# Polite reminder email to your boss: five templates for approvals, decisions and feedback > Polite reminder email to boss templates for a pending approval, a decision, feedback on a draft, a leave request and a promised intro. Easy to answer. Source: https://askmomo.app/templates/polite-reminder-to-boss ยท Updated 16 October 2026 A polite reminder to your boss makes answering take less effort than ignoring. State what you need, why it is needed now, and the smallest possible reply that unblocks you, usually a yes, a no or a name. Send it after the date you were given passes, or three working days after the request if no date was set. These five templates cover the common cases. ## How do you write a polite reminder email to your boss? Lead with the ask and the date it matters, not with an apology. Give the context in one line so they do not have to scroll, say what happens if it slips, and offer a default: "If I do not hear back by Thursday, I will go with option A." Reply in the original thread. Keep it to four or five lines. Managers answer short emails first. ## Template 1: pending approval with a date attached Use this when an approval (budget, expense, purchase, hire) is sitting with your manager and a date is approaching. ``` Subject: Re: [original subject]: approval needed by [date] Hi [Name], A reminder that [the request: the vendor contract / the Q3 budget line / the laptop purchase] is waiting on your approval. It needs to go to [finance / procurement / the vendor] by [date] to [the consequence: hold the price / start on time / make this month's payroll run]. The summary is in my email of [date] below; the short version is [one line]. A reply saying "approved" is enough, or tell me what you would like changed. Thanks, [Your name] ``` ## Template 2: decision needed, with a default Use this when you need a decision and can propose a sensible default. It respects their time and keeps the work moving. ``` Subject: Re: [topic]: decision by [date], default is option A Hi [Name], Following up on [topic]. We need to choose between [option A] and [option B] by [date] so that [what it unblocks]. My recommendation is [option A] because [one reason]. If I do not hear from you by [date], I will go ahead with it. If you would prefer B or want to discuss, I can do [two slots]. [Your name] ``` ## Template 3: feedback on a document you sent Use this when you shared a draft, proposal or review and have heard nothing. It narrows the ask so the reply can be short. ``` Subject: Re: [document name]: two questions Hi [Name], I sent the [document] on [date] and would like to finalise it by [date]. Rather than ask for a full read, two questions would get me there: One: is the overall direction in section [number] right? Two: is [the specific decision, e.g. the pricing on page 3] something you are comfortable with? A one-word answer to each is fine. If you would rather go through it live, I can take 15 minutes whenever suits. Thanks, [Your name] ``` ## Template 4: leave request not yet approved Use this when a leave application is pending in the system or in email and you need to book travel or tell family. ``` Subject: Re: Leave request: [dates] Hi [Name], A gentle reminder about my leave request for [dates], submitted on [date]. I need to confirm [travel bookings / family plans] by [date], so it would help to have it approved or flagged before then. Cover is arranged: [colleague] will handle [responsibility] and I will finish [deliverable] before I go. If the dates are a problem for the team, I can look at [alternative dates]. Thank you, [Your name] ``` ## Template 5: promised introduction or information Use this when your manager offered to introduce you to someone or send you something and it has not happened. Light touch; make it easy. ``` Subject: Re: [topic]: the intro you mentioned Hi [Name], When we spoke on [date] you offered to [introduce me to [person] / send me the [document]]. No rush, but it would help with [what it unblocks] this [week or month]. To make it easy, here is a two-line blurb you could forward: "[Your name] leads [area] on my team and is working on [topic]. Would you have 20 minutes to share how you approached it at [their company]?" Thanks, [Your name] ``` ## What to change before you send The template gets you most of the way. These edits make it land. - Put the deadline and its consequence in the first two lines. Your manager scans the top of the email and decides whether to deal with it now. - Offer a default or a recommendation whenever you can. "Which do you prefer?" is more work to answer than "I will do A unless you say otherwise". - Cut any sentence that apologises for asking or mentions how busy they are. One short reminder on a reasonable request needs no softening. - In Template 3, choose two questions whose answers you genuinely need. Do not disguise a full review request as two questions. - In Template 4, name the cover arrangements. The most common reason leave sits unapproved is that the manager has not worked out who covers. - If your manager prefers chat or a quick word at their desk, use that instead and send the email afterwards as a record. ## How long to wait If your manager gave a date, remind them the working day after it passes. If no date was set, wait three working days, then remind with a date attached. One reminder is normal; a second a few days later is fine if you add the consequence of further delay. After two unanswered reminders, raise it in person or in your next one-to-one rather than sending a third email. For approvals with an external deadline (a vendor quote expiring, a course enrolment closing), send the reminder with enough margin for them to read it and act, which usually means two working days before, not the morning of. [How many days to wait before following up](/blog/how-many-days-to-wait-before-following-up) has the general schedule. ## Let Momo AI chase it The reminder is easy; remembering that your manager still owes you an answer, among everything else, is the hard part. Momo AI's [follow-up tracking](/follow-up-tracking) notices the Gmail threads where you asked for something and nobody replied, including the ones to your boss, and drafts a reminder in your voice to Gmail Drafts after the days you set. You read it, soften or sharpen it, and tap Send; it never sends by itself. Founders who are everyone's boss and still owed answers can see the other side of this on the [founders page](/for/founders). ## Questions ### How do you politely remind your boss about something? Reply in the original thread, state what you need and the date it matters, give the one-line context, and offer a default or the smallest reply that unblocks you. No apology needed. ### How do you follow up with your manager without being annoying? Attach a date and a consequence to the reminder, propose a default, keep it under five lines, and move to a quick in-person word after two unanswered emails. ### How do you write a reminder email to your boss for a pending approval? Name the approval, the date it must reach the next step and why, summarise the request in one line, and say that a reply of "approved" is enough. ### Is it okay to send a reminder email to your boss? Yes. A clear reminder with a date is part of doing the job well. What irritates managers is vague nudges with no deadline or decision attached. ## Related - [Replies that sound like you, waiting in Gmail Drafts](https://askmomo.app/email-drafts-in-your-voice) - [Email templates you can copy, then stop writing by hand](https://askmomo.app/templates) - [Follow-up email after no response: five templates you can copy](https://askmomo.app/templates/follow-up-email-after-no-response) - [Reschedule meeting email templates that keep the meeting on](https://askmomo.app/templates/reschedule-meeting-email) - [How Many Days to Wait Before Following Up on an Email](https://askmomo.app/blog/how-many-days-to-wait-before-following-up) --- Momo AI (Ask Momo, askmomo.app) is a personal AI assistant and chief of staff for Gmail and Google Calendar, built in India. It triages your inbox, drafts replies in your voice to Gmail Drafts, tracks who hasn't replied and what you promised, schedules meetings over email, and sends a morning brief. Every email and cancellation waits for your approval.