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

# Escalate and Reassign

> Learn how to reassign, escalate, or add responders

## Reassign

When an incident is assigned to you but you confirm you're not the right responder, or you cannot handle this incident, you can choose to reassign it to other personnel or schedules.

Reassigning means re-notifying. If reassigning a **Processing** incident, it may reset progress to **Triggered**. Unless the new responders include previous responders who already acknowledged.

<Note>
  Current reassignment targets can only be schedules or individuals, called **Direct Assignment**. The difference from **Policy Assignment** is that directly assigned incidents can only be notified per personal preferences and cannot be escalated.
</Note>

## Escalate

| Type                | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| :------------------ | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Auto Escalate**   | When an incident is auto-assigned to you via a (multi-level) escalation rule, you don't resolve it within the specified time window, you don't snooze, and it doesn't auto-recover, the incident auto-escalates to the next level at the specified time          |
| **Manual Escalate** | When an incident is auto-assigned to you via a (multi-level) escalation rule, but you confirm you cannot handle it after receiving the alert and need next level (e.g., tier-2 support) to intervene early, you can choose to directly escalate to another level |

<Tip>
  Escalation is essentially **Reassignment**. The main difference is that **Escalation** assigns and notifies per the personnel and notification channels already defined in the escalation rule.
</Tip>

## Add Responders

When an incident is assigned to you but you need others (not currently responders) to participate, you can add responders.

Similar to **Reassign**, adding responders only allows selecting schedules or individuals as targets. The system notifies these personnel per their personal preferences.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://download.flashcat.cloud/flashduty/doc/en/fd/escalate-1.png" alt="Add Responders Interface" />
</Frame>

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why doesn't adding responders notify per policy?">
    Adding responders and reassigning default to personal notification preferences. You can update this in personal settings. In the future, we'll support modifying notification methods when assigning.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why is there no escalate button in my incident details?">
    Only when an incident is assigned via escalation rules can you switch between different levels. When you choose direct assignment (e.g., specified an individual via reassign), the incident has no association with any escalation rule and cannot escalate via policy.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>