Review schedules determine when content is due for review and how the review cycle repeats over time. Understanding how review intervals and due dates work helps you plan effective review processes and ensure content stays current.

When you assign a review policy to content, CalmCompliance creates a review schedule that automatically:

This creates a recurring cycle with no manual tracking needed.

When you assign a review policy to content, the first review due date is calculated by adding the policy's interval to the current date.

Example 1: Annual review

Example 2: Quarterly review

Example 3: Six-month review

The content won't need reviewing until that calculated due date arrives.

When you publish new content with a review policy assigned:

Example: You publish a new safety policy on April 1 with an annual review policy. The first review is due April 1 of the following year.

Why this makes sense: Newly created content is already current—it doesn't need immediate review.

When you add a review policy to existing published content:

Example: You add a 6-month review policy to a document published 2 years ago. The first review is due 6 months from now, not immediately.

If you want immediate review: Create an ad-hoc review instead of (or in addition to) assigning a review policy. See Managing Review Cycles for details on ad-hoc reviews.

Review intervals define how much time passes between reviews. CalmCompliance supports flexible interval formats.

You can specify intervals in:

Months:

Years:

Tip: Use whichever format is clearest. "12 months" and "1 year" produce the same result.

When calculating due dates, CalmCompliance:

Example calculation (6-month interval):

Example calculation (1-year interval):

Consider these factors when choosing review intervals:

Regulatory requirements:

Rate of change:

Risk level:

Resource availability:

Organizational standards:

Here's what happens over a complete review cycle:

Step 1: Policy Assigned

Step 2: Review Due

Step 3: Review Completed

Step 4: Cycle Repeats

Example cycle (6-month interval):

Notice the dates shift slightly based on when reviews are actually completed.

Over time, review due dates may drift from the original date if reviews aren't completed exactly on the due date.

Example:

Is this a problem? Usually not. The important thing is that reviews happen approximately on schedule.

If you need consistent dates: Consider calculating due dates from a fixed start date rather than last review completion. Contact your administrator if this is important for your compliance needs.

When you edit a review policy and change its interval:

What happens immediately:

Example:

Important: This recalculation affects ALL content using the policy, so consider the impact before making changes.

Good reasons to change:

Caution:

Instead of changing a policy interval, you can reassign content to a different policy with a different interval.

Steps:

What happens:

Example:

You can remove a review policy from content entirely:

Steps:

What happens:

When to remove:

When viewing your content:

This helps you:

When assigned as a review recipient:

Administrators can:

Don't overcomplicate initially:

Adjust based on experience.

Match review intervals to regulatory requirements:

This makes compliance tracking easier.

Avoid scheduling everything at once:

Example: Instead of assigning all policies to annual review in January:

Review your review policies themselves:

Make sure reviewers know what to check:

Can I set a specific review due date instead of an interval?

Not directly. Review policies use intervals to create recurring schedules. If you need a specific one-time review by a certain date, create an ad-hoc review with that due date instead.

What happens if a review is completed late?

The next review due date is calculated from the completion date, not the original due date. This means the schedule shifts forward. The content is still reviewed on the correct interval, just offset from the original date.

Can I have different reviewers review at different intervals?

No. A review policy has one interval that applies to all reviewers. If you need different people reviewing at different frequencies, assign multiple ad-hoc reviews or create separate content for each review schedule.

How far in advance do reviewers get notified?

Notifications are sent when the due date arrives. If you want advance warning, you'll need to check upcoming reviews manually or set up reporting.

Can I pause a review schedule temporarily?

Yes, by removing the review policy assignment from the content. When you're ready to resume, reassign the policy and the schedule restarts.

What if I want monthly or weekly reviews?

Use "1 month" interval for monthly. For weekly reviews, you might need to create ad-hoc reviews or use a different tracking method, as weekly reviews are very frequent and may not suit the scheduled review model.

How do I sync all reviews to the same date?

You'd need to manually adjust when policies are assigned or when reviews are completed. There's no automatic synchronization to a specific date. For most purposes, having reviews on slightly different dates is fine and actually helps distribute workload.

Now that you understand review schedules:

For one-time approvals before publication, see Understanding Approval Workflows.