Delegate a Review to a Sub-Reviewer

If you're unable to complete a review, you can invite a sub-reviewer to handle it on your behalf. The sub-reviewer goes through the same assignment workflow as any other reviewer — they see it in My Assignments, accept it, and write the review.

Track setting required

Sub-reviewers must be enabled by the track chair. If you don't see the "Invite Sub-Reviewer" card on your assignment page, this feature is not enabled for your track.

Prerequisites

You must have accepted the review assignment
The track must have sub-reviewers enabled
You can only invite one sub-reviewer per assignment
Sub-reviewers cannot invite further sub-reviewers (one level only)

Invite a Sub-Reviewer

Go to Reviews → My Assignments in the sidebar
Accept the assignment if you haven't already
Click "Write Review" to open the assignment page
Above the review form, locate the purple Sub-Reviewer card and click "Invite Sub-Reviewer"

Sub-Reviewer invitation card on assignment page

Enter the sub-reviewer's email address and an optional personal message
Click "Send Invitation"

The sub-reviewer will receive an email notification. They will also see the assignment in their My Assignments page with a "Delegated by [your name]" badge — so they can find it even if the email goes to junk.

Track Your Delegation

After inviting, you'll see a status card on the assignment page:

Status	Meaning	Your Options
Pending	Sub-reviewer hasn't responded yet	Cancel the invitation
Accepted	Sub-reviewer is working on the review	Cancel (before they submit)
Declined	Sub-reviewer declined	Invite someone else, or write the review yourself

Cancel a Delegation

You can cancel the delegation before the sub-reviewer starts writing their review:

Go to the assignment page where you sent the invitation — either from My Reviews (click "Manage") or My Assignments
Click "Cancel" on the status card
Your assignment returns to Accepted status — you can write the review yourself or invite someone else

Cannot cancel after review starts

Once the sub-reviewer has any review data (even a draft), the delegation cannot be cancelled. This ensures no review work is lost.

View the Sub-Review

Once you delegate, the My Reviews page shows the delegation status:

A "Delegated" badge on the assignment row
The sub-reviewer's name and email below the paper title
A "Manage" button linking to the assignment page (before the sub-review is submitted)
A "Sub-Review" button to view the completed review (after submission)

The review page shows a read-only view with the sub-reviewer's scores and comments. You cannot edit the sub-review — only the sub-reviewer can update it.

Sub-Reviewer's Experience

When you're invited as a sub-reviewer, the experience is identical to a regular review assignment:

You receive an email titled "Sub-Review Delegation" with the paper details and who delegated it
The assignment appears in My Assignments with a "Delegated by [name]" badge

Accept or Decline the assignment as usual
If you accept, click "Write Review" and complete the review form
The review page and edit page show a notice: "This review was delegated to you by [name]"
Submit the review — the original reviewer will be notified

Important Notes

You cannot invite yourself as a sub-reviewer
Sub-reviewers are marked with a "Sub-reviewer" badge visible to track chairs
The original reviewer is still responsible for ensuring the review is completed on time — track chairs contact the original reviewer, not the sub-reviewer, for reminders