Adding and Managing Languages in ServiceNow

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By default, the ServiceNow platform supports American English as its primary language. However, organizations working with global teams and customers often need multi-language support. ServiceNow provides plugins for several out-of-the-box (OOB) translations, and you can also add your own custom language if it’s not available by default.

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Out-of-the-Box Language Support

If you have the admin role, you can activate the following language plugins:

1. 1. I18N: Arabic Translations
2. 2.I18N: Brazilian Portuguese Translations
3. I18N: Czech Translations
4. I18N: Dutch Translations
5. I18N: Finnish Translations
6. I18N: French Canada Translations
7. I18N: French Translations
8. I18N: German Translations
9. I18N: Hebrew Translations
10. I18N: Hungarian Translations
11. I18N: Italian Translations
12. I18N: Japanese Translations
13. I18N: Korean Translations
14. I18N: Norwegian Translations
15. I18N: Polish Translations
16. I18N: Portuguese Translations
17. I18N: Russian Translations
18. I18N: Simplified Chinese Translations
19. I18N: Spanish Translations
20. I18N: Swedish Translations
21. I18N: Thai Translations
22. I18N: Traditional Chinese Translations
23. I18N: Turkish Translations

These plugins provide ready-to-use translations for the ServiceNow UI, significantly reducing the effort required to localize your instance.

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Adding a Language Not Supported Out-of-the-Box

In some cases, you may need to support a language not included in the list above. ServiceNow allows you to add custom languages by creating a language record and managing translations manually.

Step 1: Create a Language Record

1. Navigate to All > System Localization > Languages.

2. Click New.

   

3. Fill in the required fields:

   • Name: The Name of the language (for example, Vietnamese).

   • Display Label: The Display Label of the language (for example, Vietnamese). This field is hidden in the OOTB form view, so you need to configure the form to make it visible.

   • ID: The BCP 47 code for the language (for example, vi).

   • Text Direction: Choose Left-to-Right or Right-to-Left depending on the language.

   • Active: Check this to activate the language for the instance.

   • Fallback: Select another active language to serve as a fallback if translations are missing.

4. Click Submit.

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Step 2: Export and Translate Strings

• Navigate to the translation tables and export the strings you want to translate.

• Since ServiceNow has a large number of translatable strings, exporting all of them may not be practical. For example, if you need UI translations for the Incident, Problem, or Change tables, you can filter by the table name and the elements that require translation in English from the sys_documentation table.

  

• Consider exporting filtered subsets from each table to make translation manageable.

• Translate the strings using your preferred translation process or team.

• Using the Localization Framework application is recommended for translating other content such as knowledge articles, catalog items, and portals.

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Step 3: Import Translations

• Once translations are ready, import them back into your instance using an import set.

• For detailed steps, see Import a translation from an Excel spreadsheet in the documentation.

  

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Step 4: Make the Language Available to Users

• Users can then set their preferred language, and the platform will display UI text in the selected language.

  

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Summary

• ServiceNow comes with a wide range of I18N translation plugins.

• If your required language is not supported OOB, you can still add it by creating a language record, exporting/importing translations, and making it available in the user’s preferences.

• Using fallback languages ensures continuity in the user experience when translations are missing.

With this flexibility, ServiceNow enables organizations to deliver localized experiences for users across the globe.