---
key: approve-an-agreement
title: Approve an agreement before it goes out
audience: staff
section: agreements
routes: ["/agreements/:agreementUid/:tab?"]
permissions: ["agreements.approvals.approve"]
features: ["agreements.core"]
since: 0.0.1
updated: 0.0.1
status: published
summary: Ask someone in your company to approve an agreement before any customer sees it, and, as the approver, approve it so Nova sends it for signing.
keywords: [approval, manager sign-off, approve contract, internal review, return for changes, reject agreement, approver]
related: [send-an-agreement-for-signing, track-agreement-signing, find-an-agreement]
---

In the sidebar, open **Agreements**, then **All Agreements**, open the agreement and choose the **Approvals** tab. The page address is `/agreements/` followed by the agreement and `/approvals`. When a step is waiting on you, Nova also sends you a notification that opens the agreement.

Some agreements need a manager's approval before a customer sees them. You name the approvers on the draft and request approval. After the last approval, Nova sends the agreement for signing on its own.

## Before you start

- Approvers are participants. When you add or edit one on the **Participants** tab, open **Advanced details**, turn on **This person also approves**, and set the **Approval order**, **Approval due at** and **Required approver**.
- Requesting approval needs permission to request agreement approvals. Approving needs permission to approve them.

## Steps

1. On the draft, press **Request approval**. It is at the top of the page, on **Overview** and on **Approvals**. The **Request approval?** window opens.
2. Under **Delivery timing**, choose **Send immediately** or **Schedule delivery**. This is when signers receive the agreement once the final approval is in.
3. Under **Message and senders**, check the channels and sender.
4. Press **Request approval**. Nova opens the **Approvals** tab and tells the first approver.
5. If you are the approver, open the agreement from your notification, or from **All Agreements**, and choose **Approvals**.
6. Find your step under **Approval flow**. A step waiting on you shows **Actionable now**.
7. Read the agreement on the **Document** tab if you need to.
8. Press **Approve**. Nova says **Approval recorded.** and moves to the next approver, or, after the last one, sends the agreement for signing (at the scheduled time, if one was set).

## What you see

- Three tiles: **Requested steps**, **Approved steps** and **Returned steps**.
- Each step shows the approver, its status, its step number, their email, the due date and any **Decision note:**.
- **Approval timeline** on the right lists every request, reminder and decision.
- **Remind approvers** sends a reminder to everyone still waiting to decide. **Cancel flow** stops the approval and turns the agreement back into a draft you can edit.

## If something looks different

- **Request approval** is missing: nobody on the draft is an approver yet, something still blocks it on **Overview**, or your role cannot request approval.
- **Approve** is missing on a step: it is not your turn yet, or your role cannot approve.
- **Reject** or **Return for changes** shows an error saying a reason is required: the page has no box for a reason yet. Tell the person who asked for approval what to change; they can press **Cancel flow**, fix the draft and request approval again.
- **No approval flow**: nobody on the agreement is set to approve it.

[[route:/agreements|Open All Agreements]]