How to Set Up Manager or Assessor Approval of Evidence

In this article:

• Overview
• Require evidence on a step
• Add an approval and choose the approver
• Approve or decline submitted evidence
• Evidence approval vs assessment steps
• Things to keep in mind
• FAQs
• Who can do this

Overview

When a learner needs to prove they've done something — uploaded a certificate, linked to a completed task, or described how they'll apply what they learned — you can ask them to submit evidence on a Pathway step, and then require someone to approve it before the step counts as complete. Evidence and approval are configured together in the step's settings: first turn on the evidence requirement, then add an approval and choose who signs it off — the learner's Manager, or specific people or Teams you nominate.

Require evidence on a step

1. Open the Pathway and select the step you want to gate (evidence applies to content, text and similar steps — not to Form, Pathway or Section steps).
2. In the step settings, find Learning Evidence and turn on Require evidence of learning completion.
3. In the description box, spell out what you need — the field prompts you to "Describe what evidence needs to be submitted as part of this learning step" (for example "Please provide the certificate from the course").

When a learner reaches the step they'll see a Submit Evidence button and can upload a file or paste a link as their proof.

Add an approval and choose the approver

Requiring evidence lets a learner submit proof; adding an approval means someone has to sign it off before the step completes.

1. In the same step settings, open the Approvals section.
2. To route approval to the learner's line manager, turn on Manager to approve.
3. To route it to named people or a Team instead (or as well), turn on Choose other approvers, then use Search for specific approvers to add individual people or a Team.
4. Publish the Pathway to apply the change.

Note: People you nominate as specific approvers must hold an Owner, Admin, Manager, People Manager or Instructor role — those are the only roles offered in the approver search. If you pick a Team, only members of that Team with one of those roles will be able to approve.

Good to know: As the step's tooltip explains, "If approval is required then the learner will be required to submit for approval before completing the step. The specified approvers can then approve or decline the learning based on the evidence… A declined learning step can be resubmitted by the learner."

Approve or decline submitted evidence

Once a learner submits evidence, the step moves to Awaiting Review and the approver is notified.

1. Go to Requests and open the Approval Requests tab.
2. Find the learner's submission and click View evidence to see what they uploaded or linked.
3. Click Approve to complete the step for them, or Decline to send it back — declining prompts you for a reason, and the learner can then resubmit.

The learner is notified of the outcome, and an approved step is stamped with who approved it and when.

Tip: Owners and Admins can approve any learner's evidence, even if they aren't the named approver. This is the quickest way to unblock a learner when their assigned Manager or approver is unavailable.

Evidence approval vs assessment steps

These are two different features, and it's worth knowing which you need:

• Evidence approval (this article) — the learner completes the step and submits proof, and an approver signs it off. Configured with Require evidence of learning completion and the Approvals section on a content or text step.
• Assessment steps — a Form step that someone other than the learner completes, such as a Manager scoring a practical demonstration. Configured on a Form step with To be completed by an assessor, and reviewed under the separate Assessment Requests tab. See the Adding Assessment Steps to Pathways article.

Things to keep in mind

• Evidence and approval are set per step, so you can require them on the steps that matter and leave others open.
• Approval is only meaningful once a learner submits — the step sits at Awaiting Review until an approver acts.
• A declined step can be resubmitted by the learner, so declining is a "please try again", not a dead end.
• Approval settings live on the Pathway and take effect when you publish.

FAQs

Can an Admin approve instead of the assigned Manager?
Yes. Owners and Admins can approve or decline any learner's evidence across your organisation, regardless of who is named as the approver on the step. This is intended for covering absences and clearing backlogs.

Who can be an approver?
The learner's Manager (via Manager to approve), or specific people or a Team you nominate (via Choose other approvers). Nominated approvers must hold an Owner, Admin, Manager, People Manager or Instructor role.

What's the difference between evidence approval and an assessment step?
Evidence approval is the learner submitting proof for someone to sign off. An assessment step is a Form completed by an assessor on the learner's behalf. They're configured differently and reviewed under different tabs (Approval Requests vs Assessment Requests).

What happens if evidence is declined?
The learner is notified with your reason and can resubmit new evidence for review.

Who can do this

Owners, Admins, Managers, Content Managers and Instructors can configure evidence and approval on a Pathway step (they can edit Pathway steps). People Managers, Employees and Restricted users have read-only access to Pathways and cannot change these settings. For performing approvals: Owners and Admins can approve or decline any learner's evidence organisation-wide; Managers, Content Managers, People Managers and Instructors can approve only where they are a named approver, the learner's direct manager, or the person who assigned the Pathway.

Updated on: 16/07/2026