---
schema_version: "1"
id: 443149a86b6c57054219fb025ed984a2492d40da42240123f1beed4eebdef653
title: Control Which Records Apply to an Approval Step in 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_step_entrycriteria.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.approvals_step_entrycriteria.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 5dfd3171dd58b46289c6b7e65689c28b6c7b067d42b38156303748c79962d13a
description: Control which records are part of the approval step by setting the step’s criteria. You can also specify what happens to records that don’t meet the step’s criteria.
products:
  - Flow Builder
  - Salesforce Platform
release: "264"
---
# Control Which Records Apply to an Approval Step in a Classic Approval Process

Control which records are part of the approval step by setting the step’s criteria. You can also specify what happens to records that don’t meet the step’s criteria.

### 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_step_entrycriteria__d4790e54"><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.

![Specify Step Criteria user interface](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-platform_automation-264-0-0-production-enus/60568438-ec7e-4665-acd1-7c80dcbe60d5/platform_automation/images/approval_step_entrycriteria.png)

## Criteria Options

If all records go through this approval step, leave **All records should enter this step** selected.

If only certain types of records are supposed to enter this process, select **Enter this step if the following...** and choose the appropriate option (1). For details on the options, see [Control Which Records Apply to a Classic Approval Process](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.approvals_create_entrycriteria.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "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.").

## (2) Else Options for Approval Step Criteria

If you specified filter criteria or entered a formula, choose what happens to records that don’t meet the criteria or if the formula doesn’t return True.

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

Note You can’t change your selection after the classic approval process has been activated, even if you deactivate the classic approval process.

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small ">
        <colgroup>
          <col style="width:23.474178403755868%">
          <col style="width:76.52582159624413%">
        </colgroup>
        <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
          <tr class="">
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d233315e132">Option</th>
            <th scope="col" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" id="d233315e135">Description</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Option" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d233315e132 ">
              <strong class="uicontrol">approve record</strong>
            </td>

            <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d233315e135 ">Approves the request and performs all final approval actions.</td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Option" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d233315e132 ">
              <strong class="uicontrol">reject record</strong>
            </td>

            <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d233315e135 ">Rejects the request and performs all final rejection actions. This option is
              available only for the first step in the classic approval process.</td>

          </tr>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="Option" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d233315e132 ">
              <strong class="uicontrol">go to next step</strong>
            </td>

            <td data-label="Description" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d233315e135 ">
              <p>Skips this step and goes to the next step. Available only when there’s a later step.
              </p>
              <p>When you apply this option in the first step, keep in mind:</p>
              <ul>
                <li>If the record doesn’t meet the criteria for any subsequent steps, the record is
                  rejected.</li>
                <li>If you delete all later steps, Salesforce rejects the record.</li>
              </ul>
              <p>When you apply this option in another step, keep in mind:</p>
              <ul>
                <li> If you delete all later steps, Salesforce ends the process.</li>
              </ul>
            </td>

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

#### See Also

- [Create a Step to Interact with Approvers](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_automated_approvals_build_create_step_to_interact_with_reviewers.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Create approval steps to assign flow approval processes to specific people, groups, or queues. Approval steps generate work items that assigned approvers can approve or reject with or without running the associated flow. Approvers can complete approval work items via email when you enable email approval response in Process Automation Settings.")
- [Approval Steps](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.automate_automated_approvals_concepts_approval_step.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Approval steps require user interaction and create approval actions that assigned approvers or delegates can complete asynchronously. Approvers can complete reviews without running the associated flow, so include only actions directly relevant to the approval work item. Use a background step after the approval step to update related records or send other notifications.")
- [Set Up a Classic Approval Process](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.approvals_getting_started.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "If classic Approval Processes is the right automation tool for your business process, follow these high-level steps to create one for your org.")
- [Enable Email Approval Response for Classic Approval Processes](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.approvals_email.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "After you’ve reviewed the considerations and prepared the right template, flip the switch that lets users respond to approval requests directly from their email.")