Approvals in a SharePoint Document Library

Question

Approvals in a SharePoint Document Library

Diane Campbell 0

I want to set up an approval structure that has two tasks associated to it. The first task I want to assign multiple people (people would vary depending on the document) and have all of them do the approval. Once that task has been completed by all, I want a second task generated for a final approval (to me as the Document Control Specialist). I don't want this as two flows because I don't want the document to go to Approved until the second task is complete. The built in approvals in SharePoint don't seem to allow this set up. I don't have much experience with Power Automate and have been unsuccessful set this up as a flow.

0 comments

2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Yes. Build this as a single Power Automate flow with two approval stages so the document is not treated as approved until the final stage completes.

A supported pattern is:

Stage 1: collect approvals from multiple people
- Use Start and wait for an approval.
- Set the approval type to require all assigned approvers to respond:
  - Approve/Reject – Everybody must approve, or
  - Custom Responses – Wait for all responses.
- In Assigned to, enter all first-stage approvers separated by semicolons (;).
- This waits until every assigned person responds. Any rejection can stop the request.
Stage 2: final approval
- After stage 1 succeeds, add a second Start and wait for an approval action.
- Set Assigned to to the final approver.
- This creates the second task only after the first stage is fully completed.
Only mark the document approved after stage 2
- Put any “approved” outcome actions only after the second approval action returns Approve.
- If stage 1 is rejected, or stage 2 is rejected, route the flow to a rejection branch and do not update the document to approved.

This matches the requirement of:

multiple approvers first,
all of them must approve,
then a final approver,
and only one overall flow.

For the first stage, the approver list can vary per document because the approval action supports defining a list of people in Assigned to.

If using the built-in SharePoint modern approvals in the library, that is not the right fit for this scenario. The documented approach for multi-stage approval logic is to use Power Automate. A similar Microsoft Q&A answer also points to Power Automate for cases where multiple people must approve before moving to a final approver.

A practical flow shape is:

Trigger: when a file is created or changed in the document library.
Get file content if needed for approval details.
Approval 1: Start and wait for an approval with Everybody must approve and the variable first-stage approver list.
Condition: continue only if the first-stage result is approved.
Approval 2: Start and wait for an approval assigned to the Document Control Specialist.
Condition: if final response is Approve, then run the actions that represent final approval; otherwise stop or mark rejected.

If the library currently uses Configure approvals in SharePoint, note that this is a different approval model from classic content approval, and the two approaches are not intended to be used together in the same library.

Answer 2

Hendrix 1,670 Independent Advisor

Hi Diane,

Regarding your concern, you can build this as a single Power Automate flow:

In your SharePoint document library, create a Person or Group column named "First-stage approvers" and allow multiple selections.
Create an automated cloud flow using the trigger "When a file is created or modified (properties only)".
Add "Start and wait for an approval":
- Approval type: Approve/Reject – Everyone must approve
- Assigned to: Select the Email value from the First-stage approvers column.
- Include the document name and link in the approval details.
Add a condition to check whether the first approval outcome is Approve.
In the Yes branch, add another Start and wait for an approval and assign it to your email address for final approval.
Add another condition for the final approval outcome.
- If approved, update the SharePoint document status to Approved.
- If rejected, update it to Rejected or return it for revision.
- In the first-stage No branch, update the document status to Rejected.

For references:

This keeps both approval stages in the same flow, and the document is not marked Approved until the final approval is completed. The first approval can require approval from every assigned reviewer before the flow continues. Also, to avoid the flow triggering itself repeatedly when it updates the document, you may need to add a status column or trigger condition so that the flow starts only when the document is submitted for approval.

Hope this will help. Should you have any other questions, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post. I'm happy to assist you further.

Hendrix 1,670 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-28T22:50:53.5133333+00:00

Good day Diane,

Just checking in to see if you've reviewed the proposed answer. Any update would be appreciated.
Diane Campbell 0 Reputation points

2026-09-29T15:59:30.6633333+00:00

Hello Hendrix,

Thank you for your detailed answer. I have been playing around with it. One question, since I am adding the document name and link - will the flow need to be updated each time it is used (since it would be used for different documents)?

I have put the flow together, but haven't been able to run it yet. I get an error in SharePoint. It is possible that the issue is how my IT department has things configured. So, still a work in progress.
Hendrix 1,670 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-29T18:41:52.0033333+00:00
Hi Diane,

You will not need to update the flow for every document. Instead of entering a fixed document name and link, select the document name and link from the trigger’s Dynamic content. Power Automate will then insert the information for whichever document starts the flow.

About the error, it means SharePoint is attempting to run the flow through Power Apps, but the flow does not have a Power Apps trigger. This does not necessarily indicate an IT configuration or permission issue.

For this document approval process, you likely do not need to run the flow from Power Apps.

If you want to launch it manually for a particular document, create the flow with the SharePoint "For a selected file" trigger.

If you want to run it automatically, use "When a file is created or modified (properties only)" and configure it to begin only when the document is submitted for approval.

In the meantime, please check the first trigger shown at the top of the flow and share with me which trigger is currently selected. Also, please clarify where you are clicking to run the flow in SharePoint, such as Automate, Integrate, or a button on a customized SharePoint form.
Diane Campbell 0 Reputation points

2026-09-29T19:01:07.4766667+00:00

Here is the flow right now, based on your reply it sounds like I need to change the first item. In SharePoint I want to select a document and then from the Integrate-Flows menu select the Approval flow. Right now I don't see the flow I have created in the Flows menu when I have a document selected - only when there is nothing selected. This is the first time I have tried to put something together in Power Automate, so it is a lot of trial and error on my part.
Diane Campbell 0 Reputation points

2026-09-29T19:07:05.1633333+00:00
Hendrix 1,670 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-29T19:47:46.1766667+00:00
Hi Diane,

Thank you for the screenshot.

The current trigger, "When a file is created or modified (properties only)", runs automatically whenever a file is created or modified. It is not designed to appear as a manually selectable flow for an individual document. Since you want to select a document in SharePoint and then start the approval from the Integrate > Power Automate menu, use the SharePoint trigger "For a selected file" instead.

You can update the flow as follows:

Open the flow in Power Automate, then remove the existing "When a file is created or modified (properties only)" trigger.

Select "Add a trigger" and search for the SharePoint trigger "For a selected file".

Enter the relevant SharePoint Site Address and Library Name.

Review the approval actions and reselect any document-related dynamic content if necessary.

Save the flow, return to the SharePoint document library, and refresh the page.

After replacing the trigger, please test the flow with a noncritical document first. If the flow still does not appear, verify that the flow was created in your organization’s default Power Automate environment, because only flows in the default environment can be manually run from a SharePoint list or library.