Free Project Approval Forms & Templates

By Kate Eby | March 25, 2022

We’ve gathered the top project approval forms for project managers, board members, sponsors, and clients.

Included on this page, you’ll find a simple project approval form template, a project requirements approval template, a project approval request template, a project approval form example template, and a project approval process template. Plus, find tips on filling out a project approval form template.

Simple Project Approval Form Template

Simple Project Approval Form Template

Download Simple Project Approval Form Template 
Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs | Google Sheets

Ensure that all project managers, sponsors, and other stakeholders agree on project deliverables with this simple project approval form template. This customizable template includes fields for project name and leader, as well as space to include the project summary, desired outcome, action to completion, benefits of project, projected schedule, projected budget, and projected team and resource requirements. The template also includes an authorized signature section for obtaining and recording official project approvals. 

For more helpful tips and resources, see our guide to approval processes and workflows.

Project Requirements Approval Template

Project Requirements Approval Template

Download Project Requirements Approval Template
Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs 

This comprehensive project requirements approval template is an all-in-one document for your project’s business, functional, and compliance requirements. By using this template, you can rest assured that, upon approval, you have accounted for every aspect of your project. In addition to a Requirements Document Authorization Memorandum section, where project sponsors or clients can approve, accept pending changes for, or reject your project, the template includes a version history table for project approvers to accept revisions and add notes for desired changes.

Project Approval Request Template

Project Approval Request Template

Download Project Approval Request Template
Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs

Use this dynamic project approval request template to provide project board members, clients, teammates, and other stakeholders with your project’s deliverables, tasks, scope, assumptions, and constraints. An Updated Estimates section provides you with the flexibility to alter your projected timeline, so key players have the most up-to-date personnel resources information. The template’s Approvals section enables you to enter stakeholder names, titles, and roles, as well as record the submission and approval dates.

Project Approval Form Example Template

Project Approval Form Example Template

Download Project Approval Form Example Template 
Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

Account for all elements of your project with this project approval form example template, which includes editable sample text to guide you through the project approval process. Enter your project name, sponsor, manager, start and end dates, and summary. A Project Roles and Responsibilities table enables you to list all key project stakeholders. The template also includes space to list project deliverables, expenses, and schedule details, as well as lessons learned, which you can use to improve your performance on future projects.

Project Approval Process Template

Project Approval Process Template

Download Project Approval Process Template  
Microsoft PowerPoint | Google Slides

Map out your project approval process and present it to key stakeholders with this visually rich  approval process template. This customizable template includes a flowchart to guide you through the steps for acquiring necessary project approvals, so you can use the customized template as a blueprint for future projects. Project approvers can review and authorize this document to ensure that all of the organization's projects follow a clear protocol. By doing so, you can reduce costly and time-consuming one-off project planning efforts. 

For more details and helpful resources, see our comprehensive guide to project intake processes.

Project Approval Sign-Off Template

Project Approval Sign-Off Template

Download Project Approval Sign-Off Template 
Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs

Keep your project stakeholders in sync with this simple project approval sign-off template. Simply fill in your project name, job location, project summary, desired-outcome details, actions required for project completion, project benefits, schedule, projected budget, and personnel and other resource requirements to solidify your project plan. Project board members or clients can then sign and date their approval of the project as you’ve defined it, so you and your team can commence project work with full project sponsor support.

Custom Project Approval Form Template

Custom Project Approval Form Template

Download Custom Project Approval Form Template 
Microsoft Word | Google Docs

Use this streamlined, customizable project approval form template to sufficiently define your project for key collaborators and clients. This single-page template asks you to specify your project’s purpose, objectives, anticipated phases of work, and desired outcome, as well as your plan for monitoring and measuring project success. List project phases and associated tasks in the template’s Timeline table, including start and end dates, and solicit approvals to ensure you start and complete your project on schedule.  

Ensure that you’re optimizing your project intake process by reading our guide to project intake resources and templates.

