How to send a Request back to last approver if the next approver has any queries ?

[sarthak92]

We have a use case that a Request should be sent back to last approver if the next approver has any queries/concerns on the Request. Example : If I raise a request and request is approved by my manager, in case my senior manager has any query, they can send back the request to my manager. Is something available OOB to achieve this or do we need customization ? please advise the solution to this.I went to the below article to roll back but it would roll back to entire request to 'Not yet Requested'. I just need to roll back to last approver.

 Article to roll back request : https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0538562

[DanS15549667307]

This should be the focus.  Identify reasons/missing information that may lead to secondary approvers requiring more info and ensure as much as possible that this is gathered up front.  Rejection/requesting more info is a thorny path - what info may be needed?  Who will ask for it?  Who will provide it?  How will that be communicated and to whom?  How will that be updated into the original RITM given licence restrictions?  It can get quite messy, quite quickly.

[Ankur Bawiskar]

@sarthak92 

No OOTB UI action etc is available, 

you can use Workflow rollback activity for this, this will re-generate the approval

Create Custom UI action on sc_req_item for this

Reset change request workflow, approvals, and tasks 

How to successfully roll-back / reset manual approver approval records (change workflow)? 

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[Ankur Bawiskar]

@sarthak92 

Hope you are doing good.

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[Tejas Adhalrao]

Hi @sarthak92  ,

There is no Out-of-the-Box (OOB) feature in ServiceNow that sends a request back to the previous approver only.

1) Create a new custom approval action "Send Back".

2)use sysapproval_approver table Track approval history  ,

when you click on the "Send back" change current approval state  and then track the previous approval for that record (you can get previous approver (order by created ) also you will get the comments ). 

3 ) and then create new record in sysapproval_approver table and send for the approval again.

let me know  if you will need help i with script

 If you found my solution helpful, please mark it as Helpful or Accepted Solution...!

thanks,

tejas

Email: adhalraotejas1018@gmail.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tejas1018

[Nayan ArchX]

What you want (“Senior manager can send the request back to the last approver for clarification, then it can return to the senior manager”) is not available out-of-box as a standard approval action for Service Catalog approvals.

• Workflow Editor has a Rollback capability, but it rolls the workflow back to a configured activity/point and will cancel/restart approvals in the rollback path—so it’s not a simple “send to last approver” button unless you designed your workflow with distinct approval steps that you can roll back to.

• Flow Designer does not provide an OOB “rollback” action; ServiceNow’s guidance is to implement rollback behavior via a design pattern (branches/subflows/tracking) instead.

So: You’ll need configuration + light customization (recommended), typically implemented with Flow Designer (or Workflow if you’re still on it).

Recommended solution (best practice): “Return to previous approver” via Flow/Workflow pattern

Key principle (audit-safe)

Don’t change the old “Approved” record back to “Requested”. Instead:

• Cancel the current pending approval

• Create a new approval for the previous approver (your manager)

• When they re-approve, recreate the senior manager approval and continue

This preserves an auditable trail in sysapproval_approver records.

---

Step-by-step (Flow Designer approach)

1) Capture the approval chain (so you know “previous approver”)

On the RITM/REQ (or your target record), store:

• u_last_approved_by (User reference)

• u_last_approval_sys_id (optional)

• u_return_reason (string/journal)

Update these when an approval is approved (you can do this when the approval record changes state).

2) Add a “Send back to previous approver” action for approvers

Create a UI Action (or Workspace action) on the approval form (table: sysapproval_approver) visible only when:

• approval state = requested

• user is the current approver

Button label examples:

• “Request clarification from previous approver”

• “Send back to prior approver”

When clicked, the script should:

1. Write the query/comments to the parent record (work notes / additional comments)

2. Set current approval record state to cancelled (or “no longer required” depending on your process)

3. Create a new approval record for u_last_approved_by (the previous approver)

4. Set a parent flag like u_approval_returned = true

(This matches common community patterns where flows “loop back” to earlier approvers using logic rather than platform rollback.)

3) In the Flow: loop the process back cleanly

Your approval flow should be sequential:

• Ask Approval: Manager

• Ask Approval: Senior Manager

• (continue…)

Add logic:

• If u_approval_returned = true:

  • Wait for the previous approver re-approval

  • Then re-trigger the senior manager approval (create a new approval record)

  • Reset u_approval_returned = false

ServiceNow explicitly notes Flow Designer rollback isn’t an OOB “action”; you implement rollback using flow logic/subflows/conditions.

4) User experience

• Senior manager clicks Send back

• Manager receives a new approval (with the question in context)

• Manager approves again (possibly after updating info)

• Senior manager receives a fresh approval to finalize

If my response has resolved your query, please consider giving it a thumbs up ‌‌ and marking it as the correct answer‌‌!

Thanks

Nayan Patel

IT ServiceNow Consult, ServiceNow ArchX

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