Approval chains & rules

An approval chain defines the path a record must travel to be approved: who signs, how many approvals each step needs, and — at the rule level — what each signature means. Chains are configured as approval rules, so approval follows your process rather than an ad-hoc routing.

Steps in a chain

A chain is made of ordered approval steps. Each step is a gate, so you can require, for example, an engineering sign-off, a quality sign-off, and a management sign-off. Whether steps must be signed strictly in order is a project option (sequential approval), not something each step decides. The record only completes when every step is satisfied.

Who signs each step

Each step specifies who can sign it. A step can be assigned to a specific individual user, to a group (any qualified member can sign), or to the item owner — whoever is responsible for the record. Using groups rather than named people keeps a chain robust as your team changes, while still controlling exactly who is allowed to approve.

How many approvals

A step sets the number of approvals it requires — its minimum approvals. One signature might be enough for some steps; others may require several, so a critical decision isn’t made by a single person. Steps are not individually marked required or optional.

The meaning of a signature

Crucially, a signature carries a meaning — what signing it actually attests to, such as “authored,” “reviewed,” or “approved.” The meaning is set at the rule level, not step by step. Recording meaning is a core regulatory requirement: a signature isn’t just a name on a record, it’s a statement of the signer’s responsibility. A custom label lets the meaning match your terminology.

From rule to record

Once chains are defined, they govern the records they apply to. When a record reaches a point that requires approval, its chain determines who must sign and what each signature means — and the act of signing itself is covered next in Signing & rejecting.