Project Approval Checklist Form

Project Approval Checklist Form

Download Project Approval Checklist Form 
Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

Create a custom project approval checklist to fit your organization’s specific needs with this checklist template, or use the template as is with the sample items provided. The template includes columns for unique project deliverable ID numbers, descriptions, owners, due dates, statuses, and related comments. This template is a perfect solution for project managers, team members, and project sponsors who need to track the status of every to-do item for a project and ensure everything is completed within the project timeline.

Independent Project Approval Form

Independent Project Approval Form

Download Independent Project Approval Form 
Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

Project sponsors, project managers, and students undertaking independent study can all use this customizable independent project approval form to define a project’s summary, criteria, roles, and responsibilities. Use the template to list your project’s key deliverables, expenses, schedule, lessons learned, and recommendations upon project completion. An Approval section allows project sponsors to sign off on the project after they have reviewed the appropriate information.

Simple Project Proposal Template

Simple Project Proposal Template

Download Simple Project Proposal Template
Microsoft Excel | Adobe PDF | Google Docs 

This all-inclusive simple project proposal template provides project managers with an easy-to-fill proposal form to submit to project board members for sponsorship. Enter proposed project name, proposed start and end dates, project summary, desired outcome, action to completion, project benefits, schedule, projected budget, and projected team and resource requirements. This template provides everything that project sponsors need to assess a proposed project, provide approvals, and recommend changes.

Construction Project Approval Form

Construction Project Approval Form

Download Construction Project Approval Form 
Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF 

For construction projects to succeed, project managers need a method for capturing project details so that project approvers, such as property owners or construction supervisors, can review all necessary information and feel confident providing approval. This template doubles as a construction work order request form, which enables you to detail construction project requests that contractors or other project team members need to approve prior to undertaking construction work.

What Is a Project Approval Template?

A project approval template is a form that helps project managers list a proposed project’s details, so project sponsors can review and approve the project. Use the template to capture your project’s desired outcomes, benefits, and anticipated resource requirements.

A project approval form provides project managers and other team members with a framework for capturing a project’s summary, action to completion, proposed schedule and budget, and personnel and other resource requirements. By completing a project approval form, you are showing project board members, clients, and other stakeholders that you have all of your proposed project’s details in order. With a comprehensive approval form in hand, project approvers can evaluate project benefits versus costs and determine whether to approve your project, so it can move forward. 

While project approval templates vary, most will include the following basic components: 

  • Acceptance of Proposal: Project sponsors or clients can provide their project authorizing signatures, and you record the date of project acceptance. 
  • Action to Completion: List the primary action or individual actions that must be assigned and completed in order for your team to successfully implement the project. 
  • Benefits of Project: List the benefits of the project. What is its purpose? What problem will it solve? 
  • Company: Enter the name of the company or individual for whom you are undertaking the project.
  • Desired Outcome: Detail the desired outcome of the project. If it were executed optimally, what would be the benefits of its completion? 
  • Project Name: Enter the name of the project for which you are seeking approval. 
  • Project Leader: List the name and title of the project leader. 
  • Projected Budget: Detail the costs associated with the project, including everything from pre-planning to project execution, needed for the successful completion of the project. 
  • Projected Schedule: Provide details of a proposed project schedule, including its expected duration and various work phases.
  • Projected Team: Provide information about the team members that the project would require upon approval. 
  • Resource Requirements: List the resource requirements, including personnel dedication and materials required for the project. 
  • Summary: Provide a broad-strokes overview of your project. Why should it be approved and undertaken?

Additionally, some project approval templates include the following sections to provide supplementary project details to project board members and other stakeholders, prior to project approval. These additional fields might include:

  • Deliverables: Detail the exact deliverables the project must successfully complete by the project’s deadline. 
  • Expenses: List the project’s projected expenses that must be covered while the team undertakes the project. 
  • Key Milestones: List key landmarks that the project must meet to help measure progress toward project completion. 
  • Monitoring and Measurements of Success: List any project-monitoring methods you will use to track project progress, as well as the key performance indicators (KPIs) you will apply to measure your project’s performance and to quantify its benefits. 
  • Project Roles and Responsibilities: List the project roles required for successful completion, the name of the individuals in each role, and their respective project responsibilities.

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