--- sourceDocument: Brazil ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/servicenow-platform Release : - brazil ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Brazil ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities ft:clusterId : - platcap bundleId : - platcap workflow : - Platform --- # Retire a knowledge article # Retire a knowledge article {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Brazil Updated September 10, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) 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 Retire a knowledge article The retirement process in ServiceNow allows knowledge base owners and managers to formally retire knowledge articles, removing them from search results on the Knowledge homepage and portal. Retired articles remain viewable by knowledge administrators and managers but are no longer accessible to general users through search. Show full answer Show less ## Retirement Workflow and Permissions Each knowledge article has an associated retirement workflow similar to its publishing workflow, enabling administrators to configure approval and review processes for retiring articles. To retire an article, authorized users (knowledge administrators, knowledge managers, and the latest publisher of the article version) must select the **Retire** option while editing. Note that contributors and candidates cannot retire articles. If approval is required, the article enters a pending approval state. Upon approval, the retirement completes; if rejected, the retirement is canceled. The article number of a retired article is permanently retired and cannot be reused. ## Viewing and Repurposing Retired Articles Only administrators and knowledge administrators can view retired knowledge articles. To reuse a retired article, these roles can republish it. Additionally, retiring an article does not automatically retire its translated versions, as translations maintain a parent-child relationship. ## Replacement Articles During Retirement ServiceNow supports providing a replacement article when retiring an article. Users accessing the retired article are redirected to the replacement article with a notification message indicating the replacement. If no replacement is provided, users see a "Knowledge record not found" message. This replacement feature is enabled by default for new users via the `glide.knowman.enablearticlereplacementonretire` system property but must be enabled manually for existing or upgraded users. The feature is not supported in classic workspace, where retirement only removes the article without replacement redirection. Replacement articles return a 301 HTTP status code, while articles retired without replacements return a 404 status code. ## Deleting Knowledge Articles Users with the admin role can delete published knowledge articles by selecting the **Delete** option on the article record. If the delete button is not visible, users can find it under the more actions menu. Initiate the retirement workflow to retire a knowledge article. Knowledge base owners and managers can view articles after they are retired but cannot search for retired articles on the Knowledge homepage and portal. A knowledge article has an associated retirement workflow, similar to the publishing workflow. This allows administrators to configure these workflows, defining an approval and review process for retiring knowledge if appropriate. When editing an article, select Retire. This launches the retirement workflow associated with that article. Only knowledge administrator, knowledge manager, and the latest publisher of the versioned knowledge article (not available for kcs_candidate or kcs_contributor) can retire a knowledge article. For more information, see [Retire a versioned article](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/gEIFnHdmN0ezbYTQLFZa6w "You can retire the latest published version of a knowledge article. Retiring a knowledge article doesn’t create a version. It simply marks the article as Retired."). If the article requires approval prior to retirement, the article goes to a pending approval state, and the workflow either finishes when approved or cancels if rejected by an approver. The article number associated with the retired article is not available for reuse. For information on the status of a knowledge article see [Knowledge article states](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/~XC9l99WqTX2M8j~HEx1HA "Knowledge article versions can be in one of several states as it progresses through the creation cycle."). Note: * Only administrators and knowledge administrators can view the retired knowledge articles. To reuse a retired article, administrators and knowledge administrators can republish the article. For more information, see [Republish a retired article](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/oWjxBwoR0rjcXNWxWaeDMg "Instantly republish a retired article."). * An article and its translations have a parent-child relationship. Retiring a parent article does not automatically retire all its translated child articles. {#c_RetiredKnowledgeArticles__ul_q3j_chc_mmb} You can provide a replacement article while retiring a knowledge article. When the retired article is accessed, the user is automatically redirected to the replacement article with the display message The article KBxxx is retired and has been replaced with the knowledge article KBxxx. If no replacement article is available, the page displays the message Knowledge record not found. The retire with replacement feature is not supported on classic workspace. By default, the glide.knowman.enable_article_replacement_on_retire system property is set to true for new users, to provide a replacement article for a retired article. Set the property to true manually so existing and upgraded users can view and use the feature. Note: * Article with replacement returns a 301 code. * Article without any replacement returns a 404 code. * The retire action on classic workspace will just retire the article and not provide a replacement irrespective of the setting of glide.knowman.enable_article_replacement_on_retire. {#c_RetiredKnowledgeArticles__ul_wvr_sdc_g5b} ## Delete a knowledge article {#c_RetiredKnowledgeArticles__section_pcb_dzp_gjc} Users with the admin role can delete a published knowledge article. On an article record, select Delete. If the Delete button isn't displayed, select the more actions icon , and then select Delete.