Manual Approvals workflow activity

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Manual Approvals workflow activity

    The Manual Approvals workflow activity in ServiceNow monitors and manages approvals added manually by users outside the automated workflow process. It specifically targets approvals in the "Not requested" state on tables extending the Task table. This activity does not create approval records but pauses the workflow until manually added approvals are resolved, enabling workflows to wait for external user decisions before proceeding.

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    Key Features

    • Approval Monitoring: Watches for manual approvals added to records and only acts on those in the Not requested state.
    • Workflow Pausing: Pauses workflow execution until the manual approval is completed (approved, rejected, or otherwise resolved).
    • Result Handling: By default, the activity result reflects the final approval outcome (Approved, Rejected, Deleted, Cancelled, Error), with optional scripting to assign custom results.
    • Input Variables: Configure behavior including:
      • Wait for: Determines whether the activity completes on any single approval, all approvals, or the first response (approval or rejection).
      • When anyone rejects: Defines whether the activity immediately rejects upon any rejection or waits for other responses before deciding.
    • State Management: Tracks the lifecycle of the activity through states such as Executing, Waiting, Finished, Cancelled, and Error to guide workflow engine actions.
    • Transition Conditions: Supports workflow branching based on approval outcomes - Approved or Rejected conditions control subsequent workflow paths.

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    ServiceNow customers can use the Manual Approvals activity to integrate user-driven manual approval steps seamlessly into automated workflows running on task-based records. This ensures that workflows can wait appropriately for manual inputs without prematurely proceeding. The configurable inputs allow tailoring approval logic to organizational policies, such as whether one approval suffices or consensus is required, and how to handle rejections. Understanding the activity states and result values helps administrators and developers monitor workflow progress and handle exceptions effectively.

    The Manual Approvals activity watches and manages any approvals that users add manually outside of the workflow process. This activity only selects approvals that are in the Not requested state.

    Note:
    This activity is only available when the workflow runs on a table that extends Task.

    If there are no pending manual approvals when this activity executes, the activity immediately completes with a result of approved. This activity does not create approval records. Use this activity to pause the workflow when a user adds a manual approval to a record with an associated workflow, and it is in the Not requested state. The workflow waits for the approval to be closed before proceeding.

    Results

    The workflow designer can assign a result value using activity.result from within a script field of the activity. By default, the result value of the activity is the final approval disposition determined by the approval actions take by the approvers. Possible result values are:
    • Approved
    • Rejected
    • Deleted
    • Cancelled
    • Error

    Input variables

    Input variables determine the initial behavior of the activity.

    Table 1. Manual Approvals activity input variables
    Field Description
    Wait for
    Indicate what to wait for to indicate that the approval activity is approved or rejected. Options are:
    • Any manual user or group approval: Any user can approve and the first approval causes the activity to complete with a result of approved.
    • All manual user or group approvals: All users must approve (see below for how a rejection is handled).
    • The first response from any manual approval: The first approval or rejection from any user causes the activity to complete.
    When anyone rejects
    Indicate what happens when any user rejects their approval request. Options are:
    • Reject the approval: Immediately complete the activity with a result of rejected.
    • Wait for other responses before deciding: Wait until we get other responses before making an approval or rejection decision. This allows users to change their mind until a decision is made.

    In addition, if Wait for is set to Anyone to approve then a single approval will cause the activity to complete with a result of approved even if one or more users reject.

    Conditions

    The conditions determine which transition runs after this activity.
    Note:
    Approval activities run as the user whose actions match the approve or reject conditions the workflow was waiting for and advances the workflow.
    Table 2. Manual Approvals activity conditions
    Condition Description
    Approved The users from the groups have approved the request based on the Wait for rules.
    Rejected The users from the groups have rejected the request based on the Wait for rules.

    States

    The activity state tells the workflow engine what to do with the activity.
    Table 3. Manual Approvals activity states
    State Description
    Executing The workflow engine starts the execute function of the activity.
    Waiting The workflow engine ignores the activity until a specific event to restart the activity is fired.
    Finished The activity finished running. See the result value for the outcome of the activity.
    Cancelled This activity, or the workflow that contains this activity, was canceled.
    Error A JavaScript error occurred. Review the logs for error details.