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# Document Approvals

# ✅ **Document Approvals**  
> **"Make it official, keep it auditable."**  
> *Collect approval traces for policies, risks, and other critical documents.*  

Document approvals provide an **auditable record** of which manager or stakeholder approved which version of a document (e.g., *policies, risk acceptance, meeting minutes*).  

When a new [version](https://docs.brainframe.com/en/article/document-versioning-5ikgy4/) is assigned and the [document type](https://docs.brainframe.com/en/article/document-types-templates-lssmkc/) has an approval workflow configured (e.g., *policies and procedures*), the **approval stages** appear with **Approve** and **Reject** buttons.  

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/3/f/2/6/3f26ce462760bc00/screenshot-2026-07-07-at-11232_1uhtebx.png =1115xauto)
---

## 1️⃣ Approving or Rejecting a Document  

* If no user is pre-assigned for the first stage, you will see **Approve** and **Reject** buttons to move between approval phases.  
* On your **first approval/rejection**, you will be prompted to configure **two-factor authentication (2FA)** via QR code (Authy, Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator).  
* Once set up, future approvals require only the **6-digit code**.  

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/3/f/2/6/3f26ce462760bc00/image-8_l4567m.webp)

||| ⚠ Caution: Once enabled, 2FA is required for login as well. Do not lose access to your authenticator app. You can remove 2FA from your profile page if necessary.  

---

## 2️⃣ Configure Approval Stages and Notifications  

Approval stages can be customized per document using the **Configure approval stages** option.  

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/3/f/2/6/3f26ce462760bc00/screenshot-2026-07-07-at-11243_10r8hn2.png =246xauto)

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/3/f/2/6/3f26ce462760bc00/9_1fntzfh.png =676xauto)
1. **Stage & approvers** – Assign who can approve/reject each stage. Approvers receive an automatic invitation once the stage is reached. If no user is configured, anyone can approve this stage.
2. **Notify list** – Select users or external contacts to be informed when a stage is reached (view-only).  
3. **Add Stage** – Insert new phases as needed.  
4. **Final approval notifications** – Define who gets notified when the document is fully approved.  
5. **Approval type** – Choose **Static** (no edits during approval) or **Dynamic** (allow edits during approval).  
6. **Disallow same user for multiple stages** – Prevents one person from approving multiple phases.  
7. **Save resets current approvals** – Resets all existing approvals of this version to stage 1.  
8. **Copy from** – Import stage setup from another configuration.    

||| 📌 Any changes here reset the approval flow for the current version (but version number stays).  

---

## 3️⃣ Default Approval Stages by Document Type  

You can define **default approval workflows** for all documents of a certain type in [Document Types & Templates.](https://docs.brainframe.com/en/article/document-types-templates-lssmkc/)  

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/3/f/2/6/3f26ce462760bc00/screenshot-2026-07-07-at-11445_1eicar7.png =629xauto)

* **Show approval stages** – Activates static approval phases, where no edits are allowed during approval.  
* **Dynamic stages** – Allows updates during approval (useful in quality management or when you have to keep collecting information during the approval flow).  
* **Modify stages** – Opens the same configuration screen as above.  

---

## 4️⃣ My Document Approvals  

Each user can view their pending approvals in **My Document Approvals**.  

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/3/f/2/6/3f26ce462760bc00/screenshot-2026-07-07-at-11510_9e4ca1.png =850xauto)


| Required approvals can also be found in your [tasks](https://docs.brainframe.com/en/article/task-management-1kz2hrb/), which will be marked as "done" when you have completed the approval.
---

## 5️⃣ Document Review Requests  

From the **More** button in document view, select **Request document review**.  

* These review tasks appear in **My Compliance** under *Tasks*.  
* Great for ad-hoc approvals or peer reviews.  

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/3/f/2/6/3f26ce462760bc00/screenshot-2026-07-07-at-13372_wyzsnl.png =282xauto)

---

## 6️⃣ Best Practices  

* 🔐 **Enable 2FA early** to streamline approvals.  
* 👥 **Use groups instead of individuals** when assigning approvers.  
* 📩 **Set up notifications** so stakeholders stay informed without needing approval rights.  
* 🚨 **Prevent conflicts of interest** by disallowing the same user across multiple stages.  
* 📝 **Document your approval policy** for auditors.  

---

## 🎯 Visual Checklist  

* [x] 2FA configured for approvers  
* [x] Approval workflow assigned  
* [ ] Notifications set up for key stakeholders  
* [ ] Document type defaults aligned  
* [ ] Pending approvals checked in **My Document Approvals**  
* [ ] Review requests tracked in **My Compliance**