Configuring Approval Expiration
Overview
Approval expiration settings in Approval Path for Confluence can be configured at three levels, in the following order:
Global – system-wide configuration that enables and restricts expiration behavior.
Definition – configuration per approval definition, within global constraints.
Page – expiration settings when starting an approval on a specific page.
Settings defined at higher levels determine which options are available at lower levels.
Setting | Description |
|---|---|
Approval Decision Deadline | Defines how long approvers have to cast their votes |
Approval Validity Expiration | Defines how long an approved decision remains valid |
If the decision deadline passes before voting is completed, the approval becomes incomplete.
If the validity period of an approved approval expires, the approval receives the expired badge.
This page focuses on approval expiration. For step-by-step guides on creating approval definitions or other global settings, see the related documentation.
Global-Level Configuration
Global settings control whether expiration and validity rules are enabled and how they behave across the entire system.
How to access
Open the Approval Path app
Go to Settings
Open the Approval expiration tab
Available Global Options
Select expiration type
Optional – expiration can be omitted at lower levels
Required – expiration is mandatory at lower levels
Custom – allows setting a maximum expiration period
Set default expiration interval
X HOUR
X DAY
X WEEK
X MONTH
X YEAR
The selected expiration type and default value define the constraints that apply to all lower levels.
Approval Definition-Level Configuration
Expiration and validity settings can also be configured per approval definition. This allows different approval workflows to use different expiration rules within the limits defined globally.
How to access
Open the Approval Path app
Go to the Definitions tab
Create a new definition or edit an existing one
Available Options
For each approval definition, you can configure the expiration type:
Optional
Required
Custom
You can also define a default expiration interval for the definition. This value will be applied unless it is overridden at the page level. The available options are restricted by the Global-level configuration.
Validity expiration settings
Validity calculation type
Relative period
Specific date
Validity period
Defines how long the approval remains valid.
Count from
Determines when the validity period starts:
Approval process start
Approval date
When an approval validity period expires, the system can trigger automated actions
Relaunch the approval using the same definition version
Launch a new approval using the latest definition version
Run custom expiration handling steps: two types of expiration handling steps are available: Automation step, Webhook step
These actions allow organizations to automatically revalidate approvals when their validity period ends.
Page–Level Configuration
Page-level settings are applied when an approval is about to run on a specific Confluence page.
These settings are available only if allowed by the Global and Definition configurations.
How to access
Open the Confluence page
Click the Approval Path button at the top of the page
Select an Approval Definition
Click Parametrize icon
Configure the available expiration parameters
Available Options
At the page level, you can configure:
Decision deadline
Enable the “Set decision deadline” toggle to configure the deadline.
Decision deadline options
Deadline – specific date and time
Deadline in – duration (e.g. X HOUR / DAY / WEEK / MONTH / YEAR)
Validity expiration
Valid until – specific date and time
Valid for – duration (e.g. X MONTHS)
Count from
Approval process start
Approval date
If no expiration is specified at the page level, the approval uses the default expiration interval defined at the Definition or Global level.
Notifications
The system sends notifications when expiration events occur.
Incomplete approval notification
Triggered when:
the decision deadline passes
the approval process has not been completed
The approval originator receives a notification that the decision deadline has passed.
Expired approval notification
Triggered when:
an approved approval's validity period expires
The notification informs users that the approval may need to be renewed or restarted.
Rules & Constraints
If Global = Required, the Definition must define an expiration (cannot be Optional).
If any higher level is not Optional, the page must provide a value.
If Custom is selected, the maximum defined at the Definition level cannot be exceeded at the page level.