How to Write an Email Asking for Approval (With 7 Templates)

Why approval emails get stuck

Approval requests usually stall for one reason: saying yes takes work. The approver has to find the context, work out what exactly they are approving, and guess when you need it. So the email waits until they have time, which is often never.

Your job is to make yes the easiest reply. Everything below follows from that.

The five parts of a good approval request

1. A subject that says it all. Put "Approval needed", what it is, and the date. For example: "Approval needed: $4,200 for the trade show booth, by Oct 20". The approver should know what you want before they open it.

2. The ask in the first sentence. Not the background. The ask. "Can you approve $4,200 for our booth at the November trade show?"

3. Two or three lines of context. Why you need it, what it costs, and what you considered instead. If the approver has to scroll, it is too long.

4. A deadline with a reason. "By Friday, because the early-booking price ends then" gets a faster answer than "at your earliest convenience".

5. An easy way to say yes. "A reply saying approved is enough." People act faster when they know exactly what to do.

Attach the thing being approved (the quote, the design, the contract) so they do not have to ask for it. And send it to the one person who can approve it. Copying five people means everyone waits for someone else.

Templates

Change the details, keep the shape.

Budget or spending

Time off

A design, document or piece of content

A discount or special price for a client

A purchase or new tool

A contract or agreement

A reminder when you have not heard back

Reply in the same thread so the details are right there. More on this in our guide to following up when nobody replies.

When you are the one approving

Approve in writing, in the same thread, so there is a record. Be specific about what you approved.

Don't offer what has not been approved

The costly version of this mistake happens later: someone tells a client "we can do 20% off" before anyone said yes. Once it is in writing, it is hard to take back.

Presend lets you write rules like this in plain English: "Flag any discount I have not been approved to offer." It checks every email and message when you click send and can warn you or stop the send until you have dealt with it.