Verification for people — phone, then the ID check or LinkedIn with the $1 card

Every discoverable member needs (rule since 2026-09-23):
1) Secure sign-in — Microsoft, Google or Apple, or email and password, on Microsoft's page.
2) A verified phone number — confirmed by text message; encrypted, shown only to paid subscribers and the platform admin, never public.
3) A real-person proof — EITHER:
   - the $3 government-ID check — photograph your driver's license, state ID or passport and take a selfie; Stripe checks the document is genuine and that it's you. Stripe keeps the images; PinchHitterPool records only the result and shows an "ID verified" badge. Enough on its own. The fee covers the check and isn't refunded; OR
   - LinkedIn (free) TOGETHER WITH the $1 card validation — a one-time $1 charge on a real card through Stripe. We record the name on the card and the billing address's country, state and postal code (the "Location verified" badge) — never the card number or street.
   Can't afford the card? A paid subscriber who knows you can vouch for you instead (you get a short code, they enter it; reviewed by a platform admin; up to five people per subscriber). Your profile then says "Validated by a subscribing member", never "Payment verified".
Members aged 13–17: a phone plus a parent or legal guardian's validation — the guardian must be a verified member (phone plus the ID check, or LinkedIn with the $1 card). No LinkedIn, card or ID check for the young person.
Households posting work also confirm a home address (checked with Google; the street is never stored). Organizations verify their Google Business Profile, and only someone signed in with an email at the organization's own website domain can create or verify one.

There is no score and no star rating. A public profile shows each check as verified or not verified on its own. None of them is a background check — PinchHitterPool does not run background checks; both parties do their own final checks.

In limited cases a PinchHitterPool reviewer records a card-level or ID-level result by hand — where Stripe isn't available, or where the reviewer personally examined a document. Your verification page says it came from a reviewer; other members see the same badge. Nothing is charged and no referral point is earned.

Use the Assistant for answers drawn from the guides.