Report permission issues
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Summary of Report permission issues
This guide explains common reasons why ServiceNow reports may display less information than expected or no data at all, focusing on permission-related issues. Understanding these causes helps ensure users have proper visibility and access to reports, enabling accurate data analysis and decision-making.
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Report Not Shared
By default, newly created reports are not shared and are accessible only to the creator or users with the admin role. If users cannot view a report, it is often because the report has not been shared with them. Reports need to be explicitly shared with individual users, groups, or roles to grant access.
Unshared reports do not appear in accessible report lists or selection options. Users who see a dashboard containing the report but not the report itself will see a message indicating that the report is visible only to specific users or groups.
To resolve this, report owners or administrators must share the report via the report’s sharing icon, granting visibility to the intended audience.
List Reports Show Fewer Rows Than Expected
When users see fewer rows in a list report than expected, it is usually due to read access control lists (ACLs) applied to the source tables. Each row is evaluated against ACLs, and rows the user does not have permission to view are removed from the report.
Reports indicate when rows have been removed due to security constraints. This behavior ensures users only see data they are authorized to access, maintaining data security and compliance.
Non-List Reports Show Incomplete Data
Graphical or non-list reports may display incomplete data for some users because Before Query business rules execute on the source table data prior to report generation. These business rules filter records based on permissions or other criteria.
As a result, users with different group or role permissions may see varying data sets in the same report. This ensures that report data respects organizational security policies and user-specific data visibility.
There are several reasons why a report is showing less information than expected or possibly no data at all. These include insufficient permissions on the report and the report not being shared.
Report not shared
A common reason that a report may not be viewable is that the report hasn’t been shared with the users who are attempting to access it. By default, a newly created report won’t be shared and therefore inaccessible to anyone except the report creator or users with the admin role. A report can be shared with an individual user, with one or more groups, or assigned to one or more roles.
Unshared reports don’t appear in lists of reports a user has access to or in other options in which a report might be opened or selected. When users are able to see a dashboard the report has been added to, but not the report itself, a message indicates that the "Report is visible only to a specific user or group".
To correct this issue, the owner of the report (or an administrator) can share that report with the individuals who should have visibility and access to that report. You can share a report directly from the report's sharing icon. For more information, see Share a report.
List reports show fewer rows than expected
Another common issue is that fewer rows appear in list reports than the viewer expects. For example, one user sees 100 rows in a list report, but another user, viewing that same report may see fewer rows or even no rows at all. When one or more rows have been removed from the report, a message indicates the number rows removed due to security constraints.
The usual cause is that each row of a list report is first compared against any read access control lists (ACLs) defined on the report's source tables.
The ACL is considered for each list row that might be displayed in a report. For more information, see Report_view access control.
Non-list reports show incomplete data
Graphical reports (defined as any non-list type report) may show an incomplete set of data for one user, as compared to another user reviewing that same report.
This issue is caused by the fact that Before Query business rules are performed on the data from the source table before a report is generated and rendered. Business rules, found on a report's source tables, limit the data based on permissions or similar criteria. Any records that don’t fulfill the rule's criteria aren’t included in the report. Therefore, users with differing permission levels (due to group or role permissions mainly) see the same report showing different results. For more information, see Before Query business rules.