---
title: "Sending a section for review | Trelice User Guide"
description: "Assign reviewers, set due dates, submit a section, and what the statuses mean."
canonical_url: "https://www.trelice.com/docs/submitting-for-review"
---

# Sending a section for review

When a [section](/docs/glossary) of your [protocol](/docs/glossary) is written, it must be reviewed before it counts as approved. This guide walks you through the writer's side: choosing who reviews, setting dates, submitting, and what the statuses mean.

Everything described here lives in the panel **below** the writing area, at the bottom of the protocol editor. If you have not used the editor yet, start with [The protocol editor at a glance](/docs/protocol-editor-overview).

## The four statuses

Every section is always in exactly one of these states. The colored badge at the bottom of the editor shows the current one.

| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| **Draft** | Being written. You can edit freely. |
| **In Review** | Submitted. Editing is locked while reviewers read it. |
| **Changes Requested** | A reviewer sent it back. You can edit again. |
| **Approved** | Every reviewer approved. Locked, changing it later needs an [amendment](/docs/creating-and-editing-amendments). |

## Assigning a writer

Each section can have one responsible writer. Their name appears under the section's title in the list on the left, so everyone knows who owns it.

1. Look below the writing area for the line starting with **Assigned writer:**.
2. Click the dashed dropdown that says **+ Assign writer**.
3. Choose a colleague. Each name is followed by their role in brackets.

**What you'll see:** the writer's name appears as a small purple pill. Click the tiny **x** inside the pill to remove them.

## Setting due dates

Two dates keep the section on schedule:

1. Next to **Authoring due:**, click the date box and pick the day the writing should be finished.
2. Next to **Review due:**, pick the day the review should be finished.

**What you'll see:** the dates are saved as soon as you pick them. If a date passes, a red **Overdue** or **Review overdue** label appears under the section's name in the list on the left.

## Choosing a review workflow

A [review workflow](/docs/glossary) decides *who reviews in what order*, for example, "Level 1: Medical Writer, then Level 2: Medical Monitor." Your administrator builds these; see [Setting up review workflows](/docs/review-workflows-and-approvals-setup).

1. Find the line starting with **Review workflow:**.
2. Click the dropdown. It shows **Tenant default** plus every workflow your organization has created. The default one has **(default)** after its name.
3. Pick one, or leave **Tenant default** to use your organization's standard.

**What you'll see:** a small gray line appears next to the dropdown, spelling out the levels, for example "L1: Medical Writer → L2: Medical Monitor". That is the exact path this section will travel.

## Adding reviewers, role first, then person

Reviewers are chosen in two steps: first the role, then the person.

1. In the row with the small people icon, click **Add reviewer** (a dashed button).
2. A dropdown appears saying **Select role…**. Pick the role you need. Roles the workflow still requires show **(required)** after their name, fill those first.
3. A second dropdown appears saying **Select reviewer…**, listing only people who hold that role. Pick a person.

**What you'll see:** the person appears as a pill. Reviewers the workflow requires are marked **required**, and each shows a small purple level tag such as **L1** or **L2** once the section is submitted. Click the small minus on a pill to remove that reviewer. If no one is assigned yet, the row says **No reviewers assigned**.

> **Troubleshooting:** If the second dropdown says **No active users with this role**, nobody in your organization holds that role yet. Ask your administrator to invite someone or adjust roles, see [Roles and permissions](/docs/roles-and-permissions).

### "Every role of every level must be staffed"

Before Trelice accepts a submission, it checks the chosen workflow level by level. Every role listed in every level must have at least one assigned reviewer who holds that role. One person per role is enough; extra reviewers outside the workflow are welcome but optional.

If a role is missing, submitting fails with a message like:

*"Cannot submit for review: workflow 'Standard Review' has no assigned reviewer for level 2 (Medical Monitor). Assign the missing reviewers or change the workflow."*

The fix is exactly what it says: add a reviewer with that role, or switch to a workflow whose roles you can cover.

## Submitting

1. Make sure the section has saved content and at least one reviewer.
2. Click **Submit for Review** at the bottom of the editor. While it works, the button reads **Submitting…**.

**What you'll see:** the badge changes to **In Review**, and if a workflow applies, a purple badge appears saying **Review level 1**. A gray bar above the content says "Editing is locked while this section is under review." Level 1 reviewers get a [notification](/docs/notifications); reviewers at later levels see *waiting for level 2* (or 3, and so on) next to their name until their turn comes.

> **Troubleshooting:** If you don't see the **Submit for Review** button, read the small message in its place, it tells you what is missing. "Save content first to enable review." means the section is still empty (for form-style sections it says "Fill in at least one field and save to enable review."). An orange "Assign a reviewer to enable submission." means no reviewer has been added yet.

## Withdrawing from review

Spotted a mistake after submitting? You can pull the section back.

1. Open the section (it will show **In Review**).
2. Click the orange **Withdraw from Review** button at the bottom.

**What you'll see:** the badge returns to **Draft** and editing unlocks. Any decisions reviewers had already made are cleared, when you resubmit, everyone starts fresh.

## When changes are requested

If a reviewer asks for changes, the badge turns orange: **Changes Requested**. An orange box labeled **Reviewer feedback:** shows what they wrote. Editing is unlocked, make the changes, click **Save**, and click **Submit for Review** again. The whole review starts over from level 1, which is deliberate: every reviewer confirms the corrected version.

For the other side of this process, see [Reviewing and approving](/docs/reviewing-and-approving).