> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.launchboard.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Board actions and governance approvals

> Create and manage formal board approvals that authorize cap table changes — and gate on-chain token minting to verified governance decisions.

Board actions in Launchboard are formal approval records that authorize specific cap table events — issuing equity, minting tokens, or recording a board decision. Before any security can have tokens minted from the Securities table, it must be linked to an approval that has been reviewed, approved by all required parties, and locked. This ensures every on-chain mint has a documented governance decision behind it.

## What a board approval is

An approval request is a named governance record with one or more sequential review steps. Each step represents a reviewer (a board member, counsel, or co-founder) who must explicitly approve before the request advances. Once every step is approved, the approval's overall status becomes **Approved**. You then lock it — status becomes **Locked** — to signal that the decision is final and the approval is ready to be used as a gate for minting.

Approvals appear on the **Governance → Board Actions** page (`/board-actions`), alongside any corporate actions already recorded against your cap table.

## Common uses

* Authorizing a new equity grant (stock option or restricted stock)
* Approving the issuance of a new share class
* Recording a board consent to tokenize ownership
* Logging any formal board decision you want tied to your cap table history

## Creating and completing an approval

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Board Actions">
    Navigate to **Governance → Board Actions** in the sidebar. Click **New Approval** to open the creation form.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name the action">
    Give the approval a clear, descriptive name — for example, "Board Consent — Series Seed Option Grants" or "Authorization to Tokenize Common Stock". This name appears in the audit log and on the Securities table when you link the approval to a security.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add approval steps">
    Add one step per reviewer. For each step, select the reviewer and optionally label the step (e.g., "CEO sign-off", "Board member approval"). Steps are completed in order — the next reviewer is notified once the previous step is approved.

    <Note>
      An approval with zero steps can never reach **Approved** status. You must add at least one approval step before submitting.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submit for review">
    Click **Submit** to move the approval from **Draft** to **Submitted** status. Reviewers can now act on their assigned steps.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Reviewers approve each step">
    Each reviewer opens the approval and clicks **Approve** on their step. Once all steps are approved, the overall approval status automatically becomes **Approved** and the **Lock Approval** button appears.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Lock the approval">
    Click **Lock Approval**. The status changes to **Locked**. A locked approval is immutable — it cannot be modified or reversed — and is now eligible to serve as the governance gate for minting tokens from the Securities table.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## The approval gate for minting

When you mint tokens from the Securities table, Launchboard checks that the security has a linked approval with status **Approved** or **Locked**. If no eligible approval is linked, the Mint action is unavailable.

To link an approval to a security, open the security's detail view and select the approval from the **Approval** field. Only approvals in **Approved** or **Locked** status are shown.

<Note>
  The approval gate applies specifically to the **Securities → Mint** path. If you issue shares via **Transactions → Issue Shares**, minting happens immediately and does not require a linked approval. Use the Securities mint path when securities were created from documents, existing approvals, or manual entry and you want an explicit governance checkpoint before tokens go on-chain.
</Note>

## Approval statuses at a glance

| Status        | Meaning                                       |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| **Draft**     | Created but not yet submitted for review      |
| **Submitted** | Sent to reviewers — steps are in progress     |
| **Approved**  | All steps approved — Lock button is available |
| **Locked**    | Finalized — eligible to gate token minting    |
| **Rejected**  | One or more steps were rejected               |

## Related pages

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Audit log" icon="clock" href="/governance/audit-log">
    See every governance approval and cap table event in chronological order.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tokenization overview" icon="link" href="/tokenization/overview">
    Understand how approvals connect to the on-chain minting flow.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>