---
sourceDocument: Zurich ServiceNow AI Platform Administration
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/zurich/platform-administration

 Release :

    - zurich

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Zurich ServiceNow AI Platform Administration

ft:clusterId :

    - platadm

bundleId :

    - platadm

workflow :

    - Platform


---

# Email filters

# Email filters {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Zurich  
Updated July 31, 2025  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read
Summarize  
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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 Email filters

Email filters in ServiceNow allow you to specify rules for handling inbound emails by either ignoring them or moving them to specific mailboxes.
Ignored emails are saved in your instance but are not processed, and can be accessed via theirEmail \[sysemail\]records.
The Email Filters plugin (com.glide.emailfilter) is activated by default in releases after Kingston; earlier releases require manual activation.
Show full answer Show less  

## Key Features

* **Default Email Filters:** Available under System Mailboxes \> Administration \> Filters, these include:
  * **Ignore VCAL:** Ignores emails containing vCalendar requests to prevent unnecessary incident creation.
  * **Ignore header:** Ignores emails with specific headers, overriding the *glide.pop3.ignoreheaders* property.
  * **Junk email - sender equals recipient:** Moves emails from the SMTP user themselves to the Junk folder.
  * **Ignore subject:** Ignores emails with certain terms in the subject line, overriding *glide.pop3.ignoresubjects*. This may not apply to unknown users, who can be locked out.
  * **Move spam to junk folder:** Routes emails identified as spam (via the *X-ServiceNow-Spam-Status:Yes* header) to the Junk folder.
* **Filter Actions:** You can configure actions such as *Mark as Ignored* or *Move to Junk*. Custom action scripts can also be used for additional email processing.
* **Email Filter Script Include:** The *EmailUtils* script include provides utility functions, such as detecting vCalendar content for filtering rules.
* **Spam Scoring and Virus Scanning:** ServiceNow assesses inbound emails for spam likelihood and virus infection, adding headers to support filtering and automatically ignoring infected emails. This functionality requires use of the ServiceNow email infrastructure.

## Key Outcomes

* Efficient management of inbound emails by filtering out irrelevant or potentially harmful messages.
* Reduction in unnecessary incident creation triggered by email responses containing calendar data.
* Improved email security through spam detection and virus scanning integrated into the email processing workflow.
* Customizable filtering rules and actions to align with your organization's email handling policies.  
Specify which inbound emails to ignore or move to a particular mailbox.
When an email is ignored, the email is saved to your instance but is not
processed. You can access an ignored email by viewing its Email \[sys_email\] record.

The Email Filters (com.glide.email_filter) plugin is active by default for releases after
Kingston, for releases before Kingston, it needs to be activated, for more information see
[Activate email filters](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/uEz2wIwOrpW6C2hVjMAB2w "Administrators can activate the Email Filters plugin (com.glide.email_filter).").

## Default email filters

By default, the following filters are available from the System MailboxesAdministrationFilters module:  
{#c_EmailFilters__table_q4w_5vt_jq__entry__2}

| Filter | Description |
|-|-|
| Ignore VCAL | Ignores all email containing vCalendar requests. This filter prevents [inbound email actions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/unhf7sYhRQWmSydMKEQzYg "Define an inbound email action to script how the system responds to an inbound email.") from creating unnecessary incident records when the instance receives a response to sent email. vCalendar requests in email responses are identified by the EmailUtils script include. |
| Ignore header | Ignores email that contains specific headers. This filter overrides the glide.pop3.ignore_headers property. |
| Junk email - sender equals recipient | Filters out emails that are from the same user as the SMTP user to the Junk folder. |
| Ignore subject | Ignores email with specific terms or phrases in the subject line. This filter overrides the glide.pop3.ignore_subjects property. This filter might not apply to emails arriving from unknown users. Unknown users can be locked out. |
| Move spam to junk folder | Moves email identified as spam to the Junk folder. This filter checks for the value of the ServiceNow spam header. If the header is `X-ServiceNow-Spam-Status:Yes`, the filter moves the email to the Junk folder |
[Table 1. Default email filters]

{#c_EmailFilters__table_q4w_5vt_jq}  
Note:  
Filter action should be configured to indicate how the system should react when the conditions of this filter evaluate to true. The two choices in the base system are: Mark as Ignored and Move to Junk. You can use the Action script to perform additional email tasks.

To learn more about enabling spam scoring and filtering, see [Email spam scoring and filtering
(instance security hardening)](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=sc-email-spam-scoring-and-filtering&version=zurich&pubname=zurich-platform-security&ft:locale=en-US) in Instance Security Hardening
Settings.

## Email filter script include

Email filters use a script include called `EmailUtils` that contains a simple
utility function to determine if `vCalendar` is in the body of the response
email. The results of this query are used in a condition script in the Ignore VCAL email filter.

## Spam scoring and virus scanning

Every message sent through email servers is assessed for the likelihood of being spam. Based
on this assessment, the instance adds headers to each message that can be used for filtering
within the customer instance using the Email Filters plugin.

The system also adds the `X-ServiceNow-Virus:INFECTED` header to an email
that contains one or more virus-infected attachments. The system ignores the email.

Spam scoring and virus scanning are available only for instances that use the ServiceNow
email infrastructure. For more information on spam scoring and filtering, see [KB0549426](https://support.servicenow.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0549426).
* **[Create an email filter](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/MC_CdASuZyopQx4uTQlb_A)**   
  You can create email filters to apply a custom action script or filter actions when email matches your filter's conditions.

**Related tasks**   

* [Create an email filter](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/MC_CdASuZyopQx4uTQlb_A "You can create email filters to apply a custom action script or filter actions when email matches your filter's conditions.")

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