Understanding approvals and how they work

<body>
<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Approvals are requests that are made on behalf of other agents and end users. When an approval request is created, it is sent to the assigned approver. Approvers are other agents or end users who have the authority to review the request information and make a decision.</p>
<div class="article-banners">
<div id="docs-wmp-link">
<a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5411234991258-plan" rel="noopener" target="_blank">What's my plan?</a>
</div>

<div class="article-banner" id="suite_cs_pee">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<strong>Customer Service Suite</strong>
</td>
<td>Professional, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>

<div class="article-banner" id="suite_es_gpee">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<strong>Employee Service Suite</strong>
</td>
<td>Growth, Professional, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>

</div>
<div id="docs-ai-summary">
<p id="docs-ai-summary-toggle">Summary: <span id="up-triangle">◀</span><span id="down-triangle">▼</span></p>
<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">Approvals let you request and track authorization from agents or end users within ticket workflows, improving efficiency and compliance. You create approval requests for review by designated approvers who respond via the Agent Workspace or help center. Approval status is tracked on tickets and can be reported on. Use approvals for tasks like refunds, access requests, and employee changes to maintain quality control and transparency.</p>
</div>

<div class="body">

<p class="p">Approvals are requests that are made on behalf of other agents and end users.
When an approval request is created, it is sent to the assigned approver.
Approvers are other agents or end users who have the authority to review the
request information and make a decision. </p>
<div class="p">Incorporating approvals into your ticket workflow can:<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_slx_nhs_tdc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Increase agent efficiency by removing the need for
manual interventions or dependence on external
applications.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Ensure compliance by recording approval decisions
within Zendesk to ensure adherence to your organization’s
compliance policies.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Maintain quality control by adding an approval step
into your organization’s standard operating procedures.</li>
<li class="li">Provide transparency on the approval request's status to the
approval requester, approver, and the assignee of the
associated ticket.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">This article provides an overview of approvals and how they work in Zendesk. It
describes who can make approval requests, who can approve requests, and
examples of how approvals are used in both customer service and employee
service cases.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">This article contains the following topics:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_cwl_bhs_tdc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="#topic_j5n_3hs_tdc">About the
approval request process</a></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="#topic_zyc_whs_tdc">Understanding
who makes requests and who approves requests</a></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="#topic_fwz_43s_tdc">Approval request
examples</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_sph_kcj_cgc">Reporting on approval requests</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ndd_xst_yfc">Approval request resources</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_hml_fqj_cgc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Considerations for approval requests</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">Before using approval requests, consider the following limitations:<ul class="ul" id="topic_hml_fqj_cgc__ul_l3q_gqj_cgc">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Limitations.</strong>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_hml_fqj_cgc__ul_bk2_3xc_53c">
<li class="li">A ticket can have a maximum of 50 inactive
approval requests. When this limit is reached, no
new approval requests can be created for the
ticket.</li>
<li class="li">Agent approvers can respond to approval
requests with a comment. Each approval request can
have a maximum of 40 comments, and each comment on
an approval request can be a maximum of 500
characters.</li>
<li class="li">Approval requests can be opened on tickets
with a status of new, open, pending, or on-hold
only. Approval requests can't be created on solved
or closed tickets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Approval status ticket field.</strong> For accounts that
have more than one ticket form, the approval status
field must be manually <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883152794" target="_blank">added to ticket
forms</a>.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Help center requirements.</strong> For end users to be
able to access approval requests assigned to them,
your help center must be on the latest version of
the standard Copenhagen theme or you must <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408832681626#topic_xrf_2r4_yfc" target="_blank">manually update
your custom theme</a>.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Permissions.</strong> On Growth and Professional plans,
admins and agents automatically have permission to
create approval requests. On Enterprise and
Enterprise Plus plans, admins and any custom roles
created after approvals is turned on have permission
to create approval requests by default. However,
existing custom roles when approvals is turned on
won't have permission to create approval requests
until the role's permissions are updated to select
<em class="ph i">Create approval requests</em>. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408882153882#topic_tep_mig_bd" target="_blank">Permissions that
agents in custom roles can have</a>.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Action flows and APIs.</strong> Approval requests can be
