How should you issue a descent clearance when there is a published altitude restriction on the arrival?

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When an arrival has published altitude restrictions, you should either descend via those restrictions if the controller allows it, or descend to a specific altitude that is compatible with the approach. Descend via the published altitudes lets you step down exactly as charted, crossing each fix at or above the required altitude and staying aligned with the published procedure and obstacle clearance. If the controller does not authorize a descent via, you still need to descend in a way that respects the approach’s constraints, so you would be assigned a specific altitude that keeps you on the correct path and safely separated from other traffic.

This keeps you from skipping required altitude constraints, which could violate the approach and compromise safety. Descending directly to the final approach altitude or without regard to the restrictions could place you too low too soon, and waiting for explicit per-segment authorization is unnecessarily restrictive when a published descent path can be used or a compatible altitude can be assigned.