# Approving documents and versions

Who can approve a draft policy or procedure in Sted, what approval records, how to start a new version, and where earlier versions are kept.

Source: https://sted.digital/docs/product/approval-and-versions · Last reviewed 17 October 2026 · Strand Product

A Draft becomes Approved when an administrator, or a Policy and Process Owner who owns it, selects **Approve** at its foot and confirms the dates and change notes. To change an Approved document, create a new version: the Approved one stays in use until the new draft is approved, then moves to **History**.

## What this is

Approval is the sign-off that makes a draft the version your people follow and the version an auditor reads. Sted records who approved it, when it takes effect, when it is next due for review, and change notes explaining what moved and why. The [approved document](/docs/glossary/approved-document) glossary entry explains why that record matters.

Every later change goes through a new version, so the chain of Approved versions is your document's history. An Approved document reads Approved even while a newer draft of it is being prepared.

## Where to find it

**Approve** sits at the very foot of a Draft, under the last section. **Create new version** is in Steward's menu on an Approved document: select **Steward** at the bottom right of the screen, or on a phone open **Menu** and use its **Steward** section. For earlier versions, select a document, then open **Framework**, then **History**.

## How it works

### Approve a draft

1. Open the Draft and read it to the end.
2. Select **Approve**.
3. Check the **Effective date:** and **Review due:**.
4. Read the **Change notes:**, edit them, or select **Rebuild from the review** to draft them again.
5. Select **Confirm**.

The change notes open drafted for you from **Why this revision**, the updated recommendations you decided and your own changes. **Review due** starts at the effective date plus the document's review frequency, and a review task opens 30 days before that date.

**Approve** stays disabled while any updated recommendation is undecided, for administrators too; [decide the updates](/docs/product/recommendation-updates) first. A document still Awaiting review cannot be approved; [finish its review](/docs/product/reviewing-a-draft) to make it a Draft.

### What approval changes

The Draft becomes the Approved version, and the version before it is superseded. The tasks that waited on approval close, and the people assigned to the document are asked to train on the new version. Reviewers and Personnel see the document from this point.

### Start a new version

1. Open the Approved document.
2. Open Steward's menu and select **Create new version**.
3. Write **Why this revision**.
4. Select **Confirm**.

Sted creates a new Draft from the Approved version and keeps the Approved one in use until the new one is approved. Your reason opens the new version's change notes. Then [edit the new draft](/docs/product/editing-documents).

### Assign the owner

An administrator chooses each document's owner with **Assign to another user** or **Assign to me** in Steward's menu. Only administrators and Policy and Process Owners can own a document, so the **Owner** list offers only them.

### Look back at earlier versions

**History** lists a document's versions with their change notes, effective date and approver. **View superseded** opens an old version, read-only. Administrators and the document's owner can open them. Every PDF export ends with a revision history page of the Approved versions, newest first.

## Permissions

Each level's rule is shown below, with ownership on top: a Policy and Process Owner approves, versions and opens the history only of documents they own.

| Action | Administrator | Policy and Process Owner | Reviewer | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approve a Draft | All documents | Documents they own | No | No |
| Create a new version of an Approved document | All documents | Documents they own | No | No |
| Assign a document's owner | Yes | No | No | No |
| Open superseded versions in History | All documents | Documents they own | No | No |
| Export a document with its revision history | Yes, on a paid plan | Yes, on a paid plan | Yes, on a paid plan | Yes, on a paid plan |

**Approve** appears only for someone who may approve that document, and **History** is in the sidebar for administrators and Policy and Process Owners only. The assign rows in Steward's menu stay disabled for anyone but an administrator.

## Limits and plan features

Approval has no override: undecided updated recommendations block it for everyone. Training on an unchanged version cannot be re-issued; a new approved version is what asks people to train again.

Approving works on every plan; on Preview it applies to the one generated document you can open in full. Exporting the PDF with its revision history needs a paid plan.

## Related guides

- [Document control](/docs/guides/document-control): running reviews, versions and approvals the way auditors expect.
- [When Sted updates its recommendations](/docs/product/recommendation-updates): the decisions that must come before approval.
- [Building a training and awareness programme](/docs/guides/training-and-awareness): what to do with the training a new version asks for.
- [Exporting documents and records as PDF](/docs/product/pdf-export): getting the approved document and its revision history out of Sted.

## Frequently asked questions

Q: Who can approve a policy in Sted?
A: An administrator, or a Policy and Process Owner who owns that policy. Reviewers and Personnel cannot approve, and a Policy and Process Owner cannot approve a document someone else owns.

Q: Does my old policy stop applying while I draft a new version?
A: No. The Approved version stays Approved and in use until the new draft is approved. Only then does the old one move to History as superseded.

Q: Will people have to redo their training after I approve a new version?
A: Yes. Training is completed against a specific approved version, so approving a new one asks the people assigned to the document to train again. Completed training on the old version stays on record.

Q: Can a Policy and Process Owner see the history of every document?
A: No. History is in their sidebar, but it shows earlier versions only of the documents they own. Administrators can open the history of every document.