Skip to content
Salesforce Dictionary - Free Salesforce GlossarySalesforce Dictionary
Full Mass Transfer Approval Requests entry
How-to guide

How to transfer pending approval requests in bulk

Use this when pending approval requests are stuck because their current approver has left, changed role, or is on extended leave, and you need to hand them to someone else in one operation. You run it from Setup with administrative access.

By Dipojjal Chakrabarti · Founder & Editor, Salesforce DictionaryLast updated Jun 16, 2026

Use this when pending approval requests are stuck because their current approver has left, changed role, or is on extended leave, and you need to hand them to someone else in one operation. You run it from Setup with administrative access.

  1. Open the tool

    From Setup, type Mass Transfer Approval Requests into the Quick Find box and open the page.

  2. List the pending requests

    Click Find to display the pending approval requests, then review the count and a few sample records to confirm you are looking at the right set.

  3. Pick the new approver

    Select Mass transfer outstanding approval requests to a new user, then search for and choose the user who will receive the requests. Confirm that user can edit the underlying records.

  4. Select and transfer

    Select each request you want to move, add an optional comment for the Approval History, then click Transfer to commit the reassignment.

New user (recipient)remember

The user who will own the pending requests after the transfer. They must have edit access to the records the requests are attached to.

Commentremember

Optional note saved to the Approval History related list on each transferred record, useful for recording why the reassignment happened.

Request selectionremember

You choose individual requests from the Find results, so you can move all of them or only a subset that belongs to the new owner.

Gotchas
  • Only pending requests can be transferred. Approved or rejected requests are already complete and cannot be reassigned through this tool.
  • If the recipient cannot edit the records tied to the requests, the workflow stalls again under a new owner. Verify their access first.
  • There is no one-click undo. To reverse a transfer you rerun the tool and move the requests back, so confirm your selection before committing.
  • For planned, recurring coverage use the Delegated Approver field on the User record instead of repeatedly running this tool.

See the full Mass Transfer Approval Requests entry

Mass Transfer Approval Requests includes the definition, worked example, deep dive, related terms, and a quiz.