Where to find your pending connection requests
Your pending connections are the people you've sent requests to who haven't yet accepted or declined. To see them, open LinkedIn and click the My Network icon in the top navigation bar — it looks like two people. From there, select Connections from the dropdown menu.
Once you're in your Connections section, look for a tab or filter labeled Pending or Pending Invitations. This shows every request you've sent that's still waiting for a response. The list displays the person's name, headline, and how long ago you sent the request.
On mobile, the process is nearly identical. Tap the My Network icon at the bottom of the screen, then tap Manage my network, and look for the pending requests section. The layout differs slightly from desktop, but the information is the same.
Key Takeaways
- Your pending connections live in the My Network section under a Pending or Pending Invitations tab that shows requests you've sent but haven't received responses to yet.
- You can withdraw a pending request at any time by clicking the X or Remove button next to the person's name, and they won't be notified that you withdrew it.
- LinkedIn doesn't tell you why someone declined your request, and you cannot resend a request to the same person for at least six months after they decline.
- Pending requests don't expire — they stay in your pending list indefinitely unless you withdraw them or the other person responds.
- The pending list is private; other people cannot see who you've sent requests to or which requests are still waiting.
How to withdraw a pending connection request
If you change your mind about connecting with someone, you can remove the request before they respond. Find the person's name in your pending list, then click the X button or Withdraw option next to their name. The request disappears from your pending list when ready.
The other person won't receive a notification that you withdrew the request. From their perspective, the request straightforward never arrived or will vanish from their inbox. You can send a new request to the same person, but LinkedIn typically enforces a waiting period of several months before allowing you to try again.
What happens when someone accepts or declines
When someone accepts your request, they move from your pending list to your active connections. You'll see a notification at the top of LinkedIn saying they accepted, and you can now message them directly without restrictions.
If someone declines your request, it disappears from your pending list. LinkedIn doesn't tell you who declined or why — the request straightforward vanishes. You won't be able to send another request to that person for several months. If you try to send a new request too soon, LinkedIn will show you an error message saying you've already sent a request to this person.
Why requests stay pending and what to do about them
A request stays pending because the other person hasn't opened their inbox, hasn't reviewed your profile, or has straightforward chosen not to respond. LinkedIn doesn't have a time limit on pending requests — they can sit in your pending list for years unless you withdraw them or the person responds.
If you've sent dozens of requests and many are still pending after weeks or months, consider withdrawing the oldest ones. This keeps your pending list manageable and removes requests to people who may no longer be active on LinkedIn. There's no penalty for having pending requests, but a cleaner list makes it easier to track who you're actually waiting to hear from.
How pending requests affect your profile visibility
Sending a connection request doesn't change how visible your profile is to that person. They can see your full profile whether you've sent a request or not — unless you've set your profile to private, which is a separate privacy setting. The request itself is just a notification that you want to connect.
Your pending requests are not visible to other people. No one can see a list of who you've tried to connect with or which requests are still waiting. This is true even for people who are already your connections — they cannot see your pending list.
Limits on how many pending requests you can have
LinkedIn doesn't publish an exact limit on pending requests, but the platform does throttle connection requests if you send too many in a short time. If you send requests to dozens of people in a single day, LinkedIn may temporarily prevent you from sending more requests for a few hours or days.
This throttling is designed to prevent spam and protect inactive accounts. If you're building your network legitimately, sending a handful of requests per day should never trigger this limit. If you're sending requests in bulk to people you don't know, you may hit the limit and see a message saying you've reached your connection request limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I see who declined my connection request?
No. LinkedIn doesn't tell you who declined or provide any notification when someone declines. The request straightforward disappears from your pending list. You won't know whether they declined, ignored it, or never saw it.
How long does a pending request stay in my list?
Pending requests don't expire. They remain in your pending list indefinitely until the other person accepts, declines, or you withdraw the request. Some people may have hundreds of pending requests sitting for years.
Can I send a new request to someone who declined mine?
Not when ready. LinkedIn enforces a waiting period — usually several months — before you can send another request to the same person. If you try too soon, you'll see an error message saying you've already sent a request.
Will someone know if I withdraw my pending request?
No. Withdrawing a request sends no notification to the other person. From their perspective, the request either never arrived or will disappear from their inbox without explanation.
Does having pending requests hurt my profile or account?
No. Pending requests don't affect your profile visibility, your ability to message people, or your account standing. The only consequence of sending too many requests too quickly is temporary throttling that prevents you from sending more for a few hours.