Why is there no Approvals connector in Azure Logic App?

Question

Why is there no Approvals connector in Azure Logic App?

Artem Shaturskyi 225

Hi!
Probably this is a rhetorical question, but why is there no Approvals Connector in Azure Logic App, unlike PowerApps Flow? It seems the simple task - sending approval to a number of administrators and continuing when any of them approve or decline - becomes quite complex to implement. Is it due to some restrictions in Logic Apps, or did Microsoft not add this connector 'just because'?

Kyle Burns 476 Reputation points

2025-05-29T13:09:28.34+00:00
Hi Artem. I asked a similar question some time ago when I was being introduced to Logic Apps and the answer was that functionality like that pretty quickly would impose some degree of being opinionated into the approval flow. Think of some of the following questions which likely have a quick and easy answer that resonates with you and your organization, but many other different quick and easy answers that resonate with others that find your answers incompatible with the preferences or policies of their organization:

How is the approver notified?

Does the approver need access to the Logic App instance in the Azure Portal?

What happens if the approver doesn't respond in a timely manner?

How are pending approvals monitored?

How are approvals audited?

Part of the difference between PaaS and SaaS is that SaaS is focused on being a turn-key solution that can be used out of the box and there is a high expectation that the SaaS solution will be opinionated with some things being "just how that product does it" while PaaS is expected to be a set of building blocks that you compose and extend to create a solution tailored to your own needs.

I'm not affiliated with either product team and can't speak to all of the reasons that the functionality you're looking at is not part of the Logic Apps product, but for the reason I've laid out here I do believe that it is appropriate that the functionality is not part of Logic Apps.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-05-29T20:50:30.3566667+00:00
Hello Artem Shaturskyi,

What specific approval processes do you want to automate could you please describe briefly?
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-02T06:34:34.2266667+00:00

Hi @Praveen Kumar Gudipudi
For example: a user makes a request for a software license using MS Forms. This triggers the Logic App, which, among other things, should inform a group of license owners about the new request. Any member of the group can approve or decline it. Based on the approval result, specific actions are applied further.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-02T07:05:49.26+00:00

Hi @Kyle Burns
But Logic Apps still has the Microsoft Teams action 'Post adaptive card and wait for a response' - it is similar to Approvals. However, to make it available to multiple users, it requires creating a group chat for each specific case. In my opinion, all the reasons you highlighted also apply to 'Post adaptive card and wait for a response,' yet it exists in Logis Apps. But it is not as straightforward and user-friendly as the Approvals connector.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-03T09:39:21.37+00:00

Hello @Artem Shaturskyi,

So we have send approval email action in office 365 outlook connector, please try this connector.

Please let us know with an update.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-03T14:13:33.33+00:00

Hi @Praveen Kumar Gudipudi ,
Yes, I'm aware of this action, but it has one major disadvantage - the approval status is not updated for all recipients. Once one of the approvers performs an Approve or Reject action, the card is only updated in their mailbox. The remaining recipients still see active Approve/Reject buttons and will receive an error if they use them:

This gives no useful information to users and only causes confusion. If there were a way to update or even remove the email with the form after it has been approved or rejected, it could be a viable option. But as it is, it provides a rather unfriendly user experience.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-03T14:39:07.07+00:00

Hello @Artem Shaturskyi,

To user get notified about approval status please configure your logic app as shown in below screenshot.

Please add send an email connector below send an email approval action. This will notify user about approval status.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-04T06:55:17.26+00:00

Hi @Praveen Kumar Gudipudi
A separate email with the status does not resolve the issue of non-functional Approve / Reject forms in users’ mailboxes.
I fully understand that there are various "workarounds" that can be combined to mimic the Approvals experience, but none of them offer the same level of functionality and simplicity.

And what about multi-level approvals? How many emails would that require? It would quickly become a complete mess.

So honestly, I do not understand why such a useful connector is missing in Logic Apps.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-04T07:05:09.6566667+00:00

Hello @Artem Shaturskyi,

Currently, this is not possible in logic apps. You can send only 1 approval from logic apps.

If you want multiple-level approvals, please configure parallel jobs as shown in below screenshot.

It will send only two emails for each user. 1. approval email 2. status email.

If you good with this configuration please let me know i will help you out.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-04T07:23:51.54+00:00

Hello @Artem Shaturskyi,

Could you please check the private message and provide the required details for troubleshooting the issue further.

Here is the reference link on how to access & data retention policy of private messages in Microsoft Q&A.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-04T10:13:59.2133333+00:00

Hello @Praveen Kumar Gudipudi
Parallel jobs are not an option, because approvals must happen sequentially. This could be implemented with a single action like 'Sequential Approvals' in the Approvals connector. Instead, in Logic Apps, we end up spamming users with multiple emails.

I don’t want to rely on “crutches” for this purpose - the simpler the workflow, the better. Currently, we have the approval part handled in Power Automate, and the rest of the logic is in Logic Apps.

