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Submit a Record for Approval from a Process
Submit the record that started the process for approval.
Required Editions
| Available in: both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience |
| Available in: Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions |
| User Permissions Needed | |
|---|---|
| To create, edit, or view processes: | Manage Flow AND View All Data |
After December 31, 2025, existing processes continue to run, and you can activate, deactivate, and edit them; however, we recommend using Flow Builder. To migrate existing processes, plan your switch to Flow Builder and use the Migrate to Flow tool. For new automations, create flows in Flow Builder.
After you’ve created an action and selected “Submit for Approval” for the type, fill in the relevant fields to add the action to your process.
Only the record that started the process is submitted. You can’t submit any related records for approval.
- Enter a name for this action. This text appears on the canvas and helps you differentiate this action from others in your process. The name truncates to fit on the canvas.
- For Approval Process, indicate whether to submit the record through
the default approval process or through a specific approval process.
The process fails if:
- The record is submitted to the default approval process, and there are no active approval processes for the record’s object type.
- The record is submitted to the default approval process, and it doesn’t meet the criteria for any of the approval processes for the record’s object type.
- The record is submitted to a specific approval process, and it doesn’t meet the entry criteria.
- To submit the record to a specific approval process:
- Search for and select the approval process.
- Indicate whether to skip the entry criteria for the approval process.
- For Submitter, identify who receives notifications about the
approval request.
Value Description Current User The user who triggered the process by creating or editing a record. User Field from a Record The user ID that’s stored in a field value on the record that’s being submitted for approval or another record. Other User A specific user in your organization. If the submitter isn’t an allowed initial submitter on the approval process that runs, the process fails. Make sure that the initial submitters for the approval processes that are related to this object include all users who could trigger this process. For details about setting the initial submitters for an approval process, see Create a Classic Approval Process with the Standard Wizard.
Any user with the "Modify All Records" permission to the object is allowed to submit a record for approval. They’re permitted to submit the record, even if they aren’t listed as initial submitter.
- If necessary, enter submission comments. Don’t reference merge fields or formula
expressions.
Submission comments appear in the approval history for the specified record. This text also appears in the initial approval request email if the template uses the
{!ApprovalRequest.Comments}merge field. - Save the action.
