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Configuring Approval Expiration

Configuring Approval Expiration

Overview

Approval expiration settings in Approval Path for Jira can be configured at three levels, in the following order:

  1. Global – system-wide configuration that enables and restricts expiration behavior.

  2. Definition – configuration per approval definition, within global constraints.

  3. Work Item – expiration settings when starting an approval on a specific Jira ticket.

Settings defined at higher levels determine which options are available at lower levels.

Approval Path supports two different time-based approval controls:

Setting

Description

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

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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

  1. Open the Approval Path app

  2. Go to Settings

  3. Open the Approval expiration tab

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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

  1. Open the Approval Path app

  2. Go to the Definitions tab

  3. Create a new definition or edit an existing one

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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 work item level. The available options are restricted by the Global-level configuration.

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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

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These actions allow organizations to automatically revalidate approvals when their validity period ends.

Work Item–Level Configuration

Work item–level settings are applied when an approval is started on a specific Jira work item.

These settings are available only if they are allowed by the Global and Definition configurations.

How to access

  1. Open the Jira work item

  2. Open the Approval Path panel from the Activity bar

  3. Select an Approval Definition

  4. Click the Parametrize icon

  5. Configure the available expiration parameters

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Available Options

At the work item level, you can configure:

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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 value is provided, the system 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

The following rules apply across configuration levels:

  • If Global = Required, the Definition level must define an expiration (the Optional option is not available).

  • If any higher level is not Optional, the work item must provide an expiration value.

  • If Custom is selected, the maximum expiration defined at the Definition level cannot be exceeded at the work item level.

  • Validity expiration applies only to approved approvals.

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