The question isn’t about how to workaround the problem - I believe I’ve tried most of the possible workarounds, and to be honest, none of them work well in practice. The real question is: what is the specific reason why the Approvals connector is still not available in Logic Apps?
Kyle Burns 476 Reputation points

2025-06-04T13:18:35.62+00:00

Hi @Artem Shaturskyi - I've been out and am just getting back to this thread, but it appears to be supporting my original assertion that users of a PaaS platform tend to have very specific requirements that must be met to make the software suitable for their purpose and need a tailored solution. This is why in my opinion PaaS platforms are better off to expose generalized building blocks that you compose (possibly with some of your own custom or third party components thrown in the mix) into your own solution. I can say that with a large percentage of the customers that I regularly deal with, a third party request tracking system (such as ServiceNow or Dynamics Approvals Management) would be required to be in the mix for audit purposes.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-05T07:11:19.3633333+00:00

Hi @Kyle Burns , thank you for the reply. In my opinion, the issue I’m trying to solve isn’t very specific - programmatically assigning a license after a request is sequentially approved. I believe this flow is applicable to most organizations.
Regarding your notes about generalized building blocks - I agree. But why can’t Approvals be one of those blocks? It’s not fundamentally different from existing ones, yet it provides essential and highly useful functionality.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-09T00:36:01.1266667+00:00

Hello @Artem Shaturskyi,

Could you please describe your requirement briefly, so that i can share you the customized logic app designer as per your requirement.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-09T12:11:37.0266667+00:00
Hi @Praveen Kumar Gudipudi For example:
A user submits a software license request via MS Forms. This triggers a Logic App that performs the following:

Sends an approval request to the license owners. Depending on the license, this could be one, or multiple users, or user group.

Any of the designated license owners should be able to approve or reject the request. Once one person takes action, all others must be informed of the request’s current status. Users should not be confused by non-functional Approve/Reject buttons.

Depending on the license, the approval process may involve one or multiple levels. Each level's approver should clearly know when it's their turn to act. Therefore, sending a large number of emails is not an acceptable solution.

The subsequent logic following approval or rejection is not relevant for this example.
Gaurav Kumar 790 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-13T09:15:51.4833333+00:00

Hi Artem Shaturskyi,

Following up to check if the issue is resolved or if you need any further assistance. Let me know how it's going!
Gaurav Kumar 790 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-18T07:31:47.9466667+00:00

Hi Artem Shaturskyi,
We haven’t heard back from you. If you're still facing any issues, please click on Comment and let us know. Feel free to post back, we're happy to help!
Wojciech Ignasiak 5 Reputation points

2025-09-10T12:58:28.84+00:00

Im facing the same problems. Sending approval emails is not the right solution for this issue. Only option is to use PowerApps because the lack of this connector is simply an aberration.

Your answer

Kyle Burns 476 Reputation points

2025-05-29T13:09:28.34+00:00

Hi Artem. I asked a similar question some time ago when I was being introduced to Logic Apps and the answer was that functionality like that pretty quickly would impose some degree of being opinionated into the approval flow. Think of some of the following questions which likely have a quick and easy answer that resonates with you and your organization, but many other different quick and easy answers that resonate with others that find your answers incompatible with the preferences or policies of their organization:

How is the approver notified?

Does the approver need access to the Logic App instance in the Azure Portal?

What happens if the approver doesn't respond in a timely manner?

How are pending approvals monitored?

How are approvals audited?

Part of the difference between PaaS and SaaS is that SaaS is focused on being a turn-key solution that can be used out of the box and there is a high expectation that the SaaS solution will be opinionated with some things being "just how that product does it" while PaaS is expected to be a set of building blocks that you compose and extend to create a solution tailored to your own needs.

I'm not affiliated with either product team and can't speak to all of the reasons that the functionality you're looking at is not part of the Logic Apps product, but for the reason I've laid out here I do believe that it is appropriate that the functionality is not part of Logic Apps.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-05-29T20:50:30.3566667+00:00

Hello Artem Shaturskyi,

What specific approval processes do you want to automate could you please describe briefly?
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-02T06:34:34.2266667+00:00

Hi @Praveen Kumar Gudipudi
For example: a user makes a request for a software license using MS Forms. This triggers the Logic App, which, among other things, should inform a group of license owners about the new request. Any member of the group can approve or decline it. Based on the approval result, specific actions are applied further.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-02T07:05:49.26+00:00

Hi @Kyle Burns
But Logic Apps still has the Microsoft Teams action 'Post adaptive card and wait for a response' - it is similar to Approvals. However, to make it available to multiple users, it requires creating a group chat for each specific case. In my opinion, all the reasons you highlighted also apply to 'Post adaptive card and wait for a response,' yet it exists in Logis Apps. But it is not as straightforward and user-friendly as the Approvals connector.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-03T09:39:21.37+00:00

Hello @Artem Shaturskyi,

So we have send approval email action in office 365 outlook connector, please try this connector.

