> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://talent.docs.mercor.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Referral Policy and FAQs

> How Mercor’s referral program works: eligibility, earnings-sharing, tracking, and FAQs.

<Note>
  This page outlines the criteria for eligibility, payment procedures, trials, relevant links, statuses, and communications, and also includes a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.
</Note>

<Card title="Mercor Legal Referral Policy" color="#7068FC" icon="book-open-reader" iconType="regular" href="https://talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/referral-terms-and-conditions" cta="Click to Read">
  To learn more about our referral process, refer to our detailed Legal Referral Policy document, available here.
</Card>

## Eligibility & qualification

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="What makes a referral valid" icon="circle-check">
    • The candidate has not been previously referred by any other individual.

    • Only the initial referrer qualifies.

    • A referrer earns under the earnings-sharing model up to the cap determined by the candidate’s first job offer accepted.
  </Card>

  <Card title="What does not qualify" icon="circle-x">
    • Sign-ups that are not ultimately hired

    • Referring a candidate who is already associated with a different referrer

    • Hours worked prior to the referral being officially recorded in the system
  </Card>
</Columns>

<Tip>
  Our hiring practices are global. When a job listing indicates a specific region, only candidates from that designated area are eligible. In cases where no location is specified, the opportunity is presumed to be available to applicants within the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, or the European Union by default.
</Tip>

## How Earnings Share Model Work?

<Info>
  Referrers earn 20% of their referral’s earnings — including hourly pay, bonuses, and one-time payments — up to an Earnings cap.
</Info>

**Earnings Cap Rules**

* Earnings Cap is determined by the FIRST job offer the referral accepts.
* It does not change whether the referral moves to a higher/lower paying project.
* The earnings cap represents the \*\*maximum amount \*\*a referrer can earn from a single referral.

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Hourly Contracts" color="#7068FC" icon="timer" iconType="light">
    Earnings cap is 4× the hourly rate of the referral.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Deliverable/Task Based Contracts" color="#7068FC" icon="clipboard-list" iconType="light">
    Earnings cap is explicitly set per contract terms.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## Payments

<Steps>
  <Step title="Processing schedule">
    Work earnings are paid every Wednesday at 12:00 PM PST / 3:00 PM EST. Referral earnings are released twice per week, on Wednesdays and Fridays at 12:00 PM PST / 3:00 PM EST.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Payment methods">
    • Stripe in most cases\
    • Wise when Stripe is not supported (for example, Brazil)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pending Referral Earnings">
    For hired referrals, pending earnings may appear prior to processing in the next referral payout cycle. If an expected payout does not appear after the applicable cutoff, please contact support.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Candidate Statuses (On Referral Dashboard)

| Status                | What it means                                                                                                             |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Signed Up             | The candidate registered via your referral link.                                                                          |
| Application Started   | The candidate has submitted application(s).                                                                               |
| Application Completed | The candidate’s application process is complete.                                                                          |
| Offer Extended        | The candidate has been extended an offer by the project team.                                                             |
| Hired                 | The candidate is working — you are earning; the dashboard shows your earnings, progress toward cap, and the earnings cap. |
| Paid                  | The referrer has been paid for the candidate's referral.                                                                  |

<Tip>
  * Always share your unique referral link for tracking.
  * Earnings-sharing applies across all projects the referral works on, until you reach the Earnings cap determined by their first accepted offer.
  * For urgent cases (missing referrals, payout issues, application errors), email [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com), or report in the Circle/ Slack community.
  * Disputes and opt-outs are reviewed by Talent Success; evidence is required, and outcomes are final per Referral program rules.
</Tip>

## FAQs

Have questions? Check out our FAQs related to the Legal Referral Policy below.

### Eligibility & Qualification

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Where can I find my own Referral Link?">
    At the bottom of each job listing, you will find your unique referral link, facilitating the sharing of opportunities with your friends, colleagues, or professional network.

    Any individual who submits an application via your link shall be linked to your account (subject to program eligibility rules).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="When do I qualify to earn referral earnings?">
    You begin earning under the earnings-sharing model when your referred candidate is hired and begins billable work. You earn 20% of what they earn (including hourly pay, bonuses, and one-time payments) until you reach the Earnings cap.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What if my referral already worked with Mercor?">
    A referral is valid even if the candidate has worked with Mercor before, as long as they were not previously referred by someone else and hired through that referral.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I get paid if someone signs up with my link but does not get hired?">
    No. Earnings-sharing applies only when the candidate is hired (after the referral event) and begins billable work.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if multiple people refer the same candidate?">
    Only the **first** person who referred the said candidate is eligible to take part in the earnings-sharing model.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do we hire candidates from all countries?">
    Mercor operates on a global scale.

