Inbound email

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated December 5, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Inbound email

    Inbound email functionality in ServiceNow enables you to receive and process incoming emails from external users and systems. It allows integration of email communication into your ServiceNow workflows, improving automation and responsiveness.

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    Accounts

    Accounts are used to configure connections to external email servers for processing inbound emails. You can manage existing accounts and create new ones by specifying key parameters:

    • Name: Identifier for the account.
    • Type: Email protocol used, either POP3 or IMAP.
    • Authentication: Mandatory method to authenticate the account.
    • Server: Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the mail server node, mandatory for on-premises setups.
    • Username and Password: Credentials required to access the account, both mandatory.
    • Connection Security: Choose the security protocol for connecting to the mail server:
      • None (no encryption)
      • STARTTLS (upgrades to secure connection if supported)
      • SSL/TLS (recommended for strong encryption)

      Warning: Using SSL/TLS is highly recommended to protect data security.

    • Port: TCP port used for the connection.
    • Active: Option to activate or deactivate the account.
    • Enable Debug Logging: Option to log raw email data for troubleshooting, accessible via System Logs.

    You can export account configurations in various formats (Excel, CSV, JSON, PDF) and choose to download or email the export.

    Properties

    Properties let you manage how incoming emails are handled, including:

    • Enabling email reception.
    • Auto-creating users from trusted domains.
    • Configuring recognition rules to detect email replies and forwarded emails.
    • Defining trusted domains for email processing.

    Settings must be saved to apply changes. You can undo recent changes to revert to the last saved state.

    Actions

    Actions define the system’s automated responses to inbound emails. You can add or manage actions with these key details:

    • Name: Identifier of the action.
    • Target Table: Specifies where the action adds or updates records.
    • Active: Option to enable or disable the action.
    • Action Type: Determines whether the action modifies records (Record Action) or sends an email reply (Reply Email).
    • Stop Processing: Option to halt further inbound email actions after this one executes, controlling workflow progression.

    These settings allow you to tailor how ServiceNow interacts with incoming emails, streamlining service request handling and communication.

    Use the inbound email to receive and process incoming emails from external systems or users.

    Accounts

    Image showing inbound accounts

    Use Accounts to process inbound emails from external sources and users. On selecting Accounts under Inbound email, a list of existing accounts shows up. Select Add an account to create a new account.

    Field Description
    Name Name of the account
    Type States the type of account. It can either be POP3 or IMAP.
    Authentication States the authentication method of the account
    Note:
    Authentication is a mandatory field
    Server Remote server to which this account connects. To activate a server for an on-premises installation, enter the full address (FQDN) of the node (for example, node.customerdomain).
    Note:
    Server is a mandatory field
    Username Username used to create the account
    Note:
    Username is a mandatory field
    Password Password used to set up the account
    Note:
    Password is a mandatory field
    Connection Security Type of secure connection. Choose a setting:
    • None: No secure protocol is used.
    • STARTTLS: Upgrades an insecure connection to a secure connection using the SSL/TLS encryption protocol, if your email server supports TLS.
    • SSL/TLS: Connect to an SSL/TLS encrypted port to secure the connection. Email is encrypted between the ServiceNow instance and your mail server.
      Warning:
      Selecting a less secure protocol like STARTTLS or None may expose your data. To better ensure the security of data in your email server, select SSL/TLS.
    Port Connection TCP port.
    Active Optional checkbox to create an active account
    Enable Debug Logging Option to create node logs for the raw data that is exchanged with the email server. You can review the node logs by navigating to System Logs > Utilities > Node Log File Browser.

    Select Export to export the accounts on to an Excel, CSV, JSON or PDF. You can then select the delivery type either through download or email.

    Properties

    Manage the behavior of incoming emails with Properties.

    Image showing inbound properties

    • Inbound sending and delivery options: You can enable receiving emails and can also enable auto-create users from trusted domains
    • Inbound recognition and trusted domains: You can setup conditions for the following:
      • How to detect an email reply
      • How to identify a forwarded email
      • Which domains should be trusted
    Note:
    Select Save to save the recent property settings. You can also undo the most recent change by selecting Undo. By selecting Undo, the values are reverted back to the most recent saved values.

    Actions

    Email actions determine how and when the system responds to service requests. On selecting Actions under Inbound email, a list of existing actions shows up. Select Add an action to create a new action.

    Image showing actions

    Field Description
    Name Name of the action
    Target table Select the table where the action adds or updates records.
    Active Optional checkbox to create an active action
    Action type Type of the action. Select the type of action the instance takes. Select Record Action to modify a record in the instance, or select Reply Email to have the instance send an email back to the source of the inbound email.
    Stop processing Optional checkbox to help prevent the system from running additional inbound email actions after this action runs.

    See Inbound email configuration for more information.