---
sourceDocument: Xanadu Customer Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/xanadu/customer-service-management

 Release :

    - xanadu

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Xanadu Customer Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - csm

bundleId :

    - csm

workflow :

    - Customer and Industry


---

# Special handling notes overview

# Special handling notes overview {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Xanadu
* 
* Updated July 18, 2025
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 4 minutes to read

The Special Handling Notes application enables you to create notes that bring important information about individual records, such as a case or account record, to the user's attention.  
Figure 1. Special handling notes in CSM Configurable Workspace  
You can create special handling notes for specific records or for a set of records that meet one or more conditions. You can also configure this application to display any special handling notes from related records, such as the account or the product associated with a customer service case.  
Important:  
Use special handling notes for special circumstances and not for the general case processing workflow. It is not recommended to have more than 10k special handling notes on an instance. In addition, avoid complex conditions and use dot walking sparingly when creating special handling notes. Having a large number of notes with complex conditions can affect the load time.

## Configuring special handling notes {#c_OnScreenAlerts__section_e32_hrg_scc}

Users with the sn_shn.admin role can configure the desired entity tables, such as the Case table, to use special handling notes. Special handling notes can also be configured to display in the following ways:

* [In an embedded list or a related list on a record form](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/HdBf~40wgYdCGpwLiOq5SQ#c_OnScreenAlerts__section_myw_fwg_scc).
* [In a pop-up window that displays when a user accesses a form](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/HdBf~40wgYdCGpwLiOq5SQ#c_OnScreenAlerts__section_why_gwg_scc).
{#c_OnScreenAlerts__ul_pg1_55g_scc}  
For more information, see the following configuration topics:

* [Configure special handling notes](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/U~FLP9rEixXhpV7oPIszVQ "Use special handling notes to bring important case information to an agent’s attention.")
* [Configure an entity table to use special handling notes](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/ArlZ7RpUCVLG_4_8Nw6JOQ "Configure an entity table to use special handling notes.")
* [Configure a form to show special handling notes](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/2Fs~gkXCdkH2B3SmO7k_lw "Display special handling notes on a form, such as the Case form, in either a form list or a pop-up window.")
{#c_OnScreenAlerts__ul_gwk_byk_1gc}

## Creating, updating, and deleting special handling notes {#c_OnScreenAlerts__section_asj_zsg_scc}

Users with the sn_shn.admin role can create, update, and delete special handling notes. Users with the sn_shn.editor role can view and update notes and users with the sn_shn.user role can view notes. For more information about creating special handling notes, see the following topics:

* [Create a special handling note](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/fdKqnrJ2oBQSYmF9JC0k5Q "Create a special handling note for a record, such as a customer service case.")
* [Components installed with Special Handling Notes](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/SSi7Ji~66M0UyB34ChXSlg#r_InstalledWithSpecHandNotes "Several types of components are installed with Special Handling Notes.")
{#c_OnScreenAlerts__ul_rm3_hlk_1gc}

Special handling notes display important information to the user. In addition to a message, a special handling note also has a status, an assigned priority, and an expiration date.  
The status of a note can be one of the following:{#c_OnScreenAlerts__table_apb_1tt_jyb__entry__2}

| Status | Definition |
|-|-|
| Active | The note is active. Active notes appear on the Special Handling Notes list or pop-up window. Active notes remain on the list until they are set to Inactive or Expired. Active notes remain on the pop-up window until dismissed or until they are set to Inactive or Expired. |
| Inactive | The note is no longer active. Users with the sn_shn.admin or sn_shn.editor role can set a note to Inactive if the information in the note is no longer useful. When a note is set to Inactive, it is removed from the Special Handling Notes list or pop-up window. Inactive notes can be viewed by navigating to Special Handling NotesSpecial Handling Notes. |
| Expired | The note has reached it's expiration date or it has been expired manually. If a note is expired, the form becomes read-only for all user roles other than the system administrator. A note is expired automatically by a scheduled job when it reaches it's expiration date. The scheduled job also sets any inactive notes to expired if the inactive notes have reached their expiration date. |
[Table 1. Special handling note states]

{#c_OnScreenAlerts__table_apb_1tt_jyb}  
A note can be assigned one of the following priorities. Each priority has an associated color, which is displayed as a colored bar in the pop-up window and as a colored circle in the Priority field in a list. The platform interface and the CSM workspace interface use different colors to represent priority.{#c_OnScreenAlerts__table_asv_xzg_14b__entry__3}

| Priority | Platform interface | CSM workspace interface |
|-|-|-|
| 1 - Critical | Red | Red |
| 2 - High | Orange | Orange |
| 3 - Moderate | Green | Purple |
| 4 - Low | Blue | Gray |
[Table 2. Special handling note priorities]

{#c_OnScreenAlerts__table_asv_xzg_14b}

When creating a special handling note, you can make it effective right away or you can select a date when it becomes effective. You can also select an expiration date.

## Special handling notes list {#c_OnScreenAlerts__section_myw_fwg_scc}

Special handling notes can be displayed on a form in an embedded or related list. Users with the sn_shn.admin role can configure a form to display the Special Handling Notes list. This list appears on a form when there are one or more active notes for a record. The Special Handling Notes list displays the following information for a note:

* Message
* Expiration date
* Priority
* Table
{#c_OnScreenAlerts__ul_q1c_gts_px}Special handling notes are displayed on the list unless you configure additional properties to display notes in a pop-up window.

## Special handling notes pop-up window {#c_OnScreenAlerts__section_why_gwg_scc}

Special handling notes can be displayed on a form in a pop-up window. Users with the sn_shn.admin role can configure a form to display the Special Handling Notes pop-up window. This window appears when you access a record that has one or more active notes. The pop-up window displays the following information for each note:

* Message
* Priority
{#c_OnScreenAlerts__ul_rkq_llk_w5}

To display special handling notes in a pop-up window, navigate to Special Handling NotesProperties and set the related properties.

To dismiss a note, click Dismiss. Once you dismiss a note, it no longer appears in the pop-up window. To close the Special Handling Notes pop-up window, click X.

## Expiring special handling notes {#c_OnScreenAlerts__section_p5w_bdw_5jb}

The Deactivate Special Handling Notes scheduled job, which runs daily at midnight, checks the dates in the Effective on and Expires on fields for each note.

* If a special handling note has reached its Effective on date, the scheduled job sets the status of the note to Active.
* If a special handling note has reached its Expires on date, the scheduled job sets the status of the note to Expired.
{#c_OnScreenAlerts__ul_srm_1kv_pgb}

## Domain separation for Special Handling Notes {#c_OnScreenAlerts__section_tjp_cwx_jbc}

The Special Handling Notes application supports domain separation as a process-separated table.

When inserting or updating a special handling note, the picker domain scope takes precedence by design with the Overrides \[sys_overrides\] field on process-separated tables. For more information, see [Process administration](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=c_DelegatedAdministration&version=xanadu&pubname=xanadu-platform-security&ft:locale=en-US).
**Related tasks**   

* [Configure special handling notes](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/U~FLP9rEixXhpV7oPIszVQ "Use special handling notes to bring important case information to an agent’s attention.")
* [Create a special handling note](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/fdKqnrJ2oBQSYmF9JC0k5Q "Create a special handling note for a record, such as a customer service case.")  
**Related reference**   

* [Components installed with Special Handling Notes](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/SSi7Ji~66M0UyB34ChXSlg#r_InstalledWithSpecHandNotes "Several types of components are installed with Special Handling Notes.")

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