The Challenge of Document Sign-offs
In professional environments, finalizing a contract, a project proposal, or a legal document usually involves a messy chain of emails. You send a PDF attachment, someone replies with revisions, you upload a new version, and eventually, you lose track of who gave final approval on which specific version.
Google Workspace solves this with the built-in Approvals feature in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. This feature formalizes the sign-off process, locking the document to prevent further changes once it has been approved by the required stakeholders.
How to Request an Approval
To initiate a formal review process, you must be the owner of the document or have explicit editing privileges.
- Open the Google Doc you want to get signed off.
- Click on File in the top menu bar.
- Select Approvals from the dropdown menu. A sidebar will open on the right side of your screen.
- Click the Make a request button.
A dialog box will appear where you must configure the parameters of your request.
Configuring the Request Parameters
To ensure a smooth workflow, carefully fill out the following fields:
- Approvers: Type the email addresses of the people who need to sign off. If you add multiple people, you can choose whether all of them must approve it, or if just one approval is sufficient.
- Message: Add context so the reviewers know exactly what they are looking at (e.g., “Please review the final Q3 budget figures”).
- Due Date: Set a strict deadline. Google will automatically send reminder emails as the due date approaches.
- Lock Document: Check the box that says “Lock this document before sending.” This is crucial. It changes the document to “View Only” for everyone, ensuring no one can sneak in a last-minute edit while it is out for review.
Click Send request. If the approvers do not already have permission to view the document, Google Docs will prompt you to share it with them.
The Approver’s Experience
The reviewers will receive an automated email notifying them of the request. When they open the document, they will see a persistent banner at the top of the screen with two clear options: Approve or Reject.
If a reviewer spots an error, they cannot edit the document directly (if you locked it). Instead, they must click Reject and leave a comment explaining why. This rejection immediately notifies you via email.
Handling Edits During an Approval
If a document is rejected, or if you realize you made a mistake after sending the request, you can unlock the document. To do this, click the lock icon in the top banner and select Unlock.
When you edit an unlocked document that is currently pending approval, Google Docs handles it very strictly. It will reset the approval status for anyone who has already signed off. Because the document has changed, all previous approvers must re-review the new version and click Approve again.
Finalizing the Document
Once all required approvers have clicked “Approve,” the document enters a permanently approved state. A green badge will appear next to the document title. If anyone attempts to unlock and edit the document after this point, the green badge will disappear, and the approval record will state that the current version does not match the approved version. This creates an unalterable audit trail for critical business documents.