The picklist values for the status field in contracts are tied to the status category in which they are related.
Salesforce has three status categories for Contract object:
For a description of all the contract fields, including the status, please click here.
The only picklist values that are visible, when editing a contract, are the values that have been created and associated to the status category that the Contract is currently in 'Classic' only.
To create new picklist values, and associate those values to a status category, follow the steps below:
In Classic:
In Lightning:
This new value will now appear in the picklist when a contract is in the status category associated with this new value.
Few things to remember:
Note: When a Contract is activated accidentally, you can re-clone the affected record and change the status back to 'Draft' or your desired custom value if any.
https://help.salesforce.com/apex/HTViewHelpDoc?id=contract_activate.htm&language=en_US
https://help.salesforce.com/apex/HTViewHelpDoc?id=approvals_creating_approval_processes.htm&language=en_US
https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=lex_gaps_limitations_sales.htm&type=5
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