Follow up on posts waiting for approval
See which posts are still waiting for sign-off, what happens when one misses its time, and how to approve it late.
4 min readUpdated 16 Oct 2026Essential, Pro and Max only
Before you start
Steps
A post held for approval never publishes on its own. If its time comes and nobody has approved it, whoever created it gets a notification and an email. Click the bell to see it.
The notice names the post and the time it missed. Before that, the people you asked to approve it got a reminder about a day ahead.
Open Posts and click Awaiting approval. Every post held for sign-off is here, and one whose time has passed is marked Overdue.
Click the post to open it. Under Approval, a post whose time has passed says it won't go out until it is approved.
Click Approve. Because the time has passed, you're asked whether to Publish now or Approve, pick a new time.
Click Approve, pick a new time. The post moves to Drafts, approved, so you can choose when it goes out.
Click Pick a new time. The post opens on its Schedule step, so choose the new time and schedule it. It isn't sent for approval again unless you change what the post says or shows.
Reminders
The people you asked get a reminder 24 hours before the post's time. If you asked less than a day ahead, it comes halfway there, and there's none when you asked under two hours ahead. Teammates see it in the app and by email, and clients get it by email.
When the time passes
The post stays held and never publishes on its own. Whoever created it gets a notice in the app and by email. Approval requests, reminders and these notices are emailed even to people who turned email notifications off.
Approving late
A teammate approving late chooses Publish now or Approve, pick a new time. When a client approves late, the post always goes back to Drafts, approved, and you're asked to pick a new time.
Changing a held post
A new time keeps the approval. Changing the caption, media or platforms of an approved post asks for approval again.
On the calendar
A held post is marked as awaiting approval, and as overdue once its time has passed.