Descriptors Compliance Policies

Descriptor compliance policies define which descriptors must have responses before a contact, entity, or relationship can be considered compliant.

What Descriptor Policies Do

Descriptors are custom fields or questions used to collect important information. A descriptor policy marks selected descriptors as required for compliance when the record matches the configured criteria.

Main Parts of the Descriptor Policy Grid

Column	What It Means
Type	The descriptor input type, such as text, date, number, select, checkbox, or progress.
Descriptor	The descriptor question or field that may be required for compliance.
Visibility	Shows the descriptor-level visibility from descriptor settings. If it says All, the descriptor is visible for all record types. If specific types are listed, the descriptor only exists for those types.
Type	The compliance policy type criteria. This controls when the visible descriptor is required.
Risk	The risk criteria used to decide when the descriptor is required.
Lifecycle	The lifecycle/status condition used to decide when the descriptor is required.
Strategy / Structure	Additional entity-specific criteria used to narrow when an entity descriptor is required.

Visibility vs Compliance Policy

Descriptor Visibility

Visibility controls whether the descriptor appears for a record at all. This is configured in descriptor settings and is shown as read-only context in the policy grid.

Compliance Policy

Compliance policy controls whether a visible descriptor is required for compliance. A descriptor must first be visible before it can be required.

This means a descriptor can be configured for a specific type in descriptor settings, and then further narrowed by risk, lifecycle, strategy, or structure in compliance policies.

How to Preview Applicable Descriptor Policies

Use the scope selector to test which descriptor policies apply to a specific contact, entity, or relationship.

Open the descriptor policy section.
Click the scope selector icon in the toolbar.
Search for a contact, entity, or relationship.
Select the record from the modal.
The grid updates to show descriptor policies applicable to that selected record.

How Matching Works

A descriptor policy applies only when both descriptor visibility and compliance policy criteria match.

If descriptor visibility is All, the descriptor can appear for any record type.
If descriptor visibility lists specific types, only those types can use the descriptor.
If policy criteria are empty, they are treated as All.
If policy criteria are populated, the selected record must match them.

Example: a descriptor visible only for Administrator contacts cannot become required for Beneficiary contacts, even if the compliance policy risk criteria match.

Creating or Editing a Descriptor Policy

Open the descriptor policy grid for Contacts, Entities, or Relationships.
Edit the descriptor policy row.
Review the read-only Visibility column to understand where the descriptor can appear.
Select policy criteria such as Type, Risk, Lifecycle, Strategy, or Structure.
Save the policy.
Use the scope selector to confirm the policy applies to the expected records.

Why a Descriptor May Not Appear

The descriptor is not visible for the selected record type.
The selected record does not match the policy criteria.
The descriptor is associated with another purpose, such as review or risk, instead of compliance.
The descriptor has not been included in compliance.

Best practice: check the Visibility column first, then configure the compliance criteria. Visibility decides whether the descriptor exists for the record; policy criteria decide whether it is required.

Contacts Descriptors Entities Relationships Settings

descriptors

May 24, 2026