Once a compliance policy is in place, most transactions pass through screening without you having to do anything. This article covers the states a transaction can be in while under review, and the actions available to resolve it.
For the automatic actions applied by your policy (Accept, Reject, Alert, Freeze, and so on), see Building a Compliance Policy. This article covers what happens next.
Transaction states
| State | What it means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Screening | The transaction is still being evaluated. | Wait, or rescreen it if it is taking longer than expected. |
| Frozen | A policy outcome automatically held the transaction. | Unfreeze it once you have reviewed the case. |
| Rejected | A policy outcome blocked the transaction. | Bypass it if you determine the block was a false positive. |
Why is a transaction stuck in a Screening state
A transaction can sit in a screening state for reasons unrelated to the screening result itself, most commonly due to network confirmation delays between Fireblocks and your provider. In most cases, this resolves on its own within a short time and does not indicate a problem with the transaction or your policy.
In the Console, this state displays as "Screening." The underlying API status value uses different terminology.
Operations and who can perform them
By default:
| Operation | What it does | Who can do it |
|---|---|---|
| Bypass | Lets a rejected transaction proceed anyway, typically after you have manually reviewed the case and determined the block was a false positive. | Owner, Admin |
| Unfreeze | Releases a frozen transaction, once you have reviewed it. | Owner, Admin, Non-Signing Admin |
| Rescreen | Re-runs the screening check on a transaction, for example after resolving whatever caused it to get stuck. | All roles |
All three operations are available via the Console and API.
These are workspace-level defaults, not fixed rules. Turning off the Bypass or Unfreeze permission for your workspace means that operation requires a Fireblocks Support ticket instead of being available directly.
FAQ
The questions below are the ones readers ask most often.
If I bypass a rejected transaction, does that change my policy?
No. Bypassing affects that one transaction only. Your policy and how future transactions are screened stay the same.
Developer portal
See Bypass screening policy, Unfreeze a transaction, and Rescreen a rejected transaction.