---
title: Gating approvals
description: A gating approval acts as a gate through which a request must pass before it can start.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/build-workflows/approvals/c\_GatingApprovals.html
release: australia
product: Approvals
classification: approvals
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-03-12"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Approval rules, Classic approvals, Build workflows]
---

# Gating approvals

A gating approval acts as a gate through which a request must pass before it can start.

Until all gating approvals are met, no notifications go out, no tasks get sent to technicians, and nobody starts working on the request in question.

Generate gating approvals with:

|Title|Description|
|-----|-----------|
|Approval rules|Can apply to the service catalog as well as any other task table.|
|Item-based approvals|Flag specific catalog items as requiring specific approvals. Any requests for these items automatically require these approvals.|

**Related topics**  


[Set up a gating approval via an approval rule](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/build-workflows/approvals/t_SetUpAGatingApprViaApprovalRule.md)

[Set up a gating approval based on the item being ordered](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/build-workflows/approvals/c_SetUpGatingApprBasedOnOrdItem.md)