---
title: "Why a card was refused"
description: "A card that leans on missing context or undefined terms is refused before it reaches a person."
url: "https://docs.octo.ad/desk/why-a-card-was-refused/"
id: "desk/why-a-card-was-refused"
type: "troubleshooting"
audience: "team lead"
dateModified: "2026-11-06"
productArea: "the Desk"
surface: "the Desk"
keywords: ["the Desk", "refused card"]
---

# Why a card was refused

> A card that leans on missing context or undefined terms is refused before it reaches a person.

## What you see

A decision you expected never reached the decision owner: the Desk refused the card.

## Check

Read the card as the owner would, with nothing else open.

## Why it happens

A card has to make sense on its own. A card that depends on context the owner would have to go and find, or on a term nobody defined, is refused before it reaches a person.

## What to do

1. Add what is missing: the question, the recommendation and its reasoning, the options, and the evidence.
2. Spell out any term or short form the owner would have to look up.
3. Send the card again.