Approval Status Column
Common Use Cases
- Publishing gates: hold content until it is approved for readers
- Review pipelines: track what is pending, approved, or rejected
- Policy control: ensure only approved versions are visible
- News and pages: approve announcements before they go live
- Compliance sign-off: record a clear approval decision per item
- Draft management: keep unfinished items out of the public view
Modern vs Classic Values
- Modern Approvals: shows Not submitted, Requested, Approved, and Rejected
- Classic content approval: shows Pending, Approved, Rejected, and Draft
- Not submitted: the modern starting state before an approval is requested
- Requested vs Pending: modern says Requested, classic says Pending while waiting
- Draft is classic-only: the modern feature has no separate Draft value
- You cannot rename them: the status values are fixed by SharePoint
How It Works
- Set by the approval action: the status changes as requests are made and answered
- Internal name _ModerationStatus: referenced as _ModerationStatus in code and JSON
- Approver comments: a companion field records the reviewer’s note
- Require content approval: the classic setting that turns the column on
- Ties to versions: approval often gates which version becomes published
- Read-only column: the value comes from the process, not a typed entry
Benefits
- Clear review state: everyone sees what has been approved
- Controlled publishing: unapproved content stays hidden from readers
- Accountability: a recorded decision with approver context
- Built-in: no add-on needed for basic approval
- Works with versioning: gate major versions behind approval
- Automation-ready: modern approvals integrate with Power Automate and Teams
Limits and Nuances
- Two different systems: modern Approvals and classic content approval behave differently
- Values are fixed: you cannot change or add status labels
- Draft visibility rules: who sees pending or draft items depends on settings
- Not editable directly: the status is set by approving or rejecting
- Classic feels dated: the older content approval experience is limited
- Plan the mechanism: choose modern or classic deliberately, not by accident
Common Questions About the Approval Status Column
What is the Approval Status column in SharePoint?
Approval Status is a read-only column that shows where an item or file sits in an approval process. Its values depend on the mechanism in use. The modern Approvals feature shows Not submitted, Requested, Approved, and Rejected, while the older classic content approval, known internally as Moderation Status, shows Pending, Approved, Rejected, and Draft. Its internal field name is _ModerationStatus, and the column is set by the approval action, giving everyone a clear signal of what has been reviewed.
What are the modern Approval Status values?
The modern Approvals feature, built into lists and libraries and backed by Power Automate and Teams, uses Not submitted, Requested, Approved, and Rejected. An item shows nothing, or Not submitted, until an approval is requested, then Requested while it waits for a decision, then Approved or Rejected once an approver responds. These three active values, Requested, Approved, and Rejected, are fixed by SharePoint and cannot be renamed, which keeps the workflow consistent across sites.
How is classic content approval different?
Classic content approval is the older experience, enabled by the Require content approval setting in versioning, and it uses Pending, Approved, Rejected, and Draft. Pending means awaiting review, Draft means a minor version not yet submitted, and Approved or Rejected reflect the decision. It is tied closely to major and minor versioning and to who can see unapproved content. The modern Approvals feature replaced this for most scenarios, but the classic setting still exists and behaves this way.
Why does my Approval Status show Not submitted or Pending?
It depends on which system you are using. In the modern Approvals feature, an item reads Not submitted until someone actually requests approval, at which point it becomes Requested. In classic content approval, an item awaiting a decision reads Pending, and an unsubmitted minor version reads Draft. Seeing Not submitted points to the modern feature, while Pending and Draft point to classic content approval, so the label tells you which mechanism is active.
Can I customize the approval status values?
No, the status values are fixed by SharePoint for both the modern and classic mechanisms, and you cannot rename them or add your own. If you need custom stages, such as In Legal Review or Awaiting Budget, you build those with a separate choice column driven by a Power Automate flow, and let the built-in Approval Status handle the final approved-or-rejected decision. Mixing a custom status column with the system one is a common, effective pattern.
Which approval approach should I use for my site?
It depends on how formal and automated the review needs to be. The modern Approvals feature suits most teams and integrates with Teams and Power Automate, while classic content approval fits tightly version-controlled libraries. Greg Zelfond, the consultant behind LookBook 365, chooses and configures the mechanism deliberately, often combining approval with versioning and custom status columns, so publishing is genuinely gated and the Approval Status column reflects a process people trust rather than a half-set-up setting.