Please let us know with an update.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-03T14:13:33.33+00:00

Hi @Praveen Kumar Gudipudi ,
Yes, I'm aware of this action, but it has one major disadvantage - the approval status is not updated for all recipients. Once one of the approvers performs an Approve or Reject action, the card is only updated in their mailbox. The remaining recipients still see active Approve/Reject buttons and will receive an error if they use them:

This gives no useful information to users and only causes confusion. If there were a way to update or even remove the email with the form after it has been approved or rejected, it could be a viable option. But as it is, it provides a rather unfriendly user experience.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-03T14:39:07.07+00:00

Hello @Artem Shaturskyi,

To user get notified about approval status please configure your logic app as shown in below screenshot.

Please add send an email connector below send an email approval action. This will notify user about approval status.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-04T06:55:17.26+00:00

Hi @Praveen Kumar Gudipudi
A separate email with the status does not resolve the issue of non-functional Approve / Reject forms in users’ mailboxes.
I fully understand that there are various "workarounds" that can be combined to mimic the Approvals experience, but none of them offer the same level of functionality and simplicity.

And what about multi-level approvals? How many emails would that require? It would quickly become a complete mess.

So honestly, I do not understand why such a useful connector is missing in Logic Apps.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-04T07:05:09.6566667+00:00

Hello @Artem Shaturskyi,

Currently, this is not possible in logic apps. You can send only 1 approval from logic apps.

If you want multiple-level approvals, please configure parallel jobs as shown in below screenshot.

It will send only two emails for each user. 1. approval email 2. status email.

If you good with this configuration please let me know i will help you out.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-04T07:23:51.54+00:00

Hello @Artem Shaturskyi,

Could you please check the private message and provide the required details for troubleshooting the issue further.

Here is the reference link on how to access & data retention policy of private messages in Microsoft Q&A.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-04T10:13:59.2133333+00:00

Hello @Praveen Kumar Gudipudi
Parallel jobs are not an option, because approvals must happen sequentially. This could be implemented with a single action like 'Sequential Approvals' in the Approvals connector. Instead, in Logic Apps, we end up spamming users with multiple emails.

I don’t want to rely on “crutches” for this purpose - the simpler the workflow, the better. Currently, we have the approval part handled in Power Automate, and the rest of the logic is in Logic Apps.

The question isn’t about how to workaround the problem - I believe I’ve tried most of the possible workarounds, and to be honest, none of them work well in practice. The real question is: what is the specific reason why the Approvals connector is still not available in Logic Apps?
Kyle Burns 476 Reputation points

2025-06-04T13:18:35.62+00:00

Hi @Artem Shaturskyi - I've been out and am just getting back to this thread, but it appears to be supporting my original assertion that users of a PaaS platform tend to have very specific requirements that must be met to make the software suitable for their purpose and need a tailored solution. This is why in my opinion PaaS platforms are better off to expose generalized building blocks that you compose (possibly with some of your own custom or third party components thrown in the mix) into your own solution. I can say that with a large percentage of the customers that I regularly deal with, a third party request tracking system (such as ServiceNow or Dynamics Approvals Management) would be required to be in the mix for audit purposes.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-05T07:11:19.3633333+00:00

Hi @Kyle Burns , thank you for the reply. In my opinion, the issue I’m trying to solve isn’t very specific - programmatically assigning a license after a request is sequentially approved. I believe this flow is applicable to most organizations.
Regarding your notes about generalized building blocks - I agree. But why can’t Approvals be one of those blocks? It’s not fundamentally different from existing ones, yet it provides essential and highly useful functionality.
Praveen Kumar Gudipudi 1,880 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-09T00:36:01.1266667+00:00

Hello @Artem Shaturskyi,

Could you please describe your requirement briefly, so that i can share you the customized logic app designer as per your requirement.
Artem Shaturskyi 225 Reputation points

2025-06-09T12:11:37.0266667+00:00

Hi @Praveen Kumar Gudipudi For example:
A user submits a software license request via MS Forms. This triggers a Logic App that performs the following:

Sends an approval request to the license owners. Depending on the license, this could be one, or multiple users, or user group.

Any of the designated license owners should be able to approve or reject the request. Once one person takes action, all others must be informed of the request’s current status. Users should not be confused by non-functional Approve/Reject buttons.

Depending on the license, the approval process may involve one or multiple levels. Each level's approver should clearly know when it's their turn to act. Therefore, sending a large number of emails is not an acceptable solution.

The subsequent logic following approval or rejection is not relevant for this example.
Gaurav Kumar 790 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-13T09:15:51.4833333+00:00

Hi Artem Shaturskyi,

Following up to check if the issue is resolved or if you need any further assistance. Let me know how it's going!
Gaurav Kumar 790 Reputation points Moderator

2025-06-18T07:31:47.9466667+00:00

Hi Artem Shaturskyi,
We haven’t heard back from you. If you're still facing any issues, please click on Comment and let us know. Feel free to post back, we're happy to help!
Wojciech Ignasiak 5 Reputation points

2025-09-10T12:58:28.84+00:00

Im facing the same problems. Sending approval emails is not the right solution for this issue. Only option is to use PowerApps because the lack of this connector is simply an aberration.