Confirm Tern is enabled to manage credit card authorizations Go to Settings, then Trip Settings, and make sure the credit card authorization checkbox is enabled. If it's off, the "Ready for authorization" status will not appear on any payments.

Confirm two-factor authentication is active on your account Go to Settings, then the Security tab. Tern disables payment authorization capabilities on your account when 2FA is not active. If authorizations suddenly stopped working, this is the most common cause. Re-enable 2FA to restore them.

Confirm the trip is narrowed to one itinerary If the trip still has multiple itinerary options open, clients will not see any authorization prompts. Approve one option and remove or reject the others. Tip: If you need different payment installments for specific options (for example, single vs. double room), create a separate lodging item for each option and place them in an option block. The client selects their preferred option, and the installments for that option are what surface for authorization. (If your goal is instead to get a deposit to reduce the amount due, do the opposite — collapse the option block down to the single selected activity. See How Can I Troubleshoot Payment Authorization Issues in Tern?)

Confirm the client has Full Access to the trip Only travelers with Full Access can see the Authorize Payments button and complete the authorization form. Other permission levels are not enough, even for the primary traveler. Check the traveler's access level on the Trip Overview, upgrade to Full Access if needed, and republish.

Confirm the client is logged in with the right email The client must be logged into their Tern Traveler account, and their login email must match the email on their contact record. If the emails don't match, the client will see an error that they aren't authorized to submit the payment authorization. [VERIFY: replace with the exact UI error string.]

Confirm the item is ready for authorization Open the trip's Pricing tab. The activity must have a price entered (activities priced at $0 or with no price are excluded from authorization entirely), a booking supplier, and clear dates. If you use a payment schedule with installments, every installment needs an amount or it will not appear for authorization. Note: Clients can enter a partial amount using the "Adjust Amount" button on their authorization page. This button only appears when "Allow partial payments" is turned on for that item's payment schedule (the toggle is on the item in the Pricing tab), and it is not available on hold/guarantee-type payments. The item must also be included in authorization and the trip published.

Check whether the payment was excluded from authorization Open the payment's three-dot menu in Booking & Pricing and check whether "Exclude from credit card authorization" is selected. If it was excluded by accident, toggle it off and republish. To re-include an item that was excluded, open the same three-dot menu next to the item and select "Include in authorization," then republish.

Check the 30-day setting Trip Settings includes the option "Allow authorizing payments more than 30 days before the payment due date." If this is unchecked, payments due more than 30 days from today will not appear for the client. They show as "ready for authorization after X date" and surface automatically once inside the 30-day window. To let clients authorize earlier, turn the setting on.

For group trips, check the sub-trip On group trips, authorizations appear only on the individual traveler's sub-trip, never on the parent group trip.

If the client sees the form but can't submit, check that they've ticked an item On the authorization page, items start unticked unless there's only one item or the client just selected a travel insurance plan. The Submit Authorization button stays greyed out until at least one item is ticked. Have your client tick the items they want to authorize, then submit.