---
sourceDocument: Australia Customer Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/customer-service-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Customer Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - csm

bundleId :

    - csm

workflow :

    - Customer and Industry


---

# Case and account escalation

# Case and account escalation {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read
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## Summary of Case and Account Escalation

The escalation feature in ServiceNow is designed to enhance visibility and communication regarding critical customer issues related to cases and accounts.
By escalating a case or an account, customers can ensure that important issues receive the necessary attention and are tracked effectively until resolution.
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## Key Features

* **Escalation Management:** Users with the escalation requester role can initiate escalations from the case or account form.
* **Case vs. Account Escalation:** Case escalations are typically managed by customer service agents focusing on individual issues, while account escalations are overseen by escalation managers and may encompass multiple cases.
* **Configuration Tasks:** System administrators can configure escalation management, create templates for processing escalation requests, and define escalation severity levels to visually signify urgency in the user interface.
* **User Tasks:** Users can escalate cases/accounts, manage escalated issues, de-escalate once resolved, and optionally include an approval process for escalations.

## Key Outcomes

By effectively using the escalation feature, ServiceNow customers can improve response times to critical issues, enhance communication across teams, and ensure that escalated cases and accounts are prioritized according to their severity. This structured approach leads to better customer satisfaction and more efficient issue resolution.  
Use the escalation feature to highlight specific cases or accounts and raise awareness
of important customer issues.
Escalating a case or an account provides the following benefits:

* Increases attention about a customer issue.
* Facilitates communication about that issue.
* Provides a way to track progress toward a resolution.
{#customer-service-case-escalation__ul_kl3_qbk_spb}

Users with the escalation requester role can [escalate a case or an account](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/lV44JudBJSLA0ZSBsQCmuA "Users with the escalation requester role can escalate a case or account.") by selecting the Escalate Case related link on the case or account form.

## Case and account escalation differences {#customer-service-case-escalation__section_oty_gfk_spb}

While the escalation process is similar for cases and accounts, there are some important differences to note.

* Case escalations: A customer service agent typically manages a case escalation and works directly with the escalated case to resolve the issue.
* Account escalations: An escalation manager typically manages an account escalation, which can include multiple associated cases, and records details in the escalation record.

{#customer-service-case-escalation__ul_fr4_lfk_spb}For more information, see [Case and account escalation differences](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/CCYvgYSyiIHj8Qe_F9w5NQ "An overview of the differences between case escalations and account escalations.").

## Configuring case and account escalation {#customer-service-case-escalation__section_flq_y1l_spb}

The following table includes an overview of case and account escalation configuration tasks.
Users with the system administrator role can perform these tasks.  
{#customer-service-case-escalation__table_case_escalation_config__entry__2}

| Task | Description |
|-|-|
| [Configure escalation management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/f0W56uHVMtnbI~kCceDh7A "Escalating a case or account raises awareness about important customer issues, facilitates communication, and enables users to track progress towards a resolution.") | Configure case and account escalation using Customer Service Management guided setup. |
| [Create a case or account escalation template](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/QZOG_RufoSFgWeR_sF4wpw "Create a template for each type of case or account escalation.") | Escalation templates determine how an escalation request is processed, including the type of escalation and an optional approval process. |
| [Create a case or account escalation severity](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/aV3f0mbDeiDvqMH26i9h9w "The escalation severity defines the type of escalation and the color used to represent the cases and accounts of this escalation severity in the user interface.") | Create definitions for different levels of escalation severity and select color indicators to highlight escalated cases and accounts in the user interface. |
[Table 1. Case and account escalation configuration tasks]

{#customer-service-case-escalation__table_case_escalation_config}

## Using case and account escalation {#customer-service-case-escalation__section_sgy_2pk_spb}

The following table includes an overview of case and account escalation user tasks.  
{#customer-service-case-escalation__table_case_escalation_use__entry__2}

| Task | Description |
|-|-|
| [Escalate a case or an account](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/lV44JudBJSLA0ZSBsQCmuA "Users with the escalation requester role can escalate a case or account.") | Escalate cases or accounts, either on behalf of customers or for internal purposes. Escalating a case or account creates an associated escalation record. Role required: escalation requester |
| [Manage an escalated case or account](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/FZc7VOuXzq2PWNkuOJJwkw "Manage and document the progress for an escalation using the case or account escalation record.") | Manage a case or account through the escalation process using the escalation record. The system identifies cases and accounts on lists and forms with color indicators that correspond to the escalation severity: red (high) or orange (medium). Role required: * Customer service agent * Escalation manager {#customer-service-case-escalation__ul_abm_xpk_spb} |
| [De-escalate a case or an account](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/CIlFbG3epfBe7DZl1Cthfg "The de-escalation requester can de-escalate cases or accounts when the cause of the escalation is resolved.") | De-escalate cases or accounts when the cause of the escalation is resolved. Role required: de-escalation requester |
| Use an optional escalation approval process | Include an optional approval step for approvers to review a request and either approve or reject an escalation. When using the optional approval step, the system creates the escalation record upon approval and associates it with the case or account. |
[Table 2. Case and account escalation user tasks]

{#customer-service-case-escalation__table_case_escalation_use}