# How to require approval for automation

> Turn on Needs approval for automation in a flow. Its templates then render through the API, integrations and agents only once approved.

- **URL**: https://orshot.com/help/require-approval-for-automation

---

With **Needs approval for automation** on, a flow's templates render for automation only from a stage that allows it, usually **Automation approved**. Until then, each render is blocked: nothing renders, no credits are used and nothing is queued.

Automation is any render through the Orshot API: your API key and the SDKs, OAuth apps, Zapier, Make and n8n, automation workflows, the Orshot MCP server and AI agents, dynamic URLs and the Playground. Editing, previews and downloads are never blocked, including MP4 downloads from the studio and the embed editor. [Key terms](https://orshot.com/docs/approval-flows/key-terms#automation) has the full list.

Approval flows are available on Scale and Enterprise plans.

## Turn it on

This affects live automations that use these templates, so tell your team first. Only owners, admins and people with **Manage** access can change it, never reviewers. In every preset, only **Automation approved** renders. Review stages and **Design approved** render nothing.

## What you'll see

- The line under the flow name reads **Needs approval for automation**.
- Cards in approved stages show **Ready for automation** or **Blocked for automation**.
- In the studio, the Approvals icon on the left rail gets an amber dot, and its menu says why automation is blocked.
- The template's Connect sheet says **Blocked for automation until approved**, and names the stage it's waiting in.
- **All Renders** lists a blocked render as **Blocked**, with the reason.
- Whoever created the template and the approvers of its stage get a "Render blocked" email, at most once a day per template.

![A template's Connect sheet with the notice Blocked for automation until approved, waiting in 'Brand review'](https://orshot.com/help/approval-flows/require-approval-3-blocked-notice.webp)

An automation gets a `403` with a plain message it can show as it is:

```json
{
  "error": "This template is waiting for approval in 'Brand and legal' and can't be rendered through the API yet.",
  "code": "template_not_approved",
  "message": "This template is waiting for approval in 'Brand and legal' and can't be rendered through the API yet.",
  "helpUrl": "https://orshot.com/docs/error-reference#template-not-approved"
}
```

The full response also lists `blockers`: the flow, the stage, who it waits on and the stage that would render it. See [Approval errors](https://orshot.com/docs/error-reference#approval-errors).

## Turn it off, or free one template

Switch **Needs approval for automation** off on the **General** tab. Templates in the flow render as they did before, and the flow keeps its stages and history.

To free one template instead, open its card menu, pick **Take out of this flow** and click **Take it out**. Admins get notified. Owners, admins and team members with **Manage** or **Approve** access in the flow can do this. Reviewers can't.

A flow over your plan's limit after a downgrade blocks nothing until it's active again. See [what happens after a downgrade](https://orshot.com/help/approval-flows-after-a-downgrade).

## Common problems

| You see | Why, and what to do |
| --- | --- |
| An automation fails with "template not approved" right after you turn it on | Expected. Get the template approved, or take it out of the flow. |
| "The design is approved, but not yet for automation." | It's in **Design approved**, which renders nothing. See [brand, then legal approval](https://orshot.com/help/brand-then-legal-approval). |
| "This template is approved for image, not for video." | The approval covers some outputs only. See [how to approve images but not PDFs or videos](https://orshot.com/help/approve-only-some-outputs). |
| "This template was edited after it was approved" | See [how to edit a template after it's approved](https://orshot.com/help/edit-after-approval). |
| An approved template still can't render | Its stage has nothing ticked under **Automation can render**. Tick the outputs in that stage's rules. |

## Related

- **[Set up your first approval flow](https://orshot.com/help/set-up-your-first-approval-flow)**: Presets, approvers and adding templates
- **[Approval errors](https://orshot.com/docs/error-reference#approval-errors)**: Every code a blocked render returns