Recover PDI that was Prematurely Reclaimed

[Justin Weitzel]

To ServiceNow Team: My PDI was reclaimed prematurely and without warning or communication.

Is there anyway this can be recovered/restored?  My instance was dev194428.

I see it's in a hibernating state right now so I am assuming it has been re-distributed...

[Amit Verma]

Hi @Justin Weitzel 

Unfortunately, once a PDI is reclaimed, we can't do anything. You need to request for a new PDI. Going forward, please ensure to backup your data everyday without fail to avoid data loss.

Thanks and Regards

Amit Verma

[Aniket Chavan]

Hello @Justin Weitzel ,

I've seen similar cases where PDIs were reclaimed or went into a hibernating state unexpectedly — it’s definitely frustrating, especially when there's active work going on.

Since your instance is currently in a hibernating state, there’s a slim chance it may still be recoverable — but typically, once an instance is reclaimed and redistributed, the data is purged, and restoration isn't possible.

Here’s what you can try:

• Wait a few more hours or up to 24 hours — sometimes the hibernation is temporary, and it might resume on its own.

• If it doesn’t come back, head over to the ServiceNow Developer Portal → release the current instance, and request a fresh PDI.

• For the future, it’s a good practice to export your work via update sets or integrate with source control, so you’re covered in case of unexpected reclaims.

You can also refer to this official PDI FAQ page for details on how the platform handles PDIs.

🔹 Please mark ✅ Correct if this solves your query, and 👍 Helpful if you found the response valuable.

Best regards,
Aniket Chavan
🏆 ServiceNow MVP 2025 | 🌟 ServiceNow Rising Star 2024

[Aniket Chavan]

Hello @Justin Weitzel ,

Just wanted to check in to see if my earlier response helped you out or if you're still facing any issues. If your query is resolved, it would be great if you could mark my reply as helpful and accept it as the solution — that way it can also benefit others who come across the thread later.😊

Also, if you found any other responses helpful, feel free to mark those as helpful too. You can even accept multiple solutions if they contributed to resolving your issue.

Let me know if you need anything else!

Best regards,
Aniket Chavan
🏆 ServiceNow MVP 2025 | 🌟 ServiceNow Rising Star 2024

[AndersBGS]

Hi @Justin Weitzel ,

the short answer is no.