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Every email invitation carries a unique, one-time assessment link tied to the invited email address. Only someone with access to that inbox can use it, links never expire unless you set an expiry, and re-clicking a link safely resumes an unfinished attempt.
When you send email invitations, every recipient gets the same email body. The only difference between the emails is the assessment link: each candidate receives a unique URL that only they can use. Here is what happens when a candidate clicks their link.
1

Candidate opens the link

The link identifies which email address it was sent to. It works on any device and any supported browser.
2

Equip sends a verification code

A one-time code goes to the invited email address, not to whoever opened the link. See Candidate Login Methods for the full sign-in flow.
3

Candidate verifies and starts

After entering the code, the candidate is taken straight to the assessment. No password or account setup is needed.
Because the verification code always goes to the original invitee’s inbox, forwarding a link does not transfer the invitation. If Candidate 1 shares their link with Candidate 2, the code still lands in Candidate 1’s inbox, so Candidate 2 cannot proceed.
The verification code is 6 digits and expires 30 minutes after it is sent. If theirs expires, the candidate can simply request a new one from the same page.

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Switching devices

The link and the email address are bound together, so Equip recognizes the same candidate even on a different device. Clicking the link again resumes the attempt with the remaining time intact: a candidate who left a test with 10 minutes remaining continues with 10 minutes on the new device. This also means a fresh invitation cannot grant a second attempt. If a candidate has an unfinished attempt, any new link you send them resumes that same attempt. See Candidate Re-Attempts for how to allow a genuine retake. By default, invitation links never expire. You control expiry per batch of invitations with the Link Expiry (days) field on the Send Invitations tab.
Setting an expiry is a simple way to keep your pipeline moving: candidates see a real deadline, and stale invitations stop being usable on their own. If you instead need to control the exact start window, use the Cannot Start Before and Cannot Start After assessment settings.
A link can stop working for a few different reasons. In each case the candidate sees a specific explanatory page rather than a generic error, so they know what happened and what to do next. A few details worth knowing:
  • Clicking a link multiple times is safe. A candidate who has not started can open their link any number of times until it expires. A candidate mid-attempt resumes where the rules allow. A finished candidate just sees the completion screen.
  • Revoking an invitation only happens as a side effect of reclaiming the credit. Reclaiming invalidates the candidate’s link and deletes any test data tied to it.
  • Re-inviting is safe too. If a candidate says they never received or lost their link, check its email status first, then re-invite if needed. The unused link’s credit is reclaimable after 24 hours as long as the candidate never started.
Reclaiming a credit is destructive: it revokes the candidate’s link and permanently deletes their test data, including any points earned. Only reclaim when you are sure the candidate should not, or will not, attempt the assessment.