--- title: "How the wholesale signup form blocks spam" description: "Process Wholesale's theme signup forms include a built-in captcha that needs no setup. Applicants complete it before Submit; customer account signup forms need the customer to be signed in instead." type: concept plans: [All plans] keywords: [ captcha, hCaptcha, spam signups, fake wholesale applications, bot signups, reCAPTCHA, spam protection, signup spam, ] questions: - "Does the wholesale signup form have a captcha?" - "Do I need to set up a captcha for the signup form?" - "What does an applicant see if the captcha does not load?" - "Why does the signup form say Please complete the captcha?" - "Can I use my own Google reCAPTCHA keys?" - "Can spam signups become wholesale customers?" last_verified: 2026-11-11 order: 6 --- # How the wholesale signup form blocks spam Process Wholesale protects its theme signup forms with a built-in captcha that is on for every store and needs no setup. An applicant completes the captcha above the **Submit** button before the form can be submitted. The customer account signup forms for new customer accounts have no captcha; only customers who are signed in to their account can open them. The protection is the same on every plan. **At a glance** - **Plan:** All plans - **Setup:** None. There are no captcha settings to configure. - **Forms with the captcha:** **Wholesale Signup Form** and **Wholesale Custom Signup** theme blocks, including the signup form shown by Quick Buy - **Forms without a captcha:** **Wholesale signup Form** and **Wholesale custom signup Form** in customer accounts, which require sign-in - **Language:** The captcha follows the storefront language the visitor is browsing in ## The built-in captcha on theme signup forms Every **Wholesale Signup Form** and **Wholesale Custom Signup** block shows a captcha widget (hCaptcha) above **Submit**, on legacy customer accounts and on new customer accounts alike. Shopify admin labels the two account types **Legacy** and **Customer accounts** under **Settings > Customer accounts**; the captcha works the same with both. The form also opts in to Shopify's own storefront captcha. You do not add keys, turn anything on or pay for the captcha. It is part of Process Wholesale. ## What an applicant sees 1. The applicant fills in the form. The captcha appears above **Submit**. 2. The applicant completes the captcha challenge. 3. The applicant selects **Submit**, and the application goes through. If the applicant selects **Submit** too early, the form stays on the page and shows a red message for about eight seconds: | Message | Meaning | What the applicant does | | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | "Please complete the captcha." | The captcha was not completed | Complete the captcha and select **Submit** again | | "The captcha is still loading. Please try again in a moment." | The captcha has not finished loading | Wait a moment and select **Submit** again | | "The captcha couldn't load. Please refresh the page and try again." | The captcha could not load in the browser, often because of an ad blocker, privacy extension or network filter | Refresh the page, or turn off the blocker for your store and try again | On a custom form with a **File Upload** field, the same messages appear in a browser pop-up instead. On forms that use the new customer flow, and for applicants who are logged in, Process Wholesale shows "Captcha verification failed. Please try again." when it cannot confirm the captcha answer, and the application is not submitted. The applicant completes a new captcha and submits again. The captcha resets after each attempt. ## Customer account signup forms The **Wholesale signup Form** and **Wholesale custom signup Form** in new customer accounts do not show a captcha. These pages are shown only to customers who have signed in to their store account, so an application always comes from an existing customer account. ## What you can configure There are no spam settings in Process Wholesale. The built-in captcha is always on for theme signup forms. > **Note:** On some stores, Google reCAPTCHA was set up on the custom signup form earlier. On those stores, the **Wholesale Custom Signup** block shows Google reCAPTCHA in place of the built-in captcha, and applicants may see "Please complete the reCAPTCHA challenge." or "reCAPTCHA verification failed. Please try again." reCAPTCHA settings are not shown in the app. To change them, contact Process Wholesale support. Every application still waits for your approval in **Customers > Pending**, so a spam signup never becomes a wholesale customer on its own. Reject it with **Reject B2B**. See [how to approve or reject wholesale applications](../customers/approve-or-reject-applications.md). ## Worked example A visitor opens your wholesale page with an ad blocker that blocks the captcha. They fill in the form and select **Submit**. The form shows "The captcha couldn't load. Please refresh the page and try again." and nothing is submitted. The visitor allows your site in the ad blocker, refreshes, completes the captcha, and selects **Submit**. The application appears in **Customers > Pending** and you receive the **New Wholesale Application** email. ## Troubleshooting | Symptom | Likely cause | Fix | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Applicants report "The captcha couldn't load. Please refresh the page and try again." | A browser extension or network blocks the captcha | Ask the applicant to refresh, or to try another browser or turn off the blocker | | Applicants report "Please complete the captcha." | **Submit** was selected before the captcha was completed | Complete the captcha first | | Applicants report "Captcha verification failed. Please try again." | The captcha answer expired or could not be confirmed | Complete a new captcha and submit again | | Spam applications still arrive | Captchas reduce automated signups but cannot stop a person filling in the form | Reject them in **Customers > Pending** with **Reject B2B**; with the rejection email turned off, nothing is sent | ## Frequently asked questions ### Do I need to set up a captcha for the signup form? No. The built-in captcha is on for every Process Wholesale theme signup form, on every plan, with nothing to configure. ### Does the wholesale signup form have a captcha? Yes, the theme signup forms do. The **Wholesale Signup Form** and **Wholesale Custom Signup** blocks show a captcha above **Submit**. The customer account forms do not, because only signed-in customers can open them. ### What does an applicant see if the captcha does not load? The message "The captcha couldn't load. Please refresh the page and try again." The form cannot be submitted until the captcha loads, so the applicant refreshes or turns off whatever blocks it. ### Can I use my own Google reCAPTCHA keys? No. Process Wholesale does not offer reCAPTCHA settings. Every theme signup form uses the built-in captcha. ### Can spam signups become wholesale customers? No. Every application is tagged `B2B_Registeration` and waits in **Customers > Pending** until you approve it. ## Related articles - [Wholesale signup forms: which form to use](signup-forms-overview.md) - [Wholesale signup form not working](../troubleshooting/signup-form-not-working.md) - [How to approve or reject wholesale applications](../customers/approve-or-reject-applications.md) - [How to add the wholesale signup form to your theme (legacy customer accounts)](signup-form-legacy-accounts.md)