Multi-Level Approval Workflow in Power Automate

A multi-level approval workflow in Power Automate chains several approval steps one after another, for example first the direct supervisor and then management, by linking the action Approvals - Start and wait for an approval multiple times with a condition in between. If the first approval is positive, the second request to the next instance starts automatically, while a delegation rule can take effect if approvers are absent, and requests that remain open for longer than 30 days require separate technical handling. As of: July 2026.

How is a two-stage approval process technically structured?

A two-stage process consists of two consecutive approval blocks connected by a condition. According to the guide Manage sequential approvals with Power Automate such a flow runs in this order.

• Get manager: The action Get manager (V2) from the Office 365 Users connector automatically determines the manager of the requesting person via their email address.
• First approval: The action Start and wait for an approval sends the request to this manager and pauses the flow until a response is received.
• Check condition: A condition compares the approving person's response with the value Approve, whereby this check is case sensitive.
• Second approval: Only in the Yes branch does the second approval block follow, which goes to the next higher instance, for example management.

If the first decision is negative, the flow ends in the No branch directly with a rejection email, without management ever being asked. This corresponds to the vacation request example described in the Microsoft documentation, in which a preliminary approval by the supervisor precedes the final decision.

How do you forward the second stage to management?

For the second stage, you need a further approval block with its own recipient address in the Yes branch of the first condition. Microsoft describes two ways to do this: either enter the email address of management directly and permanently in the Assigned to field, or add a second Get manager action that, based on the manager already determined, fetches that manager's own manager. In the tutorial, this step is referred to as Get manager of the preliminary approver and is useful when the organizational structure has several hierarchy levels and responsibility should not be permanently bound to one person. After each stage, it is advisable to update the source list or source system, for example a SharePoint list, with the respective status and the comments of the approving person, so that the history remains traceable.

How does the delegation rule work when approvers are absent?

The Approvals Manager app can be used to set up a delegation rule that automatically forwards incoming approval requests to another person during a defined absence. According to the guide Set up out of office and delegation you set the start and end time of the absence, select the delegate from a contact list, and can customize the automatically generated message to this person. Important in practice is a restriction that Microsoft explicitly states: the delegation only takes effect if the out-of-office setting is active and the current time falls within the selected period. If the setting is deactivated or a request falls outside the time window, the approval request still goes to the originally assigned person. This delegation function is part of the separate approvals kit and must be set up by each approver individually, it does not apply automatically to every flow.

What happens to approvals that remain open for longer than 30 days?

If an approval request remains open for longer than 30 days, Microsoft, according to Create and test an approval workflow with Power Automate advises saving the approval in Microsoft Dataverse, because the execution duration of a single flow run is limited. The recommended structure uses two separate flows: one that sends the approval request via the action Create an approval (v2), and a second that responds to the later answer independently of the original run and executes the business logic. This keeps the workflow functional even if management responds only after several weeks, for example during a longer trip or in a busy period. Anyone who does not want to build a multi-level approval process with this kind of long-running safeguard alone can have the setup guided by a specialized service provider such as NordFlux.

Frequently asked questions about multi-level approval workflows in Power Automate

Can I chain more than two approval stages together?

Yes, the principle of approval action, condition and next approval action can be repeated as often as desired, although each additional stage makes the flow less clear and more maintenance-intensive. With more than two or three stages, it is often worth splitting into several connected flows, especially when Dataverse storage for long-running approvals also becomes relevant.

Does the delegation rule automatically apply to every new employee?

No, the out-of-office and delegation settings must be set up individually by each person in the Approvals Manager app, there is no automatic takeover for new accounts. Without active setup, a request still goes to the originally assigned, possibly absent person.

What is the difference between sequential and parallel approvals?

With sequential approvals, one stage only runs after the previous one, while parallel approvals can request several people at the same time. For a multi-level process with a supervisor and management, the sequential variant is the appropriate choice, because the second stage only makes sense after a positive first decision.

Do I necessarily need Dataverse for approvals with a long runtime?

For flows that are completed within 30 days, the standard configuration with Start and wait for an approval is sufficient. Only when longer waiting times are realistically expected does Microsoft recommend switching to the Dataverse-based two-flow solution, since a single flow run is otherwise time-limited.