# Approval statuses explained Almost every why-does-this-page-say-that question comes down to one thing: there are two different sets of statuses in Capable Approval, and they are easy to mix up. ℹī¸ **An approval has one overall status. Each person on it has their own.** The overall one is worked out from the individual ones, so if the overall status surprises you, look at the people first. --- ## What each person is doing Everyone on the approver list is in exactly one of these at any moment. | **Status** | **Meaning** | **Counts toward the decision** | | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | | IN REVIEW | Asked, and has not answered yet. | No | | APPROVED | Answered approve. | Yes, toward **minimum approvers**. | | REJECTED | Answered reject. | Yes, toward **minimum rejections**. | | COMMENTED | Left a comment without approving or rejecting. | No | ⚠ī¸ **Commented is the one to watch.** It takes someone out of the waiting list, so the request stops looking like it needs them, but it moves neither score. An approval where everybody only commented will never complete, and never expire either. --- ## What the page as a whole is doing | **Status** | **When you see it** | | ---------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | IN REVIEW | Neither threshold has been reached yet. | | APPROVED | Approvals have reached the minimum approvers. | | REJECTED | Rejections have reached the minimum rejections. | | EXPIRED | A completed approval whose deadline has passed.See [Expiry and re-approval](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/expiry-and-re-approval.html). | 📝 **Rejection is tested first.** If both thresholds are somehow reached at the same instant, the page reads as rejected. Safety wins the tie. --- ## The label under the page title The byline is a compressed version of the same information, so you can tell where a page stands without opening anything. | **Byline label** | **Meaning** | | ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | In Review (2/3) | Two people have approved, three are needed. | | In Review with comments | Same, and at least one person has commented rather than answered. | | Approved or Rejected | The decision is made. | | Syncing or Repair needed | Not a status at all. The cached summary has drifted from the record. See [Common questions](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/common-questions.html). | --- ## Record states, which are different again Underneath the status, every approval record has a lifecycle state. You will only meet these in [the history view](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/view-approval-history.html) and in exports, and they are the reason old decisions never disappear. | **State** | **Meaning** | | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Active** | The current approval for the current page version. | | **Expired** | Completed, then passed its deadline and was reset. | | **Superseded** | The page was edited, so a newer version has its own approval. | | **Removed** | The approval was withdrawn. See [Remove or restart an approval](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/remove-or-restart-an-approval.html). | --- ## A few things that catch people out * A per-person status and the overall status can disagree and both be right. Three people approved, one still in review, minimum of three: the page is approved. * Commented is not a softer version of rejected. It stops nothing and starts nothing. * Superseded records are never deleted, which is what makes [the compliance story](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/compliance.html) hold up. * Every status here is searchable, so you can build a report of everything in review. See [Search and reporting](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/search-and-reporting.html). --- ## Related [How approvals workHow the overall status is worked out.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/how-approvals-work.html) [Respond to a requestThe three answers, and what each one does.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/respond-to-a-request.html) [Expiry and re-approvalHow a page moves back to in review.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/expiry-and-re-approval.html) [View approval historyEvery answer anyone ever gave, in order.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/view-approval-history.html) [Common questionsSyncing, Repair needed, and stuck requests.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/common-questions.html) [Search and reportingTurn these statuses into a live report.](https://help.gocapable.com/approval/search-and-reporting.html) --- _Every label on the page, decoded. No more guessing._