Introduction to approval flows

  • 1 minute

Approval flows let you route work items to one or more reviewers, capture their decisions, and automatically take the next action, all without manual follow-up. Whether you're reviewing documents, processing requests, or enforcing a compliance step, approval flows replace email chains with a structured, auditable process.

The Approvals connector

Power Automate includes a built-in Approvals connector that manages the full lifecycle of an approval request. It's a standard-tier connector, included in Microsoft 365 licenses at no extra cost.

Unlike most connectors, the Approvals connector has no trigger, so it can't start a flow on its own. Instead, you use approval actions as steps inside a flow that's triggered by something else, such as a new file in SharePoint or a new row in Dataverse. Four actions are available:

  • Create an approval: starts an approval process without waiting for a response. Pair it with Wait for an approval when you need the flow to pause until the approval resolves.
  • Start and wait for an approval: starts the approval and pauses the flow until all required responses arrive. This is the most common action for straightforward approval scenarios.
  • Start and wait for an approval of text: similar to the previous action, but lets approvers view and edit a block of text before responding.
  • Wait for an approval: used with Create an approval to resume the flow once the approval is complete.

Approval types and responses

When you configure an approval, you choose a response type:

  • Approve/Reject: approvers see Approve and Reject buttons. Require a unanimous decision with Everyone must approve, or accept the first response with First to respond.
  • Custom responses: define your own options, such as Needs revision or Escalate, giving you more control over how the flow branches afterward.

After an approver responds, the flow resumes and the Outcome field becomes available as dynamic content. A condition step reads that outcome and routes the flow to the appropriate branch — for example, keeping an approved document in place or moving a rejected one to a separate folder.

What you'll build

In this module, you build two types of process automation:

  • An approval flow that routes new SharePoint documents for review and moves rejected documents to a separate folder.
  • A business process flow that guides users through a structured, multi-stage process in a model-driven app, including a branching version that adapts based on conditions.