created through the <a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/ticketing/approvals/approval_requests" target="_blank">Approval Requests
API</a> and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8855601898266" target="_blank">action flows</a>
regardless of whether agents are allowed to manually
create approval requests. Approval requests created
through the API and action flows can be withdrawn by
admins and some agents, depending on their
permissions. Approval requests created by the API
have a <em class="ph i">Sent by</em> value of <em class="ph i">API</em>; approval
requests created by action flows have a <em class="ph i">Sent
by</em> value of <em class="ph i">Action flow</em>.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Approval requests in Slack</strong>: Approval requests can
be surfaced in Slack to make it easier for assigned
approvers to respond quickly. From Slack, approval
requests can be approved or denied. Approval
requests can't be created, withdrawn, or commented
on through Slack.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_j5n_3hs_tdc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Understanding the approval request lifecycle</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">The main steps of the approval request process consist of the
following:</p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_j5n_3hs_tdc__ol_e5n_rhs_tdc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">An agent <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8481158639770" target="_blank">creates an approval
request</a> from a ticket in the Agent Workspace.
Within the request, the agent designates another agent or an
end user as the approver.<p class="p">After an approval request is
created, the ticket associated with it can't be
closed until the approver responds or the request is
withdrawn.</p>
</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">The approver receives an email notification that they
have an approval request to review.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">The approver then <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8481193191322" target="_blank">responds to the
request</a> by approving or denying. Agent
approvers also have the option to respond with a comment.
<p class="p">Agent approvers respond to approval requests in
the Agent Workspace. End user-approvers must respond
to requests from the help center.</p>
</li>
<li class="li"> The agent who created the approval request receives the
approver’s response.</li>
</ol>
<p class="p">The image below illustrates an overview of the approvals workflow:</p>
<div class="p">
<img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_j5n_3hs_tdc__image_nyy_5hs_tdc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/es_approvals_workflow_chart2.png" width="800"><div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> It's also
possible for the agent who requested the approval and the
agent assigned to the ticket to withdraw an approval request
prior to the approver responding to it.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_zyc_whs_tdc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Understanding who makes requests and who approves requests</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Approval requests are always created by agents. Typically,
agents submit approval requests on behalf of other agents and end
users when a ticket assigned to them requires approval from someone
else. For example, tickets requesting access to software or tickets
requesting refunds beyond a certain threshold. When the agent <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8481158639770" target="_blank">creates requests</a> on
tickets they’re working on from the Agent Workspace and sends them
to approvers.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Approvers are users who have the authority to review approval
request information and make a decision. They respond to approval
requests, but are not solving the ticket. Both agents and end users
can be approvers.</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_zyc_whs_tdc__ul_qyb_l3s_tdc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">On Zendesk Employee Service Suite Growth plans and
above, all agents and end users are employees of the same
organization. In this context, agents are employees with an
agent seat and can access the Agent Workspace in Zendesk
Support to respond to approvals. End users, or employees
without an agent seat, have access to your organization's
internal help center where they can respond to
approvals.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">On Customer Service Suite Professional plans and
above, agents respond to approval requests from the Agent
Workspace. In this context, end users are the requesters and
are generally not part of the same organization as the
agent. However, both agents and end users can still be
approvers, with agents responding to requests in the Agent
Workspace and end users responding through the help
center.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8481193191322" target="_blank">Responding to an approval
request</a> to learn more.</p>
<div class="note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> For end users to be able to respond to approval requests in your help
center, you must update its theme. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8841434696218" target="_blank">Updating your theme with EAP
features</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_fwz_43s_tdc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Approval request examples</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Depending on how your organization uses Zendesk, you can use approvals
for both customer service and employee service needs. </p>
<p class="p">Some examples of how you may want to use approvals include:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_fwz_43s_tdc__ul_ygb_s3s_tdc">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Software and hardware procurement and
