LearnDash handles course delivery. It doesn’t handle registration. By default, anyone who finds your site can sign up — no course enrollment, no role assignment, no custom fields. You control none of it.
The LearnDash add-on in User Registration & Membership fixes that.
You build a registration form with a course enrollment field, set whether users pick from a dropdown or tick multiple courses, and configure the form to automatically enroll them the moment they register.
No manual enrollment. No extra steps.
What this tutorial covers
- Installing the LearnDash add-on
- Configuring the LearnDash course field (all settings)
- Setting up automatic and conditional course enrollment
- Embedding the form and verifying enrollment
Requirements
- WordPress site with LearnDash installed and at least one course published
- User Registration & Membership Pro (Plus plan or higher)
- LearnDash add-on activated
Step 1 — Install User Registration & Membership Pro
Download the plugin ZIP from your WPEverest account dashboard under the Downloads tab.
In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, upload the ZIP, and activate.
For a full setup walkthrough, see how to install the User Registration plugin.
Step 2 — Activate the LearnDash Add-on
Go to User Registration & Membership → All Features (or Addons).
Search for LearnDash addon in the list and click Activate.
Once active, the LearnDash course field becomes available in the form builder, and a LearnDash LMS tab appears in Form Settings.
For full feature details, see the LearnDash Integration for User Registration & Membership.”
Step 3 — Build the Registration Form
Go to User Registration & Membership → Add New.
Choose Start from Scratch or pick a template. The default form includes Username, User Email, User Password, and Confirm Password.
Add any other fields your course requires by dragging them from the left panel.
When you’re ready to add course enrollment, scroll to Extra Fields in the field panel and click LearnDash Course.
For a full walkthrough of custom registration form, see how to build a conditional registration form in WordPress.
Step 4 — Configure the LearnDash Course Field
Most field settings (Label, Description, Required, Hide Label, Field Name, Tooltip) work identically to every other field in the form builder.
The two settings unique to the LearnDash course field are Field Type and Enroll Type.
Field Type
Controls how users interact with the course selection:
- Select — a dropdown. Users pick one course. Use this when you have multiple courses and want a compact form, or when each registrant should enroll in a single track.
- Checkbox — visible options users can tick. Multiple selections allowed. Use this when registrants can join more than one course at once, such as a bundle or a self-directed learning path.
Enroll Type
Determines what the selection field lists:
- Courses — shows individual LearnDash courses. Users enroll directly into a specific course on registration.
- Groups — shows LearnDash groups instead. Users enroll into a group, which grants access to every course inside it. Use Groups when you sell packaged access or run cohort programs where one purchase covers multiple courses.
Conditional Logic
Enable this to show or hide the course field based on another field’s value.
For example: A user who selects “Advanced” in a skill level dropdown sees Course B; a user who selects “Beginner” sees Course A.
For a full walkthrough of conditional logic across all field types, see how to build a conditional registration form in WordPress.
Step 5 — Configure Enrollment in Form Settings
The field controls what users see and select. Form Settings controls what happens when they submit.
Click Form Settings in the form builder, then open the LearnDash LMS tab.
Two options here:
Automatically enroll users into courses — select one or more courses from the list. Every user who submits this form gets enrolled immediately, regardless of what they selected in the course field. Use this for forms tied to a single course or a fixed onboarding path.
Conditionally assign courses upon registration — set enrollment rules based on field values. A user who selects “Advanced” in a dropdown gets enrolled in Course B; a user who selects “Beginner” gets enrolled in Course A. This is the setup for multi-track programs, tiered memberships, or role-based course access.
Both options can run together: auto-enroll everyone into a foundation course, then conditionally assign a specialization track based on their answers.
Step 6 — Embed the Form
Click Embed at the top of the form builder. Choose an existing page or create a new one.
The plugin inserts the form block automatically. Publish the page.
If you prefer shortcodes, copy the form shortcode from User Registration & Membership → All Forms and paste it into any page or post.
Step 7 — Test Enrollment
Register a test account using the form. Then go to LearnDash → Reports or the user’s profile in Users → All Users and confirm the course enrollment registered correctly.
For conditional enrollment, test each path separately — submit the form with each condition and verify the right course was assigned each time.
What Users See: Before and After Registration
This is the form student see when registering for your LearnDash site.
After registrations, student land on the My Account page (configure this under Form Settings → General).
The account page shows their enrolled courses alongside their profile details. They click through directly to the LearnDash course interface from there.
To set up the My Account page, add the User Registration shortcode to a WordPress page. Full instructions in the account profile documentation.
Common Setup Decisions
Select vs Checkbox — use Select for a single-course enrollment form, Checkbox when users can join multiple courses at once. Checkbox works well for course bundles; Select works better for focused onboarding.
Courses vs Groups — use Courses for straightforward individual enrollment. Use Groups when you sell packaged access (e.g. “All Marketing Courses” as a single purchase that contains five courses).
Auto-enroll vs Conditional — auto-enroll is simpler and right for single-course sites. Conditional enrollment is worth the setup time if you have more than two course tracks or sell tiered access.