What is a referral link?
A referral link is a URL on your company website that links back to Debitura.com. You place this link in a visible location such as your footer, about page, or partners page to create a permanent connection between your site and Debitura's.
Examples of acceptable link placements:
Footer link: "Debt Collection Platform: Debitura"
Partners page: "We work with Debitura to provide international collection services"
About page: "Powered by Debitura's debt collection network"
The link must be:
Active - Not archived or removed
Public - Visible on your public website
Direct - Links directly to debitura.com (not through redirects)
đ Exclusive Partners
This requirement does not apply to Exclusive partners. Exclusive partners have automatic case assignment and pay a revenue share to Debitura (typically 40% pre-legal, 20% legal, negotiated per partner), so no referral link is required. Their accounts are automatically configured with a bypass flag. For more details on the differences, see Understanding partner types - Exclusive vs Legal Network.
Why this requirement exists
The referral link is a condition of participation in the Legal Network. Since Legal Network partners do not pay commission to Debitura (0% revenue share), the link requirement serves as an alternative form of contribution that supports Debitura's online presence.
The requirement also serves as a quality gate:
Partnership validation - The link submission and approval process ensures partners have legitimate business websites
Engagement filter - Partners who take the time to add a link demonstrate commitment to the partnership
Professional standards - The requirement filters out opportunistic or inactive partner accounts
How the system controls lead access
Your referral link status shows where your latest link submission stands. Lead access depends on whether you have an approved link on file, which is not always the same thing: an earlier approved link can stay active while a newer submission is pending or has been declined. Some leads do not require a verified link, and Debitura can waive the requirement for a specific partner or lead. You can see and manage this status on the Debitura Profile settings page in the partner portal.
The four statuses are:
Not submitted - no link request has ever been created. Leads that require a verified link stay blocked until a link is approved.
Pending review - a URL has been submitted and is waiting for the automated check. It becomes eligible for the check 48 hours after submission. If you already have an approved link, it stays active while the new submission is pending.
Approved - the automated check found a qualifying dofollow link to debitura.com. You can open leads and submit quotes that require a verified link.
Link not active - your latest submission was declined because the check did not find a qualifying link, and a warning appears on the Debitura Profile page. If you have never had a link approved, leads that require a verified link stay blocked until a corrected submission is approved. If the declined submission was a replacement for a link that was already approved, your earlier approved link stays active and the page shows it separately.
Submitting a new URL while a request is still Pending review replaces the pending request and restarts the 48-hour waiting period.
What the URL validator actually checks
There are two places in the portal where you can submit a link request, and they differ in how they validate the URL up front. Both paths feed the same automated background check, which a request becomes eligible for 48 hours after submission.
From Settings > Debitura Profile (the primary path): the portal only checks that the URL is formatted correctly (must start with http:// or https://). It does not crawl your page at submission time. Your request enters the automated verification queue immediately. It becomes eligible for an automated check after 48 hours, is then checked on a scheduled run, and you receive an email with the result. Keep the link publicly accessible while you wait.
From the lead-blocked modal (shown when you try to open a lead without an approved link): the portal also runs an immediate server-side crawl before creating the request, so you get instant feedback on obvious problems. If the pre-flight passes, the request enters the same queue.
In both cases, the automated background check looks for two things:
The page loads. A headless browser fetches the URL and confirms the page returns successfully.
The page contains a dofollow link to debitura.com. A live, reachable URL without a Debitura backlink will fail. A link marked rel="nofollow" will also fail.
Possible validation results:
Approved - the page loaded and a dofollow link to debitura.com was found.
PageFailedToLoad - the crawler could not load the URL.
InvalidUrl - the value entered is not a valid URL.
BlockedDomain - the domain is on the blocked list and cannot be used (social media, third-party review sites, cloud storage, and debitura.com subdomains).
NoDebituralinkFound - the page loaded but no link to debitura.com was found on it.
LinkIsNofollow - a link to debitura.com was found but is marked nofollow. The link must be dofollow to count.
The decline email does not say which check failed. You only see the specific reason in the window that opens when you try to open a lead without an approved link, and only when your submission from that window fails its immediate check.
If the background check fails, the request is declined and your status moves to Link not active. A declined request is not checked again automatically. Correct the issue on your website (or fix the URL) and submit a new URL from the same Debitura Profile page. Submitting a new URL while one is pending replaces the pending request and restarts the 48-hour waiting period.
What happens if your link is missing or removed
If you do not have an approved referral link, wherever the link requirement applies:
You cannot view full lead details
You cannot submit quotes on cases
You cannot participate in the lead marketplace
You cannot complete test leads during onboarding
Keeping the link in place is an ongoing condition of your lead access, not a one-time step: the link must stay active and public on your website for as long as you take part in the Legal Network. If you move the link to a different page, submit the new URL from the Debitura Profile page so the link on file stays current.
What to expect
To start receiving leads as a Legal Network partner:
Add a link to Debitura on your company website
Open Settings > Debitura Profile in the partner portal
In the Referral Link block, enter the full address of the exact page where your link appears, not just your homepage, and save. The check only looks at the page you submit. Only users with the CollectionPartnerAdmin role can submit.
Wait for the automated verification. Your request becomes eligible for the check after 48 hours, is checked on a scheduled run, and you receive the result by email
Once your status reads Approved, you can open leads and submit quotes that require a verified link
For step-by-step instructions on adding the backlink, see How to add a backlink to your public Debitura profile.