Regarding Configure inbound email creation and updates of records

[Avinash_M]

Hello Team,
I have a requirement regarding inbound email updation/creation, so pls check the below requirement:
"As a user, want to ensure no records are created when inbound email is received, however updates are okay, Inbound actions, including flow actions should not be able to create records, but updating of existing records should be permitted.

Can we achieve this by creating a Flow - (as that will execute before an inbound action)  and dropping any action where the email does not contain a watermark".

If the above is achievable through flow designer, could you pls give me the possibilities/steps to configure, Thanks in advance.


Thanks,
Avinash

[SD_Chandan]

1. Create a flow triggered by Email Received
2.Add a condition to check for email watermark
If Email Watermark is empty → Stop flow
If Email Watermark is present → Proceed
3.If watermark is missing, stop the flow — this prevents record creation
4. Inbound actions can still update records if watermark is present

Kindly mark it correct and helpful if it is applicable.

[Avinash_M]

Hi Chandan,
Thanks for your response, in this requirement I'm not looking for creating, here I'm looking for updating the records, can you pls give me the process of the updating the existing records through flow designer, is that possible? 

[SD_Chandan]

hi @Avinash_M 
1. Create a flow triggered by Email Received
2.Add a condition to check for email watermark
If Email Watermark is empty → Stop flow
If Email Watermark is present → Proceed
3.If watermark is missing, stop the flow — this prevents record creation
4. Inbound actions can still update records if watermark is present

Kindly mark it correct and helpful if it is applicable.

[pavani_paluri]

Hi Avinash,

Could you please clarify whether the inbound email in question is a new message or a reply?

If it’s a reply, ServiceNow has built-in functionality to automatically update the target record using the watermark (email.watermark). No custom logic is typically needed for this case.

However, if it’s a new email, and the requirement is to prevent creation of new records, I suggest implementing the following approach:

Scripted Inbound Email Action
Steps:
Navigate to:
System Policy → Email → Inbound Actions

Edit or create an inbound action for the target table (e.g., Incident, RITM, etc.)

In the Script section, use the following logic:

if (!email.watermark) {
gs.info("Inbound Email skipped: No watermark found");
action.setAbortAction(true); // Stops creation or updates
return;
}

// Proceed only if target record exists
var target = email.getReference();
if (target) {
// Example: Add the email as a comment
target.comments = "Email reply: " + email.body_text;
target.update();
} else {
gs.info("Watermark exists but no matching record found.");
action.setAbortAction(true); // Prevents record creation in case of invalid watermark

Additional Checks

• Ensure no active Inbound Email Actions are set to "Create Record" unless specifically intended.

Why Not Use Flow for Blocking?
Flows cannot cancel record creation triggered by other inbound actions.

Use Flows only for post-processing or auditing inbound emails.

Final Summary

Prevent new record creation:  action.setAbortAction(true) in script
Allow updates to records:  Use email.getReference() and update as needed

Mark it helpful if this helps you to understand. Accept solution if this give you the answer you're looking for
Kind Regards,
Pavani P