> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ainomos.ch/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Exceptions > Request a time-limited, approved departure from a rule, decide on requests, and see which exceptions are active. An exception is a time-limited, approved departure from a rule. You request one when your work really needs something a guardrail blocks, for example a project room that must handle personal data for two weeks. A room owner decides, sets how long it lasts, and the exception ends on its own when that time is up. Hard rules allow no exceptions. A request for a hard rule is refused. Every guardrail allows them. A convention allows them only when **Exceptions allowed** was switched on for it. See [Rules](https://docs.ainomos.ch/knowledge/rules.md) for the three strengths. ## What an approved exception does * It applies in the room it was requested for, to everyone in that room or only to the people named in the request. * While it is active, answers no longer refuse because of that rule. The answer mentions the exception instead. * For the personal data rule DAT-03, the covered answers are no longer withheld. * The evidence record of each run it covers names the exception. An evidence record is the audit entry Ainomos keeps for every answer and action. ## Request an exception Who can do this: every member of the room. You can start a request in three places: * On the **Exceptions** page in **Knowledge**: select **Create**. * On the **Rules** page: open the rule and select **Request exception**. * In the chat, on a block card: select **Request exception (time-limited)**. This appears when a guardrail withheld an answer. The **Request exception** dialog has these fields: | Field | Required | What to enter | | - | - | - | | **Room** | Yes | The room where you need the exception. | | **Rule** | Yes | The rule that applies in that room. Rules without an exception path are marked as hard rules and cannot be chosen. | | **Justification** | Yes | Why the departure is necessary. The approver decides on this. | | **Scope** | No | What the exception is for, in your words, for example "project X only". The approver and the assistant read it. Nothing checks it. | | **Applies to** | No | Leave it empty for **Everyone in the room**, or pick up to 50 members of the room it should cover. | Select **Send request**. The request goes to the people who decide and shows as pending. A request from a block card asks for a **Justification** and a **Time limit** of 1, 7, 14 or 30 days. The time limit is your suggestion. The approver sets the final duration. A request is refused when: * the rule is a hard rule, or does not allow exceptions, * the scope asks for no end, such as "always" or "permanent", * nobody owns the room where the rule lives, so nobody could decide. Apps connected through MCP, the open standard AI apps use to connect to Ainomos, can also file a request. A person always decides. Each requester can hold at most 10 open requests per room through an app. ## Decide on a request Who can do this: the owners of the room where the rule lives. For a rule inherited from a room above, that is the owners of the room above. For DAT-03 it is usually the owners of your organisation's top room. Open requests reach you in two places: your [Inbox](https://docs.ainomos.ch/chat/inbox.md) as **Exception request**, and the **Exceptions** page of the room under **Pending approval**. **1. Read the request** Check the rule, the justification, the scope and who it is for. **2. Set the time limit** Enter the **Time limit (days)**. It starts at 14 days, or at the end date the request states. **3. Give a reason** Write a **Reason**. It is required for both choices and is stored with the decision. **4. Approve or reject** Select **Approve** or **Reject**. The decision, its reason and your name are stored with the request. A rule found in a document that still waits for approval cannot have an approved exception. Approve the rule first. ## Validity and expiry An approved exception is valid for the number of days the approver set, from 1 to 365 days. It ends automatically at the end of that period, and the lists then show it as **Expired**. There is no exception without an end date. ## Revoke or withdraw * **Revoke** ends an approved exception at once, and the rule applies again without exception. The owners of the room where the rule lives can revoke. You can add a **Reason (optional)**. It is kept with the revocation and in the evidence record. * **Withdraw** takes back a request that is still pending. The requester can withdraw their own request, and the owners who decide can too. You find **Revoke** and **Withdraw** on the rule in the **Rules** page, under **Active exceptions**, and in your [Inbox](https://docs.ainomos.ch/chat/inbox.md) under **Requests in my rooms**. ## See active and past exceptions The **Exceptions** page in **Knowledge** lists every request of the room, in every state, with the rule, its state, who asked and who it is for. Use the filter bar to narrow by state, by **Requested by** or by rule. | State | Meaning | | - | - | | **Pending approval** | Requested, not decided yet. | | **Active** | Approved and within its time limit. The list shows the end date. | | **Expired** | Approved, but its time limit has passed. | | **Rejected** | Not approved. The reason is kept. | | **Revoked** | Ended early by an owner. | | **Withdrawn** | Taken back before anyone decided. | Every member of the room can see this list. Active exceptions also show on the rule itself in the **Rules** page. Your [Inbox](https://docs.ainomos.ch/chat/inbox.md) lists the requests from your rooms with their state under **Requests in my rooms**. Each decision and each revocation writes an evidence record with the person, the time and the reason. ## Related * [Rules](https://docs.ainomos.ch/knowledge/rules.md) * [Personal data](https://docs.ainomos.ch/privacy/personal-data.md) * [Inbox](https://docs.ainomos.ch/chat/inbox.md) * [Audit log](https://docs.ainomos.ch/privacy/audit-log.md) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.