New User Approve
View on WordPress.orgScores higher than 77% of indexed plugins
About
WordPress user approval plugin to moderate registrations. Approve or deny real users and prevent fake signups to control who registers on site.
Security History
What It Does
New User Approve sits between WordPress registration and account activation, requiring an administrator to manually approve or deny each new signup before the user can log in. It adds an approval status column to the Users screen and can block spam bots, require email confirmation, and notify admins when a registration is pending. In practice, it turns an open registration form into a gated process.
Who It's For
This plugin fits small to mid-sized sites that need a human gatekeeper on who gets an account, such as private communities, course platforms, patient portals, or invite-only intranets. It is most useful when registration is open but you still want to reject obvious bots or unwanted applicants one by one. Sites that already restrict registration by invite codes or require payment first will see less value.
Who Should Skip It
If your site is public, has high registration volume, or already uses a membership plugin that handles approvals internally, you do not need a dedicated approval tool. Developers building custom registration flows through code or hooks will also find this plugin too opinionated for their needs.
The Bottom Line
New User Approve does one specific job, gating new WordPress registrations for manual review, and it does that job well with a clean interface and solid recent maintenance. With a quality score of 79.66/100 it is a reliable but narrow tool, best paired with other plugins rather than used as a complete membership solution. The near-empty support forum is a minor watch item, so keep documentation handy.
Related Plugins
Pick this when you also need custom registration forms, user profiles, and role editing beyond approval.
Choose this for full membership features including directories, content restriction, and built-in moderation.
Go with this if you want approval features bundled with paid memberships, subscriptions, and drag-and-drop form building.
Pick this if your main need is letting admins quickly switch into a user account to troubleshoot, not moderate new signups.
Choose this only if you specifically need custom profile pictures, since it does not address registration approval.