---
sourceDocument: Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Administration
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/platform-administration

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Administration

ft:clusterId :

    - platadm

bundleId :

    - platadm

workflow :

    - Platform


---

# Make a field read only

# Make a field read only {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read  
Control whether a field is read only and whether it can be changed by a client script and server-side APIs.

## Before you begin

Role required: admin

## About this task

You can customize the behavior of a read-only field, including whether a client script or server-side API can modify the read-only field value. You control the read-only behavior by updating the Read only option field in a dictionary record.

For details on read only options, see [Configuring read-only security options](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/C9Dn7DtqTKg8A5Q2HpwUJw "Control the ability to edit read-only fields by configuring read-only options.").

## Procedure

1. Navigate to the field's dictionary entry in one of the following ways.
   * Navigate to a field on a form, right-click the field, and select Configure Dictionary or Show \<field name\>.
   * Navigate to System DefinitionDictionary, and click an entry for a field or table.
   {#make-field-read-only__choices_wv2_hyj_tgc}
2. Make the field read only by selecting an option in the Read only option field.  
   The option that you select determines how strict the system treats the security of read-only values once they've been entered. Each option displays the field as read-only in the UI.

   | Option | Description |
   | Display Read Only | Allows changes to the read-only field through client scripts and server-side operations such as TableAPI, GraphQL, and GlideRecordSecure(). |
   | Client Script Modifiable | Allows changes to the read-only field through client scripts but not through background scripts or server-side APIs like TableAPI, GraphQL, and GlideRecordSecure(). |
   | Strict Read Only | Prevents any changes to the read-only field from both client scripts and server-side APIs. |
   |-|-|

   {#make-field-read-only__choicetable_ic3_bwk_tgc}
3. Select Update.

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