Comparisons of Business Rules

[DaisyB057891995]

Hi All,

Can someone explain the use cases of the following three OOB BRs:

• Task Active State Management (order 50)
• mark closed (order 800)
• task closer (order 900)

[Bhuvan]

@DaisyB057891995 

Task Active State Management - Run on task table for insert or update conditions to set task state to active or inactive

Mark Closed - Run on task table for insert or update conditions when task record is set to closed, set active field to false

Task Closer - Run on task table for insert or update conditions to set active field based on state changes

Refer below article for more details

https://www.servicenow.com/community/itsm-blog/understanding-tasks-table-quot-closed-quot-states/ba-...

https://developer.servicenow.com/dev.do#!/guides/xanadu/now-platform/tpb-guide/business_rules_techni...

If this helped to answer your query, please mark it helpful & accept the solution.

Thanks,

Bhuvan

[kaushal_snow]

Hi @DaisyB057891995 ,

Task Active State Management Business Rule uses the TaskStateUtil script include to watch for when a task state changes into one of the inactive/close states (by default Closed Complete / Closed Incomplete / Closed Skipped) and change the active field to false...

Mark Closed BR  fires on update/insert when the state changes to an inactive state and also sets active=false, and then Task Closer BR steps in when a record has been marked inactive but its state is still in an open state to force the state field back to the default close state defined in dictionary or via the default_close_state override for that table.....

If you found my response helpful, please mark it as ‘Accept as Solution’ and ‘Helpful’. This helps other community members find the right answer more easily and supports the community.

[M Iftikhar]

Hi Daisy,

Good question the overlap can be confusing. The difference is mainly timing and context:

• Task Active State Management (Order 50) → Runs very early in the update cycle to keep active aligned whenever a task moves into an inactive state.

• Mark Closed (Order 800) → Runs much later to ensure that even if earlier logic or customizations interfere, the record still ends up with active = false. It’s like a safeguard.

So essentially: 50 is proactive, 800 is a backup enforcer, and then Task Closer (900) finalizes the state details.

Thanks & Regards,
Muhammad Iftikhar

If my response helped, please mark it as the accepted solution so others can benefit as well.

[TejasSN_LogicX]

Hi,

These 3 OOB Business Rules are part of the task table lifecycle management. Each one plays a role in controlling state/closure logic:

1. Task Active State Management (order 50)

Runs early.

Sets the active field automatically depending on state.

Example: If state changes to Closed or Resolved, it sets active = false; if moved back to Open/In Progress, it sets active = true.

Use case: Keeps task activity status in sync with state.

2. mark closed (order 800)

Runs late.

Ensures that when a task enters a closed state, closed_at, closed_by, and other closure-related fields are populated.

Use case: Provides audit details for when and by whom the task was closed.

3. task closer (order 900)

Runs last.

Performs cleanup actions after closure, such as updating related records, finalizing SLAs, or triggering closure flows.

Use case: Ensures all downstream processes (like SLA stop, notifications, dependent task handling) happen after the task is marked closed.

in hsort

50 = sets active flag based on state.

800 = stamps closure fields.

900 = final closure processing and related updates.