Why Approval Policies
Approval policies define who needs to review and approve content before it's published. Once you create a policy, you can apply it to documents, risk assessments, or form submissions so they go through proper review. This keeps quality high, ensures compliance, and creates an audit trail. You'll need to know who should approve, how many stages your process needs, and how many approvals are required at each stage.
How to Create an Approval Policy
Go to Settings > Governance and select the Approval Policies tab
Click New Template
Enter a Template Name (e.g. "Health & Safety Policy Review" or "Risk Assessment Approval")
(Optional) Add a Description explaining when to use this policy—helps content authors choose the right one
Configure your first stage:
Give it a Stage Name (e.g. "Department Manager Review")
Add Approvers using the selector—you can add individual users and/or groups
Set Required approvals (1 = any single approver can advance; 2+ = consensus; all = everyone must approve)
Click Add Another Stage for multi-stage workflows—stages run in order from top to bottom
You can reorder stages by editing and saving
(Optional) If your site has child sites, toggle Share with child sites to let them use this policy—they can't edit or delete it
Click Create Template
Your new approval policy appears in the list and is ready to assign to content.
Before You Start
You need the Manager or Admin role for your site to create approval policies. If you don't see the governance settings, contact your site administrator.
Common Questions
How many approval policies should I create? Create as many as you need for different content types. Most organizations start with 2–4 (e.g. simple procedure approval, standard policy review, critical document approval).
Can I test a policy before using it? Yes—create a test document, assign the policy, and submit for approval to see how the workflow progresses and who gets notified.
What happens if I remove someone from a group that's an approver? They'll no longer receive approval notifications for new workflows. In-progress workflows where they're already assigned will continue to include them.
Can I delete a policy? You can't delete a policy if it's assigned to active content or has in-progress workflows. Reassign or complete those first.