Customer Account Activation - Email Verification & Manual Approval for New Signups

An account that anyone can create is an account anyone can abuse

Stock PrestaShop lets a visitor register and sign in in the same second. That is fine for a simple retail shop — and a problem everywhere else. Bots farm your customer table, throwaway addresses collect your welcome vouchers, and if your prices depend on customer groups, a stranger can be inside before you have checked who they are. Customer Account Activation adds the missing step: the account exists, but it does not work until someone says so.

How it works

• 1. The visitor registers as usual — nothing changes in your registration form or checkout flow.
• 2. The account is created but stays disabled — they cannot sign in yet.
• 3. Somebody activates it — with self-service on, the customer gets an email with a unique activation link and activates themselves. With it off, that email goes to you instead, and you approve with a click in the email or by enabling the customer from the Customers page in the back office.
• 4. Confirmation — once activated the customer receives a confirmation email and signs in normally from then on.

Two modes, one switch

Email verification proves the address is real. It filters out bots and typo'd addresses automatically, with no work on your side — ideal for consumer shops drowning in sign-up spam.

Manual approval puts you in control. Nothing is automatic: you see who registered and decide. This is the mode wholesale, B2B and trade-only shops want, because group-based prices should never be visible to an unvetted account.

Simple by design

There are exactly two settings: a master switch for whether activation is required at all, and a switch between self-service and owner approval. Turn the master switch off and your shop behaves like stock PrestaShop again — the module stays installed and your existing customers are untouched.

Nothing left behind

Uninstalling restores PrestaShop's default registration email and removes the activation column the module added to the customer table. Any account still waiting for activation at that moment simply becomes a normal, active account — nobody is locked out by removing the module.

Compatibility

PrestaShop 1.7, 8 and 9 (the code base also covers 1.5 and 1.6). It works with your existing theme and registration form — there is no template to edit, because activation is enforced on the account itself, not in the front-end markup.

Frequently asked questions

Does it change my registration form?

No. Customers register exactly as before; the only difference is that the new account starts disabled until it is activated.

Can I approve accounts by hand instead of emailing customers?

Yes — that is the second mode. The activation email goes to you, and you approve either from the link in it or by enabling the customer in the back office Customers page.

Is this useful for a B2B or wholesale shop?

That is one of its main uses. It gives you a checkpoint before a new account can sign in and see the prices and discounts attached to your customer groups.

What happens to customers who registered before I installed it?

Nothing. Existing accounts stay active; the rule applies to new registrations.

Can I switch it off temporarily?

Yes. The master switch turns activation off and new customers can sign in immediately again, exactly like stock PrestaShop.

What happens when I uninstall?

The default registration email is restored, the added column is removed, and any account still pending activation becomes a normal active account.