access</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Employee promotions or job changes</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Long-term leave requests</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Payroll issues</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Refunds</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">For example, say your organization uses the Employee Service Suite. A new employee in your
company needs access to software and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9443951695514" target="_blank">submits a service
request</a> through the service catalog. An employee with
an agent seat can create an approval request associated with the
service request's ticket on behalf of the new employee in the Agent
Workspace and send it to an approver for review. In this example,
the approver could be the new employee’s manager or another employee
in your IT department. The other employee may or may not have an
agent seat. </p>
<p class="p">Alternatively, if your organization uses the Customer Service Suite, you
can request approvals to resolve customer service tickets. For
example, an agent has been assigned a ticket requesting a refund.
They need authorization to proceed with the end user's refund, so
the agent creates an approval request and sends it to an approver in
your organization, such as the agent's team lead.</p>
<p class="p">In all of the examples above, the approval decisions are tracked in the
approval request on the ticket and in the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829602970" target="_blank">ticket events</a> so that
you can keep track of approvals in your organization.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_fwz_43s_tdc__image_usg_djs_tdc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/es_approvals_ticket_messages.png" width="600"></p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_sph_kcj_cgc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Reporting on approval requests</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">When approval requests are turned on for an account, a new ticket field
is created: <strong class="ph b">Approval status</strong>. This field automatically
reflects the status of an approval request associated with the
ticket and can be used in Explore reporting. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824384538" target="_blank">Reporting with custom
fields</a>.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ndd_xst_yfc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title7">Approval request resources</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">To learn more about turning on and using approval requests, see:<ul class="ul" id="topic_ndd_xst_yfc__ul_hpz_ghs_tdc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9475816348442" target="_blank">Turning on and
configuring manually-created approval
requests</a></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8481158639770" target="_blank">Creating approval
requests</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9483757385114" target="_blank">Viewing and
withdrawing approval requests</a></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8481193191322" target="_blank">Responding to an
approval request as an agent</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408837910426#topic_ay1_m3h_zfc" target="_blank">Responding to
approval requests as an end user</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10831442210074" target="_blank">Recipe: Creating
human-in-the-loop automated approval
workflows</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<script id="docs-schema-markup" type="application/ld+json">{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "TechArticle",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8481179038490-Understanding-approvals-and-how-they-work",
"url": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8481179038490-Understanding-approvals-and-how-they-work",
"headline": "Understanding approvals and how they work",
"description": "You can manage approval requests within ticket workflows to ensure compliance, maintain quality control, and track approval decisions by assigning approvers who review and respond to requests in the system.",
"articleSection": "Ticket management",
"datePublished": "2024-12-03T23:38:03+00:00",
"dateModified": "2026-09-01T00:42:46.950868+00:00",
"inLanguage": "en-US",
"mainEntityOfPage": {
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8481179038490-Understanding-approvals-and-how-they-work"
},
"author": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Zendesk",
"url": "https://www.zendesk.com"
},
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Zendesk"
},
"isPartOf": {
"@type": "WebSite",
"name": "Zendesk Help",
"url": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us"
},
"about": {
"@type": "SoftwareApplication",
"name": "Zendesk"
}
}</script><script id="ai-summary-script">
//<![CDATA[
const ai_summary_style = document.createElement('style');
ai_summary_style.innerHTML = `#styled-article-body{padding:0 0 0}#article-body #docs-ai-summary{background-color:#f3f3f3;border:1px solid #d3d3d3;padding:10px 10px 6px;margin-bottom:16px}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle{font-size:.9em;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:4px;cursor:pointer;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle #up-triangle{margin-left:auto;padding-right:10px;display:none}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle #down-triangle{margin-left:auto;padding-right:10px}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-content{font-size:.9em;padding-left:25px;padding-right:25px;margin-bottom:12px}`;
document.head.appendChild(ai_summary_style);

const toggleAISummary = () => {
const summary = document.getElementById("docs-ai-summary-content");
const upTriangle = document.getElementById("up-triangle");
const downTriangle = document.getElementById("down-triangle");
if (summary.style.display === "none") {
summary.style.display = "block";
upTriangle.style.display = "none";
downTriangle.style.display = "inline";
} else {
summary.style.display = "none";
upTriangle.style.display = "inline";
downTriangle.style.display = "none";
}
};

document.getElementById("docs-ai-summary-toggle").addEventListener("click", toggleAISummary);
//]]>
</script>
</body>