---
title: Risk Appetite Logic
description: "How Symbiant decides which appetite a risk uses, and how the warning and breach levels work. **Applies to:** All risk users; appetites are set by risk admins · **Module:** Register Risks ## How the Fallback Works Every risk always has…"
url: "https://support.symbiant.co.uk/kb/risk-appetite-logic/"
updated: "2026-10-30"
category: Risk Register Basics
tags:
  - Add
  - Assign
  - Scoring
  - Setup
  - Updating
---

# Risk Appetite Logic

How Symbiant decides which appetite a risk uses, and how the warning and breach levels work.

**Applies to:** All risk users; appetites are set by risk admins · **Module:** Register Risks

## How the Fallback Works

Every risk always has an appetite. Symbiant looks for it in this order:

1. The **individual appetite** chosen on the risk's **Scores** tab.
2. If there isn't one, the **Appetite Value** of the risk's **Risk Category**.
3. If the category has none (or no category is chosen), the default **Appetite Value** of the risk's **Score Set**.

On the risk's **Scores** tab, the **Risk Appetite** section shows all three: the individual **Appetite Score** at the top, then the category and score set values it would fall back to. In this example the risk has no individual appetite, so it uses its category's appetite of 12.

![Appetite section of the Scores tab](https://support.symbiant.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/risk-appetite-logic-01-fallbacks-b.png)

## Individual Risk Appetite

Choose an **Appetite Score** on the risk's **Scores** tab. The options come from the risk's Score Set. See [Scoring a Risk](https://support.symbiant.co.uk/kb/scoring-a-risk/).

![Individual appetite options](https://support.symbiant.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/risk-appetite-logic-02-individual.png)

## Risk Category Appetite

Risk admins give each category an **Appetite Value** in Register Risks > **Category**. See [Managing Risk Categories](https://support.symbiant.co.uk/kb/managing-risk-categories/).

![Risk categories with appetite values](https://support.symbiant.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/managing-risk-categories-08-list.png)

## Score Set Appetite

Risk admins set the default appetite and the individual appetite options on the Score Set's **Appetites** tab (Register Risks > **Score Set**).

![Score Set appetites tab](https://support.symbiant.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/risk-appetite-logic-03-score-set.png)

- **Appetite Value**: the default used when neither the risk nor its category has an appetite.
- **Appetite Warning**: how far over appetite a score can go before it shows amber. 0.1 means amber as soon as it is over appetite.
- **Appetite Breach**: how far over appetite before it shows red. 1 means red once it is a full point over.
- **Options**: the appetite choices users see on a risk, each with a value and colour.

See [Modifying a Risk Score Set](https://support.symbiant.co.uk/kb/modifying-a-risk-score-set/).

## Related articles

- [What is DFA?](https://support.symbiant.co.uk/kb/what-is-dfa/)
- [Managing Risk Categories](https://support.symbiant.co.uk/kb/managing-risk-categories/)
- [Modifying a Risk Score Set](https://support.symbiant.co.uk/kb/modifying-a-risk-score-set/)