Need to change the approver for the existing record

suuriyas
Tera Contributor

HI Community,

 

I have a requirement, we have table called X case in this table for a particular record the approval is already generated and currently in requested state  but now the client want it to send it to different approver. we are using flow designer

By clicking on edit button and change the user wont help right even if we do so and new user approved  the flow will be struck

suuriyas_1-1748439095830.png

 

 

 

How can we do this what is the best way to approach this

3 REPLIES 3

Dr Atul G- LNG
Tera Patron
Tera Patron

Hi @suuriyas As far as I know, once an approval is triggered, you can cancel it. If you want to add a new one, you need to use the manual approval activity in the flow (if I remember the correct name). Then, the system will check and validate it. Otherwise, you can add it manually and move the state to "requested" manually, but the system will not check if the newly added approval is approved or not.

*************************************************************************************************************
If my response proves useful, please indicate its helpfulness by selecting " Accept as Solution" and " Helpful." This action benefits both the community and me.

Regards
Dr. Atul G. - Learn N Grow Together
ServiceNow Techno - Functional Trainer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dratulgrover
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LearnNGrowTogetherwithAtulG
Topmate: https://topmate.io/atul_grover_lng [ Connect for 1-1 Session]

****************************************************************************************************************

Ankur Bawiskar
Tera Patron
Tera Patron

@suuriyas 

that's correct.

That's not how you handle the requirement.

You will have to discuss with your customer about the approach, do the changes in DEV then test it and then deploy to production.

You will also have to discuss what should happen for the approval records already generated, if they are in requested then cancel them

If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.

Regards,
Ankur
Certified Technical Architect  ||  9x ServiceNow MVP  ||  ServiceNow Community Leader

Roshnee Dash
Tera Guru

Why Editing the Approver Doesn't Work

When an approval is generated by Flow Designer:

  • The approval record (sysapproval_approver) is tied to the flow execution context.
  • Simply changing the approver field does not re-trigger the flow logic.
  • The flow remains in a "waiting for approval" state, expecting the original approver to respond.

You Can try like this

Option 1: Cancel and Recreate the Approval

  1. Cancel the existing approval:
    • Set the state of the current sysapproval_approver record to cancelled.
  2. Trigger a new approval:
    • Either by:
      • Re-triggering the flow (if it's designed to handle re-approvals), or
      • Creating a new approval record manually or via a subflow.

Option 2: Use a Subflow for Approvals

If you're designing the flow:

  • Move the approval logic into a subflow.
  • When a change in approver is needed:
    • Cancel the current approval.
    • Call the subflow again with the new approver.

Option 3: Use Flow Designer Action to Reassign Approver

If you're using the "Wait for Approval" action in Flow Designer:

  • You can dynamically assign the approver using a variable or script.
  • If reassignment is needed mid-way:
    • Cancel the current approval.
    • Use a "Call Subflow" or "Create Approval" action to assign a new one.

Regards,
Roshnee

Your feedback makes the community stronger! If you found this helpful, marking it as the correct answer helps others.
Stay awesome,
Roshnee Dash