Flow roles

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Flow Roles

    Flow roles enable you to create user-initiated flows that operate under specific roles, distinct from the roles of the initiating user. This functionality allows for greater flexibility in managing permissions and access within ServiceNow workflows.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Role Assignment: Flows can be assigned multiple roles, which replace the default roles. When no roles are assigned, flows run with the roles of the initiating user.
    • Role Limitations: High-security roles, such as admin or application-specific admin roles, cannot be assigned to flows.
    • Modification and Copying: Users can modify flows if they have the same roles. Copied flows lose assigned roles and revert to running as the system user or the initiating user's roles.
    • Missing Roles: If a flow references a missing role, it cannot be saved until the role is either added to the instance or removed from the flow.
    • Execution Details: Flow execution details provide insights into the "Run with" roles and the user who executed the flow.
    • Subflow Independence: Subflows operate with their own roles, not inheriting from parent flows.
    • Access Control Lists (ACL): Assigning roles does not guarantee access; additional ACL criteria may be necessary.
    • Override AI Agent Roles: Configured flow roles take precedence over any inherited roles from AI agents.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing flow roles, ServiceNow customers can enhance their workflow management, ensuring that access and permissions are tailored to specific tasks. This leads to improved security and efficiency in executing workflows, while also providing clear visibility into role assignments and access control. Understanding these features is crucial for effectively managing workflows in ServiceNow.

    Create flows and subflows that run with specific roles. Assigning roles enables you to create user-initiated flows that run with their own roles rather than the user's roles.

    Role selection

    A flow runs as either the system user or as the user who initiates the session. You can only assign roles to flows that run as the user who initiates the session. When the flow runs as the system user, it runs with the system role, and individual role selection isn't available. For more information, see Create a flow in Workflow Studio.

    You can assign multiple roles to a flow. Selecting new roles replaces the flow's original roles. If roles aren't selected, the flow runs with the roles of the user who initiates the session.

    The roles you can select for a flow depend on the roles you have and the application scope of the flow. Assign any roles you that have access to in a particular scope, except high-security roles. You can't assign the following roles to a flow:
    • admin
    • security_admin
    • application-specific admin roles, such as an application admin role for Human Resources.

    Modified and copied flows

    Other users can modify and copy your flow. To modify a flow, a user must have the same roles as the flow. Users missing any of the roles assigned to the flow, sees the flow as read-only.

    When you copy a flow, the assigned roles are removed. The copied flow runs with either the system role or the roles of the user who initiated the session.

    Missing roles

    Sometimes a flow refers to a role that is not on the instance. The missing role may have been removed or may not exist on the instance. Either situation can occur when moving a flow between instances. When a role is unavailable, the Run with role(s) field displays the sys_id of the role instead of its name. While the role is missing, you cannot save changes to the flow. To save flow changes, either remove the role from the flow or add it to the instance.

    Flow roles in execution details

    You can see the "Run with" roles for a flow by viewing the flow execution details. Use the Run As field to determine which user ran the flow. Only flows that ran as the initiating user can have roles assigned. These flows have a Run with role(s) field that displays the roles assigned to the flow.

    Subflow roles

    Flows and subflows each run with their own roles. Subflows don't inherit roles from a parent flow. When flow execution returns to a parent flow from a child flow, any special roles associated with the child flow are removed. The parent continues execution with its own roles.

    Access control lists

    Assigning a role to a flow doesn't guarantee that the flow can access a record or table. While roles are an important part of access control lists (ACLs), they are just one possible condition. If a flow cannot access the records you expect it to, review the record ACL rules for the table and fields. The ACL rules might require additional criteria to grant access. For more information, see access control list rules.

    Flow roles override AI agent roles

    A flow always runs using the roles it has been configured to run with in Workflow Studio. Flow roles override any roles inherited by an AI agent from a dynamic user or a specific AI user. If you want a flow to only run with the roles inherited from a user, remove flow roles. For information about adding roles to an AI agent, see Define security controls for an AI agent.