    * If a job listing specifies a region, only candidates from that region will be eligible.
    * In the absence of location information in a job listing, it may be assumed that the position is accessible to candidates within the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, or the European Union by default.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will I get paid twice if my referral is hired for multiple projects?">
    You do not receive “multiple bonuses.” Instead, you earn 20% across all their projects until you reach your Earnings cap (Earnings cap is locked to their first accepted offer).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do referrals expire?">
    Referrals are subject to program rules on attribution windows. (If the program applies an attribution window, it is enforced by the platform.)
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do referrals apply to all listings or only specific ones?">
    Referrals are applicable universally. Earnings-sharing accrues across the referral’s projects until the cap is reached.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Who should I refer?">
    Refer people with deep, verifiable expertise in a specific field. Strong candidates typically include:

    * STEM PhDs, MDs, licensed attorneys
    * Senior software engineers, data scientists, finance professionals
    * Olympiad medalists, published researchers
    * Experienced teachers or journalists

    Quality matters more than quantity. Referrals from people you have worked with directly are far more likely to succeed than cold outreach.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is there a referral limit?">
    Yes — there is a daily cap of 100 referrals per day to encourage quality over volume. Focus on candidates you have worked with, would like to work with, and can personally vouch for.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I refer for internal Mercor roles?">
    No. The referral program applies only to contract and project-based roles, not full-time internal positions at Mercor.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What are reasons that would make me ineligible for referral earnings?">
    * Engaging in any activity that contravenes our Referral Policies.
    * Referring to yourself (e.g., making duplicate accounts and using your own link).
    * If your referred user does not utilize your customized referral link at the time of application.
    * If the user you referred was previously employed prior to utilizing your referral link (please do not be concerned — in such cases, you will still remain eligible for their subsequent contract with Mercor).
    * If your referred user has not been employed at Mercor.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why are some of my referred users linked to another referrer, and can you reassign them to me?">
    Do note that referral associations are created only when a user explicitly consents through the referral link process.

    Mercor’s referral program is fully automated and based on user consent—we do not manually override these associations. In the event of a referral dispute raised, Talent Success will review evidence and (in exceptional cases) reassign and backdate attribution.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="My referee did not use the referral link I shared. Can you add them manually and backdate the referral so I can receive the earnings?">
    Referral earnings eligibility begins only after a referral is correctly submitted through the unique referral link. It's the referrer's responsibility to ensure that their contacts use their proper link and appear on their referral dashboard before proceeding. In this case, we are unable to manually add or backdate referrals.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I referred a candidate, but someone else received the referral earnings. What can I do?">
    Referral earnings are awarded based on the referral link used during the candidate's signup process on Mercor platform ([https://work.mercor.com/](https://work.mercor.com/)).

    It's the referrer's responsibility to ensure that their contacts use the correct referral link and appear on their referral dashboard. In this case the referral bonus for that candidate will be paid out to the referrer whose link the candidate used during the sign-up process, If no referral link is used by the talent then no referral earnings amount will be issued.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="My Project Manager gave me the referral link, but I can't see the referee under my list. Will I still get the earnings since it wasn't my error?">
    Please note, each referrer has a unique referral link that they must generate from their Mercor account. It's the referrer's responsibility to ensure that their contacts use the right link and appear on their referral dashboard.

    Since we're unable to manually add or backdate referrals, earnigs cannot be issued for referrals not properly linked through your dashboard. Referral earnings eligibility only applies when the referral is submitted using the correct referral link associated with your Mercor dashboard.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is the LinkedIn Automatch Feature?">
    The LinkedIn Automatch feature is available on your Referral Dashboard. To use it, simply download your contacts list from LinkedIn and upload the unedited file when prompted via the LinkedIn Invite button on your Referral Dashboard. Within a few minutes, you'll receive an email from Mercor containing recommendations of people in your network who may be a great fit for open roles at Mercor.

    Please note that Mercor will not contact your connections directly during this process. You'll need to manually send referral invitations to the suggested contacts yourself.

    Here is a [Help Article](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a566336/export-connections-from-linkedin) on how to export connections from LinkedIn.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I uploaded my LinkedIn connections to the Mercor referrals dashboard — why do I only see some of them?">
    The dashboard only shows the top matches our auto-match system could successfully source. It doesn't display your full connections list yet — just the strongest Top matches that align with active roles. You can also use the "Refresh" button periodically to update the list.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I refer someone using my C-mercor email?">
    No, you are not permitted to use **C-mercor** emails to create accounts on [**work.mercor.com**](http://work.mercor.com) for referral purposes. These email addresses are provisioned solely for Mercor contract work and are not intended for personal account management.

