How to Add Blocked Status in Jira

Updated on:

April 6, 2026

By:

Madhav Bhandari

Use this interactive demo to learn how to add a blocked status in Jira.

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To add a Blocked status in Jira, you need Jira administrator privileges. Here's how you can do it:

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Click the gear icon in the top-right corner.
Navigate to 'Issues' under 'Jira Settings'.
In the Issues settings, go to the 'Statuses' section under 'Issue Attributes'.
Click on 'Add Status'.
Enter the name and optionally a description.
Select a category for the status.
Save the new status by clicking 'Add'.
After following these steps, the 'Blocked' status should now be available for use in your Jira project.

📌 Why this matters

Adding a Blocked status gives your team visibility into work that's stalled due to external dependencies, whether that's waiting for client approval, third-party integrations, or cross-team deliverables.

This transparency prevents blocked items from getting lost in your backlog and helps product managers spot bottlenecks before they cascade into bigger delays. When you can quickly filter and report on blocked work, you transform what used to be invisible friction into actionable data that drives better sprint planning and stakeholder communication.

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