insertMultiple

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of insertMultiple

    TheinsertMultipleoperation in ServiceNow enables customers to create multiple new records in a targeted table through a single API call. This method improves efficiency by allowing batch insertion of records, reducing the need for multiple individual insert requests.

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    It supports inserting up to 200 records in one operation, with the option to increase this number cautiously based on your instance’s performance.

    Input Structure

    The input to insertMultiple consists of one or more record elements containing fields from the target table (excluding system fields). Each record represents a separate record to be inserted.

    Output Structure

    The response includes an insertMultipleResponse element with one or more insertResponse child elements. The exact output fields depend on the table type:

    • Regular Tables: Returns sysid and the display value of the new record.
    • Import Set Tables: Returns sysid of the import set row, the target table name, display name and value, and a status field indicating whether the record was inserted, updated, or encountered an error. Optional fields may include statusmessage or errormessage.
    • Import Sets with Multiple Transforms: Returns multiple sets of insert results wrapped in a multiInsertResponse element, including mapping information for each transform map applied.

    Practical Use and Examples

    Customers can use insertMultiple via SOAP messages by specifying multiple record entries within the insertMultiple element. For example, inserting several incidents by providing their short descriptions in separate record elements.

    The response returns the identifiers and relevant display fields for each inserted record, confirming successful creation or providing details on errors or ignored records (especially in import set scenarios).

    Key Considerations

    • Limit batch inserts to no more than 200 records per call to avoid impacting instance performance.
    • System fields cannot be included in the input records.
    • Import set inserts provide detailed status feedback, allowing customers to track which records were inserted, updated, or skipped.

    Creates multiple new records for the table targeted in the URL.

    Input fields

    The insertMultiple element may contain 1 or more record tags that contains all fields from the targeted table, excluding system fields. Limit the number of records inserted in a single operation to no more than 200. You can gradually increase this number with subsequent exports if the increase does not negatively impact instance performance.

    Output fields

    The insertMultipleResponse tag is followed by 1 or more record tags that contains:

    Table 1. Insert method output fields
    Table type Output fields
    Regular The sys_id field and the display value of the target table (table) are returned.
    Import set

    The sys_id of the import set row, the name of the transformed target table (table), the display_name for the transformed target table, the display_value of the transformed target row, and a status field, which can contain inserted, updated, or error.

    There can be an optional status_message field or an error_message field value when status=error.

    When an insert did not cause a target row to be transformed (skipped because a key value is not specified), the sys_id field will contain the sys_id of the import set row, rather than the targeted transform table.
    Import set with multiple transforms The response from this type of insert will contain multiple sets of fields from the regular import set table insert wrapped in a multiInsertResponse parent element. Each set will contain a map field, showing which transform map created the response.

    Sample SOAP messages for a regular table

    The following example shows an insert that specifies the short description only:

    <soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:inc="http://www.service-now.com/incident">
   <soapenv:Header/>
   <soapenv:Body>
      <inc:insertMultiple>
         <record>
            <short_description>this is test 1</short_description>
         </record>
         <record>
            <short_description>this is test 2</short_description>
         </record>
         <record>
            <short_description>this is test 3</short_description>
         </record>
      </inc:insertMultiple>
   </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>

    The resulting response looks like this:

    <soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:inc="http://www.service-now.com/incident">
   <soapenv:Header/>
   <soapenv:Body>
      <insertMultipleResponse>
         <insertResponse>
            <sys_id>168160ad4a36231200a89091281dc803</sys_id>
            <number>INC0055180</number>
         </insertResponse>
         <insertResponse>
            <sys_id>1681622e4a36231200a8909115e5c388</sys_id>
            <number>INC0055181</number>
         </insertResponse>
         <insertResponse>
            <sys_id>1681626e4a36231200a89091fa3c0aa8</sys_id>
            <number>INC0055182</number>
         </insertResponse>
      </insertMultipleResponse>
   </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>

    Sample SOAP messages for an import set table

    The following example shows an insert that specifies the short description only:

    <soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:imp="http://www.service-now.com/imp_notification">
   <soapenv:Header/>
   <soapenv:Body>
      <imp:insertMultiple>:-->
         <imp:record>
            <imp:message>one</imp:message>
            <imp:uuid>a</imp:uuid>
         </imp:record>
         <imp:record>
            <imp:message>two</imp:message>
            <imp:uuid>b</imp:uuid>
         </imp:record>
         <imp:record>
            <imp:message>three</imp:message>
            <imp:uuid>c</imp:uuid>
         </imp:record>
      </imp:insertMultiple>
   </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>

    The resulting response looks like this:

    <soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:imp="http://www.service-now.com/imp_notification">
   <soapenv:Header/>
   <soapenv:Body>
      <insertMultipleResponse>
         <insertResponse>
            <sys_id>1296b3ab0a0a0b5b73e966fbfab7acde</sys_id>
            <table>incident</table>
            <display_name>number</display_name>
            <display_value>INC0010033</display_value>
            <status>ignored</status>
            <status_message>No field values changed</status_message>
         </insertResponse>
         <insertResponse>
            <sys_id>1296b48e0a0a0b5b62513bb5974a7d96</sys_id>
            <table>incident</table>
            <display_name>number</display_name>
            <display_value>INC0010034</display_value>
            <status>ignored</status>
            <status_message>No field values changed</status_message>
         </insertResponse>
         <insertResponse>
            <sys_id>1296b58b0a0a0b5b468f534659538b9a</sys_id>
            <table>incident</table>
            <display_name>number</display_name>
            <display_value>INC0010035</display_value>
            <status>ignored</status>
            <status_message>No field values changed</status_message>
         </insertResponse>
      </insertMultipleResponse>
   </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>