    Please note that any referrals submitted using C-mercor accounts will not be processed.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do referrals from Mercor experts perform better than referrals from non-experts?">
    All candidates are evaluated on their individual qualifications, experience, and interview performance. This ensures that every referral is assessed fairly and independently, regardless of whether it comes from an existing Mercor expert.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I receive referral earnings without being employed by Mercor?">
    Yes. You do not need to be employed by Mercor to participate in the Referral Program or to receive referral earnings. The program is designed to encourage anyone who can refer candidates who are the best fit for the role. Referrers are rewarded for each successful placement, regardless of the employment status of the referred candidate.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use my company name instead of my legal name as a referrer?">
    No. You must use your legal name exactly as it appears on your personal ID. Referrers go through an ID verification process, and payouts are blocked if verification isn't completed.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I post roles publicly?">
    Yes, but you must not impersonate Mercor or claim to be a Mercor recruiter. You may use paid LinkedIn job slots to filter and refer candidates, as long as your listing does not mention the Mercor brand name or imply you are representing Mercor directly.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I have multiple accounts?">
    No. Self-referral or multi-accounting will result in both accounts being banned.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Payments

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="When are referral earnings paid?">
    Work earnings are paid every Wednesday at 12:00 PM PST / 3:00 PM EST, and referral earnings are released twice per week, on Wednesdays and Fridays at 12:00 PM PST / 3:00 PM EST.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How are payments made?">
    * [Stripe](https://stripe.com/) in most cases.
    * [Wise](https://wise.com/): If Stripe is not supported in your country, such as Brazil.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What does it mean if earnings are pending?">
    Pending earnings reflect amounts accrued but not yet processed in the following scheduled referral payout cycle.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Are there tax implications for referral earnings?">
    Yes. As outlined in Section 3.4 of the [Referral Terms and Conditions](https://talent.docs.mercor.com/policies/referral-terms-and-conditions#3-placement-fees-and-payment), participants are solely responsible for all federal, state, and local taxes related to their referral earnings. Mercor does not withhold taxes on Referral/Placement Fees. This means you, as a referrer, must independently manage and report any tax obligations associated with your referral income.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Work trials & projects

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="What is a work trial?" icon="briefcase">
    Certain positions initiate with a paid six-hour onboarding process to evaluate candidates.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Do trial hours count?" icon="person-circle-xmark">
    No. Work trials do not count for referral earnings-sharing.
  </Card>
</Columns>

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How long until the referred candidate is hired?">
    Hiring timelines fluctuate depending on the urgency associated with the role, the volume of applications received, and the quality of candidates. Candidates of higher quality are typically anticipated to secure employment more rapidly.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why was my referral’s offer cancelled?">
    Offers may be canceled if the candidate fails to meet project requirements, does not accept the offer within the designated timeframe, or if the project needs evolve. Such instances are infrequent, and candidates are notified of the reason for the cancellation.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is ‘Mercor Listing’ in my Referral Section?">
    If a job listing has been closed or expired, it will be displayed as ‘Mercor Listing’. This indicates that the application of the user you referred to was not taken into account.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What if a role closes before my referral applies?">
    Roles display a "Closing Soon" badge when they reach approximately 90% capacity. Candidates can subscribe to reopening notifications for closed roles so they are alerted when the listing becomes available again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can previously offboarded candidates be rehired?">
    This is unlikely. Prior low performance reduces a candidate's chances of being selected for future roles.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Referral Links & Tracking

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do I need to keep UTM parameters (utm_source=referral...) in the link?">
    UTM parameters assist Mercor in analyzing the channels and campaigns that generate the highest traffic and referrals. Therefore, it is advisable to retain them. Nevertheless, their use is not compulsory; your referral will continue to be tracked in their absence.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="My referral link sometimes shows a loading issue — what should I do?">
    This issue is infrequent; however, should it occur:

    • Attempt to refresh the page by using Shift + Cmd + R (Mac) or Shift + Ctrl + R (Windows).

    • Alternatively, directly access the role at work.mercor.com/explore.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I don't recognise my referrer. What should I do?">
    If you don't recognise your referrer, you can choose to opt out of being associated with their referral under Mercor's Expert Referral Program.

