SLA not working for sysapproval_approver table

[Sirees]

Hi All,

I have a question regarding SLA configuration for approval records in ServiceNow.

In our setup, knowledge article approval workflows are creating records in the sysapproval_approver table. However, this table is not available for selection in SLA Definition, and it also does not extend the Task table in our instance.

Currently, SLA Definition only allows tables like sysapproval_group, but our workflow is not generating approval records in that table.

Due to this, we are unable to configure SLA using the standard SLA Definition approach for approval-based workflows.

Has anyone faced a similar scenario?

What would be the recommended approach to implement SLA for approval records in such cases:

Any suggestions would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance

[Huynh Loc]

Hi @Sirees 
Yes, this is a well-known ServiceNow limitation.
You cannot configure standard SLAs directly on approval records stored in the sysapproval_approver table, because:

• sysapproval_approver does not extend the Task table
• The SLA engine only works on Task or Task‑extended tables

Please refer to the document link for more details
https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/it-service-management/service-level-management/t_CreateAnSLADefini...


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[Mark Manders]

An SLA is an agreement defining the duration within something should be resolved/done. What is the purpose of having SLAs on Knowledge approval? What would happen if it breaches? 

Why not just simply go with notifications? If an article should be approved within 5 days, have a notification send after 3 with a reminder and another one with author in cc at 5 days.