How to resolve Form Sections duplication while moving update set to other instance

[apurva3]

The duplicate form section are generated while committed the update set to test instance. Even Try with creating new form View but facing the same problem.

Need Help how can be resolve this?

[Matthew_13]

This usually happens when form sections already exist in the target instance and the update set brings them over again, causing duplicates.

A few things I see you can check and fix:

1. Form Section records

   • Go to sys_ui_section on the target (test) instance.

   • Check if the duplicated sections already existed before the update set was committed.

   • If yes, you can safely delete the duplicate sections (keep the one tied to the correct view).

2. Update Set contents

   • Open the update set and look for multiple Form Section sys_ui_section and Form Element sys_ui_element records for the same table view.

   • This often happens when the same form was modified multiple times or by multiple developers.

   • Remove unnecessary or duplicate records before committing.

3. Views

   • Make sure the View name is consistent between source and target.

   • If the view exists in target with a different sys_id, ServiceNow may create a duplicate section during commit.

4. Best practice I see going forward

   • Avoid creating new views unless needed.

   • When working on forms, have one update set per form change.

   • Before committing, always preview update set changes to catch duplicate UI records.

   • If possible, baseline the form in lower environments so sections already exist before committing changes.

At end of day, this is a common UI metadata issue, not a platform bug. Cleaning up duplicate sys_ui_section records and tightening update-set discipline usually resolves it.

Hope this helps my Friend!

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[apurva3]

Thanks for reply @Matthew_13  i tried removing duplicate section and again update the form but it create the duplicate record in sys_ui_form_section again. The one point i find that the duplicate one is generated for parent domain.

[Matthew_13]

Yep — what you are seeing is by design, especially with Domain Separation.

Whats happening is: when you edit or save the form, ServiceNow is re-creating the parent-domain section on purpose. That parent record isn’t really a “duplicate”; its the base form section that child domains inherit from.

So when you delete it and then update the form again, ServiceNow just puts it back to maintain the inheritance chain.

A few key points to keep in mind:

• sys_ui_form_section records exist at multiple domain levels

• One record = parent (baseline)

• Another record = child domain override

• Same table + same view ≠ duplicate if the Domain is different

This usually happens when:

• You’re editing the form while logged into a child domain

• ServiceNow needs to preserve the parent definition

What to do instead:

• Don’t delete the parent-domain record unless you want to change the form for all domains

• If the change is meant only for one domain, keep the parent record and adjust the child domain version

• Always make sure you’re in the correct domain context before using Form Designer

A good Rule of thumb:
If it’s in the parent domain and keeps coming back its not a bug; its the baseline

@apurva3 - Please mark Accepted Solution and a Thumbs Up if you find Helpful!!