Help Center

Finding a provider

Search by ZIP from the homepage, then browse verified profiles to compare certifications, reviews, availability, and provider categories. Browsing and searching is always free.

Contacting a provider directly

1. Open the provider's profile and select Contact.
2. Fill in your event details.
3. Check the confirmation box and send your inquiry.

This costs you nothing. The provider pays a small fee on their end to unlock and reply to your message, which is why you're never charged for reaching out directly.

Posting a public listing

Instead of contacting one provider, post a listing describing your job so any certified provider in your area can respond. Up to 5 providers can respond to one listing at a time. If you decline a provider, that opens a response slot for someone else. Posting and receiving responses costs you nothing.

Keeping your request accurate and active

Enter a valid city and ZIP, and include at least 20 characters of real detail in the description. Posting a near-duplicate of an existing open request is flagged.

What happens after a provider responds

Once the first provider responds, GuardPost nudges you in that conversation to keep things moving. If you haven't confirmed anything after 24 hours, you get a reminder. At 48 hours, you're asked to keep the request open, mark that you've hired someone, or tell us you no longer need help. If you don't answer within another 24 hours—72 hours after the first response—the listing automatically pauses and stops showing to new providers. Nothing is lost; you can reopen it with one tap from My Requests.

Why providers pay to respond

The small response fee keeps replies serious and keeps providers from spamming every listing, so you hear from people who actually want the job.

Deleting your account

You can delete your GuardPost account and all your personal data yourself, at any time. See the full steps and what's retained →

Navigating your dashboard

Your dashboard has three main actions: Edit Profile, Certification, and Leads, which opens Browse Leads. Use them to keep your profile current, manage your certifications and trust documents, and find work.

Editing your profile

Everything about how you appear and operate lives in Edit Profile: your rate, travel radius, job types you offer, profile photo, account info, payment method on file, and notification preferences.

Updating your weekly availability

Toggle a day on in your weekly pattern to mark yourself active for the next 30 days. Staying active helps your ranking in search.

Time off and blackout dates

Use the separate Time Off calendar tool to block specific dates without changing your regular weekly pattern. It overrides your weekly availability only for those dates.

Uploading or renewing a certification

Everything certification-related lives in one place at Certification: your base lifeguard certification, optional swim-instructor and training-instructor certifications, and trust documents such as insurance and a background check. Renewing an expiring certification uses the same upload flow.

Understanding your Trust Shield

The three optional, cumulative tiers appear on your public profile: Bronze means your track's certification is verified by GuardPost; Silver adds verified liability insurance; Gold adds a verified background check. Our team reviews all three. None is required to be listed or get leads—they are trust signals for customers.

Liability insurance

GuardPost partners with Thimble for liability coverage. Select Get Insured wherever you see it, including on a hired job or your Certification page, to start a quote. This currently opens Thimble's site in a new tab rather than a built-in flow.

Background checks

GuardPost partners with GBS (Global Background Screening). Select Get Checked to start one. This currently opens GBS's site in a new tab rather than a built-in flow.

Direct inquiries vs. public listings

A direct inquiry, where a customer contacts you specifically, charges your fee when you unlock and reply. A public listing, posted for any provider to respond to, works differently as explained below.

Unlock & Reply, for direct inquiries

Before paying anything, you see a preview of the job: duration, budget, certification needed, and session count. You're charged once, when you unlock. If the lead is stale, closed, or invalid, that charge is automatically reversed.

Responding to a public listing

Responding is free. Your card is authorized for the response fee—held, not charged—the moment you respond. You're charged only if the customer sends you a real reply, automatically when they do. If they never reply, the listing closes, they hire someone else, or 48 hours pass without a reply, the hold is released automatically and you're never charged.

Understanding Lead Credit

Lead Credit is a running balance you can apply toward either kind of fee instead of your card. Your balance is shown on the Browse Leads page.

Referring other providers

The Browse Leads page has a Lead Credits & Referrals section with your referral link and code. When someone you refer signs up and gets verified, you earn Lead Credit.

When you're eligible for an automatic credit

Check the eligibility list shown in the report dialog before filing. It covers common no-fault cases, such as when the customer never replied or the listing was a duplicate, and grants your credit automatically when the conditions are met.

Reporting a lead issue

If a lead doesn't qualify for an automatic credit, use the Report button in that conversation. GuardPost's team reviews every report manually—it is never auto-approved.

Updating your contact info and password

Update both from Edit Profile.

Managing your payment method

Manage your payment method from Edit Profile.

Notification preferences

Manage your notification preferences from Edit Profile.

Deleting your account

You can delete your GuardPost account and all your personal data yourself, at any time. See the full steps and what's retained →