Approve and publish a policy
When a policy is approved, it is automatically published.
Before you begin
Role required: sn_compliance.user or sn_compliance.manager
Note: For more information:
- About a policy, see An overview of policy life cycle in Policy and Compliance Management.
- About GRC application, see Governance, Risk, and Compliance.
About this task
Prior to Version 11.0.2 of the GRC: Policy and Compliance Management application, a new knowledge base article overwrote the previous version whenever you made changes to a policy. Starting with Version 11.0.2, when you again approve a policy, a new version of the KB article is created and listed in the Policy Versions tab, along with a history of previous versions.
This feature requires that you manually install and activate the Knowledge Management Advanced Installer [com.snc.knowledge_advanced.installer] plugin. For more information, see Activate a plugin.
Procedure
-
Navigate to All > Policy and Compliance > Policies and Procedures > Policies.
-
Open the policy record.
-
Review the policy details.
-
Click the Request Approval button.
Reviewers cannot request approval for a policy. To request approval, the policy owner must have at least the sn_compliance.user role, which is the minimum role required. Users with the sn_compliance.manager role can also request approval.
After the approval is granted, the policy is published, and a knowledge base (KB) article is automatically created with the policy details.
-
Any time you need to make changes to the policy, you can click Edit policy and enter a message in the pop-up, and click Request Approval. Add a comment in the pop-up. When approval is granted, a new version of the knowledge base article is created.
Note: As described above, if you activated the Knowledge Management Advanced Installer [com.snc.knowledge_advanced.installer] plugin, a new version of the KB article is created and listed in the Policy Versions tab, along with a history of previous versions as shown below.
[Omitted image "policy-versions.png"] Alt text: Policy versions
So, if you create links to this policy from the Service Portal or elsewhere, the latest version of the KB article is always displayed.
Parent Topic:Manage control objectives and policies
---
title: Approve and publish a policy
description: When a policy is approved, it is automatically published.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/governance-risk-compliance/policy-and-compliance-management/t\_ApprovePolicy.html
release: brazil
product: Policy and Compliance Management
classification: policy-and-compliance-management
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 2
breadcrumb: [Manage, Classic UI, Use, Policy and Compliance Management, Governance, Risk, and Compliance]
---
# Approve and publish a policy
When a policy is approved, it is automatically published.
## Before you begin
Role required: sn\_compliance.user or sn\_compliance.manager
**Note:** For more information:
- About a policy, see [An overview of policy life cycle in Policy and Compliance Management](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/governance-risk-compliance/policy-and-compliance-management/pc-policy-life-cycle-ovrvw.md).
- About GRC application, see [Governance, Risk, and Compliance](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/governance-risk-compliance/r_WhatIsGRC.md).
## About this task
Prior to Version 11.0.2 of the GRC: Policy and Compliance Management application, a new knowledge base article overwrote the previous version whenever you made changes to a policy. Starting with Version 11.0.2, when you again approve a policy, a new version of the KB article is created and listed in the **Policy Versions** tab, along with a history of previous versions.
This feature requires that you manually install and activate the Knowledge Management Advanced Installer \[com.snc.knowledge\_advanced.installer\] plugin. For more information, see [Activate a plugin](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-administration/t_ActivateAPlugin.md).
## Procedure
1. Navigate to **All** > **Policy and Compliance** > **Policies and Procedures** > **Policies**.
2. Open the policy record.
3. Review the policy details.
4. Click the **Request Approval** button.
Reviewers cannot request approval for a policy. To request approval, the policy owner must have at least the **sn\_compliance.user** role, which is the minimum role required. Users with the **sn\_compliance.manager** role can also request approval.
After the approval is granted, the policy is published, and a knowledge base \(KB\) article is automatically created with the policy details.
5. Any time you need to make changes to the policy, you can click **Edit policy** and enter a message in the pop-up, and click **Request Approval**. Add a comment in the pop-up. When approval is granted, a new version of the knowledge base article is created.
**Note:** As described above, if you activated the Knowledge Management Advanced Installer \[com.snc.knowledge\_advanced.installer\] plugin, a new version of the KB article is created and listed in the **Policy Versions** tab, along with a history of previous versions as shown below.
\[Omitted image "policy-versions.png"\] Alt text: Policy versions
So, if you create links to this policy from the Service Portal or elsewhere, the latest version of the KB article is always displayed.
**Parent Topic:**[Manage control objectives and policies](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/governance-risk-compliance/policy-and-compliance-management/r_PoliciesAndProcedures.md)
| title | Approve and publish a policy |
| description | When a policy is approved, it is automatically published. |
| locale | en-US |
| canonical_url | https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/governance-risk-compliance/policy-and-compliance-management/t\_ApprovePolicy.html |
| release | brazil |
| product | Policy and Compliance Management |
| classification | policy-and-compliance-management |
| topic_type | task |
| last_updated | 2026-09-10 |
| reading_time_minutes | 2 |
| breadcrumb | ManageClassic UIUsePolicy and Compliance ManagementGovernanceRiskand Compliance |