---
title: Decision Authority Matrix
type: artifact
level: L2
status: live
revision: 1
updated: 2026-08-14
systemVersion: 4.2
tags: [download, autonomy, template]
rating: 7.05
ratingAxes: useful 9 · evidence 5 · pull 7 · original 6 · form 8
ratingKind: derived
source: derived from the live matrix
---

# Decision Authority Matrix

_Written 2026-08-14 · last verified 2026-08-14 · system v4.2 · live_

**TL;DR** — A fill-in table mapping action types onto four authority levels defined by reversibility rather than importance. The point is to answer the question before it is asked under time pressure, because a boundary negotiated in the moment is a boundary that moves.

## What it is

A table that decides, in advance, what the agent does without asking.

```markdown
## Levels — by REVERSIBILITY, not importance
L0  read, analyse, search
L1  write, reversible, internal
L2  write, reversible, visible to others
L3  irreversible or external

## Per action type
| Action                  | Level | Note |
|-------------------------|-------|------|
| Read files / data       | L0    | always |
| Draft a message         | L1    | drafting is not sending |
| Send a message          | L3    | irreversible |
| Create / update a task  | L2    | visible, revertible |
| Edit internal notes     | L1    | with backup |
| Spend money             | L3    | any amount |
| Publish externally      | L3    | |
| Delete anything         | L3    | |
| Change these rules      | L3    | never delegated |

## Default when unclear
Propose. Do not act.

## Standing mandate (optional)
Autonomous action permitted while ALL hold:
backup · verification · no external effect · governance excluded
· logged · bounded daily count
Fails closed. Any one unmet → ask.
```

## How to use

Fill all 9 rows before you need them. A boundary negotiated at the moment it binds is a boundary that moves, and it moves in the direction of whoever is in a hurry.

Make **propose** cheap — 1 click, not a form. An expensive default gets bypassed under pressure, which converts a safety rule into an occasional one.

## What to fill in

The action list. Ours has 9 rows; yours will differ. The test for whether a row is missing: if the agent has asked the same question twice, the matrix needs a row rather than another answer.

Keep the last row. **Changing these rules is never delegated** — an agent that can widen its own envelope will do so by locally reasonable degrees.

## License

MIT.