This article is for agents or agencies looking to join an upline.
If you're an upline looking to manage downlines, see this article.

Joining uplines

Connect your agent or agency account to an upline agency – and know exactly what's being shared. You choose the connection type, determining what your upline can see.

There are two connection types:

Captive (LOA) connections: this applies if you work exclusively under one agency. The agency gets full visibility into all of your Contacts.
Independent connections: this applies if you work with one or more agencies across different carriers. Each agency sees limited data, and only for the carrier(s) you've chosen to connect.

Below, we'll go through the four ways of joining an upline:

Joining as a captive agent

Use this if you're an agent working under a single upline.

1. Go to your Settings page (the ⚙️ icon in the header)

2. Scroll down to Join an upline agency

3. Click Add join code

4. Enter your agency's 6-digit captive join code

5. Click Save

Once joined, you'll see a banner on your Settings page confirming your connection:

What happens after joining:

Your agency admin can view and edit all of your Contact records.
If your agency has given Full Book access to other captive agents, they can view and edit all of your Contact records.
Your own experience doesn't change – you still have normal access to your Contacts.

Joining as an independent agent

Use this if you work with multiple upline agencies across different carriers.

1. Go to your Carriers page

2. Add or edit a carrier

3. In the carrier modal, you'll see a field for an independent join code

4. Enter your agency's 6-digit independent join code

5. Click Save

6. You can repeat this for different carriers with different agencies. (For example, you might join AgencyA for Devoted and AgencyB for Humana.)

What happens after joining:

The agency sees Contacts where you've submitted an enrollment, but only for the carrier(s) you've joined on – and only for enrollments submitted after you added the join code.
The data the agency sees is a snapshot captured at the time of enrollment submission – it won't change if you later edit the Contact.
The agency sees limited fields only: name, state, zip, and enrollment details. They cannot see your full contact details, drugs, providers, intake, SOA, etc.
You retain full ownership of your book of business.

What the agency cannot see:

Contacts with no enrollment for the joined carrier.
Enrollments submitted before you added their join code.
Enrollments for carriers you haven't connected to that agency.
Manually added enrollments or redirect enrollments.
Your ongoing edits to the contact after submission.

Here's an example of what your agency sees ⬇️

What happens after disconnecting from an agency:

The agency retains visibility into any enrollments that were already shared before the disconnect – those snapshots don't go away.
The agency will not see any new enrollments going forward.
You can reconnect later if needed, and new enrollments submitted after reconnecting will be shared again.

ℹ️ Independent connections are designed for downline trust:

Independent join codes are specifically designed so that your upline can track enrollment activity without gaining access to your full CRM.

You're sharing proof of enrollment, not your living book of business. And you're in control; connect or disconnect independent join codes whenever you like.

Joining as a captive sub-agency

Use this if your agency operates exclusively under a single upline agency.

1. Go to your Agency tab

2. In the Join captive upline section, click Add join code

3. Enter your upline agency's 6-digit captive join code

4. Click Save

Once joined, you'll see a confirmation banner that displays your connection:

What happens after joining:

Your upline gains read-only access into all Contact records in your agency, including those belonging to agents or sub-agencies. Your upline's access follows captive and independent access rules – see a description and diagram.
Your upline cannot edit your agency's contacts.
Your experience doesn't change; you retain control of your agency and contacts.

Joining as an independent sub-agency

Use this if your agency works with multiple uplines across different carriers.

1. Go to your Agency tab

2. In the Join independent uplines section, click Add join code

3. In the modal, select a carrier from the dropdown

4. Enter your upline agency's 6-digit independent join code

5. Click Save

After saving, a new row appears in your joined carriers table.

You can repeat this for different carriers – with the same upline or different uplines. For example, you might join Agency A for Devoted and Agency B for Humana.

What happens after joining:

When anyone in your downline submits an enrollment for the joined carrier, a snapshot of the contact data is shared with your upline.
The snapshot includes limited fields only: contact name, state, zip, and the enrollment record.
The snapshot is static – it reflects the data at the time of submission. If the agent later edits the contact, the upline's view doesn't change. Think of it like a receipt.
This access flows up the chain: if your upline has their own upline, and the carrier chain is unbroken, the grandparent agency sees it too – see a description and diagram.

What the upline cannot see:

Contacts with no enrollment for the joined carrier.
Enrollments submitted before you added their join code.
Enrollments for carriers you haven't connected to that agency.
Manually added enrollments or redirect enrollments.
Ongoing edits to the contact after submission.

Here's an example of what your upline agency sees ⬇️

What happens after disconnecting:

The agency retains visibility into any enrollments that were already shared before the disconnect – those snapshots don't go away.
The agency will not see any new enrollments going forward.
You can reconnect later if needed, and new enrollments submitted after reconnecting will be shared again.

ℹ️ Independent connections are designed for downline trust:

Independent join codes are specifically designed so that your upline can track enrollment activity without gaining access to your full CRM.

You're sharing proof of enrollment, not your living book of business. And you're in control; connect or disconnect independent join codes whenever you like.

FAQ

Can I be both captive and independent to an upline?

No. You can only have one type of upline connection at a time. If you have a captive upline, you can't also add independent uplines, and vice versa.

Can a downline agent account convert to an agency account?

For independent connections: No – but there's a workaround: you'll need to remove your independent join codes, then convert to an agency account, then add back your independent join codes from your Agency tab.

For captive connections: No – the workaround here: you'll need to disconnect your captive agent account from your agency (by emailing HealthSherpa agent support), then convert to an agency, then add back your captive join code from your Agency tab. It may be easier to create a new account, convert it to an agency account, then add back your captive join code from your Agency tab.

What if I switch from one agency to another?

For independent joins, you can remove one agency's join code and add another's. For captive joins, contact our Support team to disconnect, then add the new agency's captive join code.

Will my agency see my contacts if I haven't submitted any enrollments?

For independent joins, no – the agency only sees contacts tied to submitted enrollments for joined carriers. For captive joins, the agency sees all of your contacts regardless of enrollment status.

What if my agency is captive to an upline, but I have independent agents beneath me? Or what if my agency is independent to an upline, but I have captive agents beneath me?

Either way, your upline will see those contacts as independent access (limited, snapshot). Access never upgrades going up the chain, it can only stay the same or downgrade – the independent link in the chain sets the ceiling.