Enabling Content Approval on a SharePoint List using PnP PowerShell

Content Approval in SharePoint ensures that new or modified items are not visible to all users until they are approved. This is useful for quality control, compliance, and governance in SharePoint lists.

With PnP PowerShell, we can efficiently enable Content Approval on a list, manage approval settings, and automate approval processes.

What You’ll Learn:

✔️ How to connect to SharePoint Online
✔️ How to enable Content Approval on a list
✔️ How to configure approval settings
✔️ How to approve/reject items using PowerShell

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure that:
PnP PowerShell is installed
You have SharePoint Online Admin or Owner permissions
You know the SharePoint site URL and list name

Step 1: Install and Import PnP PowerShell

If not installed, install PnP PowerShell:

Install-Module -Name PnP.PowerShell -Scope CurrentUser -AllowClobber -Force

Then, import the module:

Import-Module PnP.PowerShell

PnP PowerShell is ready!

Step 2: Connect to SharePoint Online

To connect to your SharePoint site, run:

# Connect to SharePoint Online
Connect-PnPOnline -Url "https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/yoursite" -Interactive

🔹 Replace "yourtenant" with your tenant name
🔹 Replace "yoursite" with the actual site name

Connected successfully!

Step 3: Enable Content Approval on a SharePoint List

To enable Content Approval on a specific list:

# Define variables
$listName = "Documents"  # Change to your list name

# Enable Content Approval
Set-PnPList -Identity $listName -EnableModeration $true

Write-Host "Content Approval enabled on list '$listName'."

Content Approval is now active!

Step 4: Configure Content Approval Settings

To restrict item visibility until approval:

# Configure Draft Item Security
Set-PnPList -Identity $listName -DraftVersionVisibility 2

Write-Host "Only users who can approve items will see draft items."

🔹 Draft Visibility Levels:

0 → All users can see drafts
1 → Users with Edit Permissions can see drafts
2 → Only Approvers can see drafts

Content Approval settings configured!

Step 5: Approving or Rejecting Items in the List

To approve an item, use:

# Define variables
$itemId = 5  # Change to the item ID
$comment = "Approved by admin"

# Approve item
Set-PnPListItem -List $listName -Identity $itemId -Approve $comment

Write-Host "Item ID $itemId approved."

Item approved successfully!

To reject an item, use:

# Define variables
$itemId = 5  # Change to the item ID
$comment = "Rejected due to missing details"

# Reject item
Set-PnPListItem -List $listName -Identity $itemId -Reject $comment

Write-Host "Item ID $itemId rejected."

Item rejected successfully!

Step 6: Bulk Approving or Rejecting Items

To approve all pending items, use:

# Get all pending items
$items = Get-PnPListItem -List $listName | Where-Object { $_["Approval Status"] -eq "Pending" }

foreach ($item in $items) {
    $itemId = $item.Id
    Set-PnPListItem -List $listName -Identity $itemId -Approve "Bulk approval"
    Write-Host "Approved item ID $itemId"
}

Write-Host "All pending items approved!"

To reject all pending items, use:

# Get all pending items
$items = Get-PnPListItem -List $listName | Where-Object { $_["Approval Status"] -eq "Pending" }

foreach ($item in $items) {
    $itemId = $item.Id
    Set-PnPListItem -List $listName -Identity $itemId -Reject "Bulk rejection"
    Write-Host "Rejected item ID $itemId"
}

Write-Host "All pending items rejected!"

Bulk approval/rejection completed!

Step 7: Disable Content Approval (If Needed)

To disable Content Approval, run:

# Disable Content Approval
Set-PnPList -Identity $listName -EnableModeration $false

Write-Host "Content Approval disabled on list '$listName'."

Content Approval turned off!

Common Errors & Solutions

Error	Cause	Solution
`Access Denied`	Insufficient permissions	Ensure you have Owner/Admin rights
`Cannot find list`	Incorrect list name	Verify the list name using `Get-PnPList`
`Item ID not found`	Invalid item ID	Use `Get-PnPListItem` to check item existence