results. Unlike status (internal workflow), outcome is what the applicant sees on their status page.

Outcome Details

The outcome_details JSONB field stores structured data:

Setting Outcomes


Submission Status

Status Changes


Forms can mark specific questions as “featured” to display prominently in submission lists:
These fields appear as columns in the submissions table, making it easy to scan applications without opening each one.

Admin Bulk Management

Admins can manage submissions in bulk via the Submissions page (/submissions). This is useful for cleaning up test data, archiving old submissions, and managing large datasets.

Test Flag

Mark submissions as test data for filtering. Test submissions:
  • Appear with a “Test” badge in the admin UI
  • Can be filtered out of reports and exports
  • Can be safely deleted

Archive Flag

Archive submissions to hide them from normal views while preserving data:
Archived submissions:
  • Hidden from normal submission lists
  • Preserved for audit/compliance
  • Can be filtered and viewed by admins
  • Can be unarchived at any time

Bulk Delete

Only submissions marked as test or archived can be deleted. This prevents accidental deletion of real data:

Admin UI Features

The Submissions page provides:

Soft Delete

Submissions use soft delete for data preservation:
All queries automatically exclude soft-deleted records unless explicitly requested.

Encryption

PII fields are encrypted at rest. See Encryption & PII for details.

Queue Architecture

Background processing

Notifications

Email and SMS

Encryption

PII protection

Audit Logging

Change tracking