> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.balkan.id/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.balkan.id/user-access-reviews/access-review-management/how-reviewer-assignment-and-approval-works.md).

# How Reviewer Assignment & Approval Works

How BalkanID decides who reviews an access review or access request, how approvals are counted, and what happens when there aren't enough reviewers.

Every access review and access request is routed to reviewers and completes once enough of them approve. This section explains how BalkanID picks those reviewers, who is allowed to act, how approvals are counted, and how reviews recover when reviewers fall short.

{% hint style="info" %}
This applies wherever reviewers are assigned: access review campaigns, access request policies, and reassignments. To reassign reviewers on an existing campaign, see [Other actions on campaigns](/user-access-reviews/access-review-management/configuring-access-reviews-and-campaigns/other-actions-on-campaigns.md). For time-based reassignment of overdue reviews, see [Configuring campaign escalation](/user-access-reviews/access-review-management/configuring-access-reviews-and-campaigns/configuring-campaign-escalation.md).
{% endhint %}

## The model in short

1. **Precedence** is an ordered list of levels. Each level names who reviews (employees, reviewer groups, or built-in groups) and how many approvals it needs.
2. **Eligibility** decides which of those people can actually act right now. Terminated or unavailable employees, and the subject of the review, are left out.
3. **Counting** moves the review through its levels as approvals come in.
4. **Shortfalls** happen when a level has fewer eligible reviewers than it needs. Depending on your settings, the review proceeds anyway or is held as **Invalid** until it's recovered.

## Where to go next

| I want to...                                                                | Read                                                                                                                                                                     |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Create named sets of reviewers and understand built-in groups               | [Reviewer groups](/user-access-reviews/access-review-management/how-reviewer-assignment-and-approval-works/reviewer-groups.md)                                           |
| Choose reviewers and approval counts for an integration, campaign or policy | [Setting up reviewer precedence](/user-access-reviews/access-review-management/how-reviewer-assignment-and-approval-works/setting-up-reviewer-precedence.md)             |
| Send specific applications, purposes or risk levels to different reviewers  | [Reviewer precedence policy overrides](/user-access-reviews/access-review-management/how-reviewer-assignment-and-approval-works/reviewer-precedence-policy-overrides.md) |
| Know who is allowed to act on a review                                      | [Who can act on a review](/user-access-reviews/access-review-management/how-reviewer-assignment-and-approval-works/who-can-act-on-a-review.md)                           |
| Understand how approvals add up and move a review between levels            | [How approvals are counted](/user-access-reviews/access-review-management/how-reviewer-assignment-and-approval-works/how-approvals-are-counted.md)                       |
| Control what happens when a level doesn't have enough reviewers             | [When there aren't enough reviewers](/user-access-reviews/access-review-management/how-reviewer-assignment-and-approval-works/when-there-arent-enough-reviewers.md)      |
| Get an **Invalid** review moving again                                      | [Recovering Invalid reviews](/user-access-reviews/access-review-management/how-reviewer-assignment-and-approval-works/recovering-invalid-reviews.md)                     |

## Prerequisites & permissions

* **Tenant Admin** permissions are required to create and manage reviewer groups and to change the tenant-wide settings described in this section.
* Recovering Invalid reviews (reassigning or rechecking) requires a **Tenant Admin** or **Risk Manager**.
* Any employee who belongs to a reviewer group assigned to a review can act on it, exactly like an individually assigned reviewer.


---

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