# The different states a validator A validator can be in three states: * In the validator set: validator is in the active set and participants the consensus process. Validators can earn rewards and can be slashed for misbehaving. * Jailed: validator misbehaved and is in jail. If the jailing is offline for too long, the validator can send an unjail transaction in order to re-enter the validator set. If jailing because of a double sign, the validator cannot unjail. * Unbonded: validator not in the validator set, therefore not sign block, do not earn any reward. It is still possible to delegate KAI to this validator. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.kardiachain.io/docs/archived-docs/staking-overview/validator/the-different-states-a-validator.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.