    You can locate the "Not my Referrer" button in your Account section on your Mercor profile. This will trigger a referral dispute process, during which the referrer will have 5 business days to provide evidence of prior communication or familiarity to verify that they referred you. No further action is needed on your part unless we reach out for clarification.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I'm a referrer. What is a Referral Dispute?">
    A Referral Dispute occurs when a referred individual chooses to opt out of being associated with your referral under Mercor's Expert Referral Program. As soon as the dispute is reported by the referee, we give the referrer 5 business days to share evidence—such as prior emails or messages—showing communication or familiarity with the referee before the referral was made.

    Familiarity means there was a two-way interaction where the referee acknowledged the referral or confirmed the relationship, not just one-sided outreach or reminders from the referrer.

    This ensures the program grows sustainably and authentically through genuine connections. If no evidence is submitted within the 5 business days, the referral will no longer be recognised in the program and will not be paid the referral earnings for the respective referee.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will my previous applications be attributed to my new referrer if my old referral was removed (or I only got referred now)?">
    **No — referral attribution is not retroactive.** A referral associationstarts once you open a referrer’s unique link and confirm the referral during the application flow. Only applications submitted **after** that new referral association is formed will be linked to the new referrer.

    That means:

    * If your **previous referral association was disputed and removed**, your **already-submitted applications** will **not** move over to your new referrer.
    * If your **earlier applications were submitted with no referrer**, and you later create a referral association, those earlier applications still **won’t** be attributed to the new referrer.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I raised a referral dispute and my previous referral association was removed. Can I get referred by someone else?">
    No. Once a referral dispute is raised and upheld i.e. the existing referral association is removed, the candidate becomes **ineligible for any future referral associations**.\
    \
    This means:\
    \_ You \_cannot be referred again by another person.\
    \_ You *cannot use a new referral link to create a new referral association.*\
    *\_ Any attempt to establish a new referral after a dispute is upheld will not be recognized by the system.*\
    \_ \_
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I received a Referral Dispute email- what kind of evidence can I share?">
    In line with our section 3.6 (b) from the referral policy document, evidence must demonstrate the candidate’s explicit acknowledgement of the referral and may include written communications (e.g., email, text, or messaging screenshots) that clearly identify the candidate, the referring Participant, and the timing of the acknowledgement.

    The Company may disregard evidence that is incomplete, unverifiable, or derived from audio or video communications.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Candidate Statuses

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How can I track my referral’s progress?">
    Navigate to the Referrals section to view your referrals and their current stage (Signed Up, Started, Completed, Hired). For hired referrals, you will also see your earnings, pending earnings, progress toward cap, and the earnings cap.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why does my referral remain “Under Review” for a long time?">
    “Under Review” signifies that the application is currently under consideration. The duration of the review process may be extended contingent upon project workload, the volume of applications received, and the extent to which the candidate aligns with the role’s requirements.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where can I check the referral conversion rate?">
    Conversion rates depend on whether referred candidates are selected by project teams and successfully start their billable hours. Since evaluations vary based on each candidate’s skills, experience, and AI interview performance, there is no definitive conversion rate. As a result, conversion outcomes differ from referral to referral.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why doesn’t the total number of my referrals match the sum of the status cards?">
    Each status card shows candidates who have **at least one application** in that status. Since a candidate can have **multiple applications in different statuses**, the same candidate may appear in more than one card. As a result, the totals may not match.

    **Example:**\
    A candidate might have started working on **Application A** (*Application Started*) and received an offer for **Application B** (*Offer Extended*), causing them to appear in both.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Communication & Updates

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do referrers get regular updates?">
    Yes. Referrers receive a daily email at 10 AM PST highlighting urgent hiring listings. In addition, weekly community announcements are shared with priority roles and referral statistics.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Are “Top Referrer” emails still being sent?">
    Yes, though there may occasionally be delays.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How can I subscribe to the Top Referrer emails?">
    If you are not currently receiving them,  contact any member of the Mercor team, and we will include you in the distribution list, based on the eligibility criteria set.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I got an email stating someone referred me, but that is not the case. I applied on my own at work.mercor.com">
    If this is the case, raise a "Referral Dispute" from your Settings page. This opens an investigation with the Talent Success team.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I received an email saying “[Name] invited you to join Mercor.” What does this mean?">
    This email is a Mercor warm intro.

    One of your LinkedIn connections shared their network data with Mercor. After identifying you as a good fit for an open role, Mercor sent you an invitation through the platform with that individual's approval.

    The invitation includes a referral link recommending you to work with Mercor.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I want to talk to someone about my referral issue. What should I do?">
    No worries. If your issue extends beyond merely verifying an application status or the information contained in these FAQs,  send  an email at [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com).

    Ensure to include the following details:

    • The name and email ID of the referred user

    • Description of the issue

    • Your personalized referral link

    This will enable the team to efficiently investigate and address your concern.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>