Approval Workflow Missing in SharePoint 2016?

Problem: SharePoint approval workflow not available! This happened after migrating from SharePoint 2013 to SharePoint 2016!

sharepoint 2013 approval workflow missing

Solution:

This is due to a workflow feature not being activated for the site collection. Activate the “Workflows” feature for the site collection to resolve this issue. Steps in detail:

  1. Login to your target site collection as a Site collection administrator
  2. Click on Site settings gear >> Click on “Site Collection Features” and click the activate button next to “Workflows” Feature.
  3. That’s it! This brings approval workflows back! And all other out-of-the-box workflows like collect feedback, Collect signatures, etc.
sharepoint 2010 approval workflow not available

PowerShell Script to activate Workflows feature for all site collections:

You can use PowerShell to activate a workflow feature on all site collections, which resolves the approval workflow template missing issue.

Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
 
#Workflow Feature ID
$FeatureID="0af5989a-3aea-4519-8ab0-85d91abe39ff"

#Get all Site collections in the farm
$SiteColl =  Get-SPSite -Limit All 
#$SiteColl = Get-SPWebApplication -Identity "https://intranet.crescent.com" | Get-SPSite -Limit All

#Get the Target Feature to Activate
$FeatureToActivate = Get-SPFeature | Where {$_.ID -eq $FeatureID}
 
#Iterate through each site collection
ForEach($Site in $SiteColl)
{
    #Check if Feature is already activated
    $FeatureActivated = Get-SPFeature -site $Site | Where {$_.ID -eq $FeatureId}
  
    If($FeatureActivated -ne $null)
    {
        Write-Host "Feature is already activated at: "$site.Url -ForegroundColor Yellow
    }
    else
    {
        #Activate the feature
        Enable-SPFeature -Identity $FeatureID -URL $Site.URL -Confirm:$False
        Write-Host "Activated Feature on "$site.Url -ForegroundColor Green
    }
}

Salaudeen Rajack

Salaudeen Rajack - Information Technology Expert with Two-decades of hands-on experience, specializing in SharePoint, PowerShell, Microsoft 365, and related products. He has held various positions including SharePoint Architect, Administrator, Developer and consultant, has helped many organizations to implement and optimize SharePoint solutions. Known for his deep technical expertise, He's passionate about sharing the knowledge and insights to help others, through the real-world articles!

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