Page Approval

Page approval ensures that no page or news post goes live on a SharePoint site until a designated reviewer signs off. When approval is configured on the Site Pages library, authors submit pages for approval instead of publishing directly, approvers receive a request, and visitors continue to see the last approved version until the new one is accepted. It is the standard governance control for intranets where accuracy, branding, and messaging matter.

Approvals, News Post, Page Scheduling, Request Sign-Off, Site Pages Library, Version History

See It In Action

Corporate communications: news posts reviewed by the communications team before they reach every employee
Policy pages: HR and compliance content approved by a designated owner before changes go live
Regulated industries: a documented review step that supports audit and accuracy requirements for published content
Multi-author intranets: many contributors writing pages while a small group controls what is actually published
Brand control: a final check that pages follow layout, tone, and branding standards before publication
Executive announcements: leadership messages verified for accuracy and timing before employees see them

Benefits

Quality gate: nothing reaches site visitors until a reviewer has explicitly approved it
Readers never see drafts: visitors continue to see the last approved version while a revision is under review
Clear accountability: approval history records who approved each page and when
Familiar notifications: approvers act on requests from email or the Approvals experience in Microsoft Teams
Customizable process: the underlying Power Automate flow can be extended with extra stages, conditions, or notifications
Author confidence: contributors can write and save freely, knowing drafts stay private until approved

Details

Feature Category: Pages & Publishing

How It Works

Built on Power Automate: page approval runs as a flow created from the Site Pages library, with approvers defined at setup and editable later in Power Automate
Submit instead of publish: with approval enabled, authors submit a page for approval rather than publishing it directly
Status tracking: each page carries an approval status, moving from draft to pending to approved or rejected
Approver decision: approvers review the page and approve or reject it, with the option to add comments
Automatic publication: an approved page publishes on its own, while a rejected page returns to the author as a draft
Versioning underneath: content approval works with major and minor versions, so the approved major version is what visitors see

Limits and Nuances

Site scope: page approval flows are available on communication sites and modern team sites
Applies to the Site Pages library: the flow governs pages and news posts, while documents use their own approval processes
Works with scheduling: a scheduled page must be approved before it publishes, and approval after the scheduled time publishes it immediately
Rejection is not deletion: a rejected page remains a draft that the author can revise and resubmit
Turning approval off: removing the content approval requirement returns the library to direct publishing
Approver access: reviewers need access to the site so they can open and evaluate pending pages
Draft item security: library settings control whether drafts are visible to any reader, only to editors, or only to approvers and the author

Common Questions About Page Approval

How does page approval work in SharePoint?

When page approval is enabled on a site, authors submit pages and news posts for approval instead of publishing them. A Power Automate flow sends the request to designated approvers, who approve or reject it with optional comments. Approved pages publish automatically, and rejected pages return to the author as drafts for revision.

Can visitors see a page that is waiting for approval?

No. While a page is pending approval, site visitors continue to see the last approved version, or nothing at all if the page has never been published. Draft item security settings on the Site Pages library control exactly who can view drafts, which typically means authors, editors, and approvers only.

Can the approval flow be customized?

Yes. Page approval is built on Power Automate, so the generated flow can be opened and modified like any other flow. Organizations add multiple approval stages, route requests based on page metadata, send extra notifications, or post updates to Teams channels. The standard single-stage flow covers most sites, and customization is there when the process grows.

Who receives the approval requests?

The approvers named when the flow is created receive each request. Requests arrive by email and in the Approvals experience in Microsoft Teams, where reviewers can see the request, open the page, and approve or reject it. The list of approvers can be changed later by editing the flow in Power Automate.

Does page approval work together with page scheduling?

Yes, the two features are designed to work together. When a scheduled page also requires approval, it must be approved before the scheduled date for publication to happen on time. If approval comes after the scheduled time has passed, the page publishes immediately upon approval, and a page that is never approved is never published.

Who typically sets up page approval for an intranet?

A site owner can configure the approval flow on each site, but rolling out a consistent approval process across an intranet takes planning around approvers, versioning, and draft visibility. Greg Zelfond, the consultant behind LookBook 365, builds complete SharePoint intranets out of the box and configures governance features like page approval as part of every engagement.