How to Create a SharePoint Approval Flow for Documents

You need a way to route documents through your team for approval without sending emails back and forth. SharePoint document libraries can be paired with Microsoft Power Automate to create automated approval workflows. This article explains how to build a basic approval flow that triggers when a document is added or modified. You will learn the exact steps to set up the flow, configure approvers, and handle outcomes like approval and rejection.

How the SharePoint Approval Flow Works

An approval flow automates the review process for documents stored in a SharePoint library. When a user uploads or edits a document, Power Automate triggers a flow that sends an approval request to one or more designated approvers. The approver can approve, reject, or request changes directly from email or the Power Automate approval center. After the decision, the flow updates the document with a status field, moves it to a different folder, or sends a notification. No manual routing is required.

Before you start, you need the following prerequisites:

• A SharePoint Online site with a document library that contains the documents you want to approve.
• Access to Power Automate (included with most Microsoft 365 subscriptions that include SharePoint).
• Permission to create flows in the SharePoint site (at least Edit or Contribute level).
• A list of approvers — these can be individual users, a group, or a dynamic value from the document metadata.

Steps to Create the Approval Flow

Follow these steps to create an approval flow from a SharePoint document library. The flow starts automatically when a document is added to the library.

1. Open the SharePoint document library
   Go to your SharePoint site and open the document library where you want the approval flow to run. In the toolbar, select Automate and then Power Automate. Choose Create a flow from the menu.
2. Select the approval template
   In the Power Automate panel, click See more flow templates. Search for “approval” and select the template named Approval for SharePoint. This template triggers when a file is created or modified in the library.
3. Connect your SharePoint site
   Power Automate asks you to sign in to SharePoint if you are not already connected. Select the site and library from the drop-down lists. The template automatically fills these fields with the library you started from.
4. Configure the approval request
   In the flow editor, locate the Start and wait for an approval action. Set Approval type to Approve/Reject – First to respond or Approve/Reject – Everyone must approve. In Assigned to, enter the email addresses or names of the approvers. You can also use a dynamic value from the document metadata, such as a manager field.
5. Customize the email content
   Scroll to the Details section of the approval action. Replace the default title with something like “Document Approval Request” and add a message that includes the document name and a link. Use the dynamic content picker to insert File name and File link from the SharePoint trigger.
6. Add a condition for approval outcomes
   After the approval action, add a Condition control. Set the condition to check the Outcome dynamic value from the approval action. If the outcome equals Approve, add an action to update the document status. Use the Update file properties action to set a custom column, for example a column named “Approval Status” to “Approved”. If the outcome equals Reject, set the status to “Rejected” and optionally send an email notification to the document author.
7. Save and test the flow
   Click Save at the top of the Power Automate editor. To test, upload a new document to the SharePoint library. Within a few minutes, the approver should receive an approval request email. Approve or reject the request and verify that the document status updates correctly in SharePoint.

Common Mistakes and Things to Avoid

Approvers do not receive the approval email

This usually happens if the approver email address is incorrect or if the approval action is not connected to the trigger. Check the Assigned to field in the approval action. Make sure it contains valid email addresses or a dynamic value that resolves to a user. Also verify that the flow is turned on and that the trigger is set to When a file is created or modified.

Document status does not update after approval

The condition action might not be configured correctly. Open the flow and check the condition. The Outcome value must be compared to the text “Approve” exactly. If you used a different approval type, the outcome text might be “Approved” or “Accepted”. Run the flow with a test document and examine the run history to see the exact outcome value.

Flow runs on every document edit instead of only new documents

The default trigger runs for both new and modified files. To limit the flow to new documents only, change the trigger condition. In the trigger settings, add a condition that checks if the Modification time equals the Creation time. Alternatively, use the When a file is created (properties only) trigger from the SharePoint connector.

Power Automate Approval Flow vs Manual Approval Process

Item	Power Automate Approval Flow	Manual Approval Process
Setup time	15–30 minutes once configured	No setup required
Consistency	Same process every time	Varies by person and document
Tracking	Automatic run history and status	Email threads or manual logs
Notification	Automatic email with document link	Manual email or chat message
Scalability	Works for hundreds of documents	Becomes unmanageable at scale

You can now create an approval flow that automatically routes documents to the right people and updates their status. Start by selecting the SharePoint document library you use most often and follow the steps above. For more complex workflows, consider adding parallel branches for multiple approvers or using a SharePoint list to store approval history. The Power Automate mobile app also lets approvers review requests from their phone.