Need help in understanding the upgrade timelines and process

[Suggy]

We are currently on Yokohama and plan to upgrade only once a year, so we will skip Zurich.

Australia GA was on 5th May.

When should we schedule the upgrade process? What is the deadline to upgrade from Yokohama to Australia? We prefer not to use Zurich or Australia EA.

Do all customers use EA?

If a customer chooses not to use EA, then since Australia GA was on 5th May, does that mean we are non-compliant as of 6th May (N-2), the very next day?

How exactly all of you are doing the upgrade?  Use EA or GA for Non-PROD? and EA or GA for PROD?

[Tanushree Maiti]

Hi @Suggy 

You have a standard 60-day grace period from the Australia release's GA date. Because Australia went GA on May 5, 2026, you should plan the upgrade process immediately  in June, and your firm deadline to complete the upgrade should be July 4, 2026  (Refer: KB0717787 Release Testing Preview (RTP) version release phase 1 of the Early Release Program 

Refer: 

Upgrade planning checklist 

Administration: Upgrading & Patching || Knowledge & Troubleshooting Resources

KB0547597 Post-Cloning Checklist 

Using a Cloning Plan to Ensure Successful Clones in ServiceNow

[Suggy]

Hi @Tanushree Maiti 

This “60 days” is: time BEFORE GA to prepare (its for RTP - Release Testing Preview) and test and NOT a grace period AFTER GA.

the link clearly says that.

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

When you say "Many customers choose to remain on the General Availability (GA)", then Australia GA is 5th of May. the final GA release notes is available on this date right.

Most of my customers operate on N-1 or N versions, so I haven’t encountered this issue before. However, in your case, the deadline is the first week of July. If not completed by then, it may lead to non-compliance, as ServiceNow can enforce upgrades based on their policy.