---
sourceDocument: Australia Security Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/security-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Security Management

ft:clusterId :

    - security

bundleId :

    - security

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Unified Approval Rules Overview

# Unified Approval Rules Overview {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Australia
* 
* Updated March 12, 2026
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read

The approval rules and approval configuration are unified to provide a consistent approach to managing approval workflows.

The Unified Approval Rules simplifies approval management by combining approval rules and approval configurations into a single, unified table. This enables one approval rule to apply to multiple finding types such as VR, CVR, AVR, and
CC, unlike before when rules were specific to individual tables or findings.

It is a standardized way to route approval requests across multiple findings and remediation task tables. Administrators use Unified Approval Rules to define how approval requests are triggered, which tables they apply to, and how
approvers are assigned across levels. You can configure rule types, conditions, expiry values, and multi-level approval requirements.  
Key updates:

* Support for multiple findings and remediation task tables.
* Step-based rule configuration---rule type, applies to, conditions, levels.
* Required approval levels before activation.
* Configurable expiry periods for approvals and notifications.
* Role-based routing using users and groups.
{#sem-approval-rules-overiew__ul_fqm_bfc_yhc}
* **[Create or edit approval rules](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/6t8JKfv9qrc4WY8Rdmm0tg)**   
  Create and activate an approval rule by selecting a rule type, choosing the target tables, defining conditions, and configuring approval levels.
* **[Create or edit approval levels](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/x4AQtS6mJ~Zok_2tyeUssw)**   
  Define the levels of users and user groups that are going to approve the exception requests.