---
schema_version: "1"
id: 3f4eade05991ab08a1b7179ad179d7dd14e3fe546c9de82ec0621e5cf111587e
title: Control Which Records Apply to a Classic Approval Process
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/approvals_create_entrycriteria.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.approvals_create_entrycriteria.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 8fd86261bc30ffb39f26560ad6c7ef3892212c41d2ec05bbba30f7dc31c2bc2e
description: Narrow down the list of records that can be part of the classic approval process by specifying criteria. You can either use filters or write a formula.
products:
  - Flow Builder
  - Salesforce Platform
release: "264"
---
# Control Which Records Apply to a Classic Approval Process

Narrow down the list of records that can be part of the classic approval process by specifying criteria. You can either use filters or write a formula.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition"><colgroup><col></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience</td></tr><tr class="" id="approvals_create_entrycriteria__d4465e54"><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Performance</strong>, <strong>Unlimited</strong>, and <strong>Developer</strong> Editions</td></tr></tbody></table>

![Important](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-platform_automation-264-0-0-production-enus/60568438-ec7e-4665-acd1-7c80dcbe60d5/images/icon_important.png)

Important Try [Flow Approval Processes](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_automated_approvals.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "As your company grows, so does the complexity of your approvals, often requiring input from multiple people in different departments across different time zones. This complexity can mean that you spend more time waiting for each person to complete their review in the right order. Flow Approval Processes helps you coordinate multistep reviews that involve users, systems, and conditional paths."), a modern alternative to Classic Approval Processes. This new feature provides a more flexible, user-friendly flow-based interface, and it can trigger on record changes, supporting Apex extensibility and detailed logging for compliance and audit trails. It supports dynamic routing based on data and business rules, unlike Classic Approval Processes, which are tied to specific objects and offer limited support for processes by using conditions. With Flow Approval Processes, you can monitor submitted records and quickly identify bottlenecks, giving you unprecedented visibility into approval workflows. And, like Classic Approval Processes, Flow Approval Processes don’t consume automation credits or orchestration runs.

If you want all records to pass through the classic approval process, click Next. If only certain types of records are considered, use one of the following options.

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small ">
        <colgroup>
          <col style="width:28.011204481792717%">
          <col style="width:71.98879551820728%">
        </colgroup>
        <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
          <tr class="">
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d200926e85">Option</th>
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d200926e88">To enter the approval process...</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Option" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d200926e85 ">
              <strong class="uicontrol">criteria are met</strong>
            </td>

            <td data-label="To enter the approval process..." class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d200926e88 ">The record must meet the filter criteria.</td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Option" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d200926e85 ">
              <strong class="uicontrol">formula evaluates to true</strong>
            </td>

            <td data-label="To enter the approval process..." class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d200926e88 ">
              <p>The formula must return <samp>True</samp>.</p>
              <p style="margin-bottom:0;">Some functions
                aren’t available in classic approval process formulas. For information on which
                functions you can use in classic approval process formulas, see <a href="https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.customize_functions.htm&amp;language=en_US" target="_blank">Formula Operators and Functions by
                  Context</a>.</p>
            </td>

          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>

![Example](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-platform_automation-264-0-0-production-enus/60568438-ec7e-4665-acd1-7c80dcbe60d5/images/icon_example.png)

Example

This filter lets an expense report enter this classic approval process only if the employee who submitted the report is at headquarters.

```
Current User: Office Location Equals Headquarters
```

This formula lets a record enter this classic approval process only if its discount approval cutoff date is less than 30 days away.

```
(Discount_Approval_CutoffDate__c < (CloseDate - 30)
```

#### See Also

- [Considerations for Configuring Classic Approval Processes](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.approvals_considerations_configure.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "When creating or editing a classic approval process, keep in mind how approvals are compatible with other features. Before you start, draw out the steps of your classic approval process.")
- [Formula Operators and Functions by Context](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.customize_functions.htm&language=en_US)