Email is not being sent to group email

[SindhujaK]

Hi Team,

I have a requirement where an notification needs to be triggered to group email instead of members in the group.

The specific group as "Include members" as unchecked but still notification is being sent individually to the members in the group instead of group email.

could someone help how notifications needs to be triggered for group email

Thanks & Regards

Sindhuja

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Hi @SindhujaK 

Did you try running cache.do? What you did is correct, so it's worth clearing the cache and testing again.

Did you added the group email in group record

In ServiceNow, if emails are not sending to a group's email address, it is usually because the Include members checkbox is unchecked on the group record, or the notification is targeting individual users instead of the group field. When a group email field is populated, ServiceNow prioritizes it or requires specific settings to trigger. [1, 2, 3, 4]

[SindhujaK]

I didn't add the group email , it was added previously. and include members is unchecked on group record.

i am not able to see the articles you shared those are archived.

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

add group email only then it go to group only

[Abhishek Pal]

Hi @SindhujaK ,

Clearing the cache is not required for this issue.

For a standard notification, the expected behavior is:

Group Email populated + Include members unchecked
-> Email is sent only to the Group Email address

Please perform the following checks:

1. Trigger the notification and open the generated record under:

System Mailboxes > Outbound > Sent

2. Check the Recipients and Headers fields.

If only the group email address is shown, ServiceNow is working correctly. The email system, such as Microsoft Exchange, may be expanding that distribution-list address and delivering it to individual members. This must be checked with the email administrator.

If individual user email addresses are shown, review the notification configuration.

3. In the notification's Who will receive section, confirm that the group is added only through:

- Groups
- Users/Groups in fields, such as Assignment group

Remove any other recipient configuration that may add members separately, including:

- Users
- User reference fields
- Event parm 1 contains recipient
- Event parm 2 contains recipient
- Email scripts that call email.addAddress()
- Flow Designer Send Email actions containing group members
- Scripted recipient logic

4. Use Preview Notification with the actual triggering record.

The preview shows the calculated recipients. Hover over each recipient to understand why that address was included.

5. Open the generated Email record and review the Email Log related list. It records the reason each recipient was included or excluded.

Important exception:

If this is an approval notification, ServiceNow can notify the individual members of an approval group regardless of the Include members setting. Group approvals are processed using individual approver records, and a shared group mailbox cannot act as the individual approver.

If you only need an informational email sent to the group mailbox, create a separate notification or Send Email action and pass the Group Email address directly. Do not use that notification as the actual approval mechanism.

Therefore, first verify the generated sys_email record:

Only group email in Recipients
-> Email server is expanding the distribution list

Individual addresses in Recipients
-> Another notification recipient source is adding the group members

Official references:

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/platform-administration/message-logs-individual-emails.html

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/platform-administration/t_PreviewingNotifications.html

https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/platform-administration/user-administration/t_CreateAGroup.html

Hope this helps!

If this response helped, please mark it as Helpful.
If it resolves your issue, please Accept it as Solution.

Kind Regards,
Abhishek Pal