Create approval levels for Exception Management
Define the levels of users and user groups that are going to approve the exception requests.
Before you begin
Role required: sn_vul.vulnerability_admin
Procedure
-
Navigate to All > Vulnerability Response > Administration > Approval Rules.
-
Select an approval rule and navigate to the Approval Configurations tab.
-
Select a configuration.
-
In the Approver Levels section, select an approver level.
-
On the form, fill in the fields.
|
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Name |
Approval level name. |
|
Required approval |
Select how many approvals are required for the selected level:- One approver required
|
|
Active |
Enabled by default, signifying that the approval level is in use. |
|
Order |
Execution order of various configurations within a rule. For example, a configuration with an order entry of 100 runs before a configuration with an order entry of 200. |
|
Approval rule |
Contains the table and type details for the approval rule. |
|
Approval configuration |
Contains the approval configurations. |
|
Assign using |
Select an option from:- User and user group
|
|
Groups |
Approver level group consisting of multiple users. The user must have one of the following roles:- sn_vul.exception_approver: For exception management and exception rules
|
|
Users |
Edit the users listed in the groups. |
**Note:** Prior to v15.0, the workflow process is functional if there are users only in Exception level 1. However, starting from v15.0, there must be at least one user in each level.
Prior to v15.0, in the workflow, if there was no user in the second level, the vulnerability item or vulnerable group was deferred. However, v15.0 onwards, if there is no user in the second level, the approval request is automatically rejected.
Example
There can be different approval levels for vulnerabilities for Linux and Windows servers.
---
title: Create approval levels for Exception Management
description: Define the levels of users and user groups that are going to approve the exception requests.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/security-management/vulnerability-response/exception-mgt-config-approval-rule.html
release: brazil
product: Vulnerability Response
classification: vulnerability-response
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Configure approval rules for Exception Management, Additional Vulnerability Response setup and configuration tasks, Vulnerability Response implementation, Vulnerability Response, Unified Security Exposure Management, Security Operations]
---
# Create approval levels for Exception Management
Define the levels of users and user groups that are going to approve the exception requests.
## Before you begin
Role required: sn\_vul.vulnerability\_admin
## Procedure
1. Navigate to **All** > **Vulnerability Response** > **Administration** > **Approval Rules**.
2. Select an approval rule and navigate to the **Approval Configurations** tab.
3. Select a configuration.
4. In the Approver Levels section, select an approver level.
5. On the form, fill in the fields.
<table id="table_cn3_tmz_kqb"><thead><tr><th>
Field
</th><th>
Description
</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>
Name
</td><td>
Approval level name.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Required approval
</td><td>
Select how many approvals are required for the selected level:- One approver required
- All users must approve
</td></tr><tr><td>
Active
</td><td>
Enabled by default, signifying that the approval level is in use.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Order
</td><td>
Execution order of various configurations within a rule. For example, a configuration with an order entry of 100 runs before a configuration with an order entry of 200.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Approval rule
</td><td>
Contains the table and type details for the approval rule.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Approval configuration
</td><td>
Contains the approval configurations.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Assign using
</td><td>
Select an option from:- User and user group
- Approval table field
- Script
</td></tr><tr><td>
Groups
</td><td>
Approver level group consisting of multiple users. The user must have one of the following roles:- sn\_vul.exception\_approver: For exception management and exception rules
- sn\_vul.false\_positive\_approver: For false positive
</td></tr><tr><td>
Users
</td><td>
Edit the users listed in the groups.
</td></tr></tbody>
</table>6. To save the changes, select **Update**.
**Note:** Prior to v15.0, the workflow process is functional if there are users only in Exception level 1. However, starting from v15.0, there must be at least one user in each level.
Prior to v15.0, in the workflow, if there was no user in the second level, the vulnerability item or vulnerable group was deferred. However, v15.0 onwards, if there is no user in the second level, the approval request is automatically rejected.
## Example
There can be different approval levels for vulnerabilities for Linux and Windows servers.
| title | Create approval levels for Exception Management |
| description | Define the levels of users and user groups that are going to approve the exception requests. |
| locale | en-US |
| canonical_url | https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/security-management/vulnerability-response/exception-mgt-config-approval-rule.html |
| release | brazil |
| product | Vulnerability Response |
| classification | vulnerability-response |
| topic_type | task |
| last_updated | 2026-09-10 |
| reading_time_minutes | 1 |
| breadcrumb | Configure approval rules for Exception ManagementAdditional Vulnerability Response setup and configuration tasksVulnerability Response implementationVulnerability ResponseUnified Security Exposure ManagementSecurity Operations |