---
title: Configure approval rules for Exception Management
description: Starting with Vulnerability Response v15.0, use the flow designer to approve exception requests for exception management, exception rules, and false positive management. If you are deploying Vulnerability Response \(VR\) for the first time, the flow designer is enabled by default.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/security-management/vulnerability-response/exception-mgt-approval-rules.html
release: australia
product: Vulnerability Response
classification: vulnerability-response
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-03-12"
reading_time_minutes: 2
breadcrumb: [Additional Vulnerability Response setup and configuration tasks, Vulnerability Response implementation, Vulnerability Response, Unified Security Exposure Management, Security Operations]
---

# Configure approval rules for Exception Management

Starting with Vulnerability Response v15.0, use the flow designer to approve exception requests for exception management, exception rules, and false positive management. If you are deploying Vulnerability Response \(VR\) for the first time, the flow designer is enabled by default.

## Before you begin

Role required: sn\_vul.vulnerability\_admin

## About this task

If you are an existing VR user, the default option is workflow.

If you have deployed Vulnerability Response v15.0 or later, the value of the system property **sn\_vul.flow\_designer\_activation** is set to true. This means that the flow designer is enabled by default.

If you are already using Vulnerability Response prior to v15.0, the value of this system property is set to false. You can activate the flow designer by changing the value to true.

**Note:** You cannot revert to using the workflow after activating the flow designer. For a detailed comparison between the workflow and flow designer, see [Exception management workflow versus flow designer](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/security-management/vulnerability-response/ex-mgt-flow-designer-vs-workflow.md).

To use the flow designer, create rules using the Approval Rules module. Using this module, you can configure approval rules for each of the following exception management workflows.

-   Exception request for remediation tasks
-   Exception request for vulnerable items
-   Exception rule
-   False positive for remediation tasks
-   False positive for vulnerable items

**Note:** You can also define conditions containing multiple levels of approval within a rule. The flow designer automatically inherits the rules created in this module and processes the matching approval workflow. For information on configuring approval levels, see [Create approval levels for Exception Management](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/security-management/vulnerability-response/exception-mgt-config-approval-rule.md).

## Procedure

1.  Navigate to **All** > **Vulnerability Response** > **Administration** > **Approval Rules**.

2.  On the Approval Rules page, select the group for which you want to set the approval rule.

3.  On the form, fill in the fields.

<table id="table_imd_lrv_drb"><thead><tr><th>

Field

</th><th>

Description

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Name

</td><td>

Approval configuration name.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Table

</td><td>

Table on which the rule is applied.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Application

</td><td>

Default value is Vulnerability Response.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Rule type

</td><td>

Specifies the rule type. For example, exception management, false positive or exception rule.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Active

</td><td>

Enabled by default, signifying that the approval rule is in use.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Description

</td><td>

Short description of the approval rules.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Approval expiry \(days\)Starting from v21.0 of Vulnerability Response

</td><td>

Date until when the approver can approve the request.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Notify approver \(days\)Starting from v21.0 of Vulnerability Response

</td><td>

Date after which the approver is notified to take action.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>4.  Select **Update**.

    In the Approval Configurations tab, there are two levels of approvers set up by default. You can select a rule to define the conditions based on different use cases within a rule. For more information, see [Create configurations for an approval rule](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/security-management/vulnerability-response/exception-mgt-approval-config.md).

    **Note:** In each configuration page, you can create multiple approval levels. For more information, see [Create approval levels for Exception Management](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/security-management/vulnerability-response/exception-mgt-config-approval-rule.md).


## Example

Based on different use cases, you can define different approval processes for the same vulnerabilities found on different configuration items.