---
sourceDocument: Yokohama Build workflows
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/yokohama/build-workflows

 Release :

    - yokohama

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Yokohama Build workflows

ft:clusterId :

    - crworkflow

bundleId :

    - crworkflow

workflow :

    - Creator


---

# Send Email step

# Send Email step {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Yokohama  
Updated January 30, 2025  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 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 Send Email step

The Send Email step in Workflow Studio enables you to send emails to specified users or groups as part of an automated flow.
It is available to users with theactiondesignerrole who can incorporate this step into custom actions.
This feature helps ServiceNow customers automate communication related to records, such as incidents, by sending targeted email notifications.
Show full answer Show less  

## Inputs

You provide various inputs to configure the email:

* **Target Record**: The record the email is associated with, enabling replies to update this record.
* **Table**: The name of the table containing the target record.
* **To**: Main recipients' email addresses, which can be entered manually or selected dynamically via data pills (e.g., user or group emails). To send to groups, either the group's email address must be provided or the group must have the "Include members" option enabled to email all members individually.
* **CC** and **BCC**: Additional recipients who receive copies of the email; BCC recipients are hidden from others.
* **Subject** and **Body**: The email subject and message content, supporting static text or dynamic data pills. Inline HTML styles can be added in the body, but email template variables are not supported directly and must be replaced with data pill references.
* **Action error evaluation**: Choose how the flow handles errors if the email step fails---either continue or evaluate the error.

## Important Considerations

* Recipient count must not exceed the system property `glide.email.smtp.maxrecipients`.
* Replies to sent emails update the associated target record.
* When sending to groups, ensure correct configuration of group email addresses or member inclusion for individual emails.
* Access control applies; ensure users running the flow have permission to send emails.

## Outputs and Testing

* The action outputs the created email record, accessible in the Data panel for downstream use.
* To verify email generation, review the email record in the **Email \[sysemail\]** table and check the Headers field for success status.
* For testing permissions, impersonate typical email senders and trigger the flow to confirm access rights.  
Send an email to specified users or groups as an action in a flow.

## Roles and availability {#send-email-action__section_pwq_rb5_kcb}

Available as an Workflow Studio action step. Users with the action_designer role can create a custom action with one or more action steps.

## Inputs {#send-email-action__action-inputs}

Provide a value for each input that your flow needs. To add dynamic values, you can also drag and drop pills from the Data panel or select them from the pill picker.  

Target Record
:   Data type: Document ID

    Record that the email is associated to. When a user sends a reply to your email, the target record is updated with the reply email content.

Table
:   Data type: Table Name

    Table containing the target record.

To
:   Data type: String

    The main recipients of the email. Enter a list of user email addresses separated by commas or white spaces. You can also drag data pills that contain email addresses into the
    field, such as a User or Group record. For example, if you want to send an email to the group assigned to the incident, drag the \[Assignment group\] data pill from the data panel.

    To send email to a group, you must provide a Group email address. To send email to group members, the group must have the Include members option enabled.  
    Note:  
    The number of email recipients must be equal to or less than the maximum number set by the glide.email.smtp.max_recipients system property. See [Minimize SMTP Recipient Quantity \[Updated in Security Center 1.3\]](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=sc-max-smtp-recipients&version=yokohama&pubname=yokohama-platform-security&ft:locale=en-US) for information about setting this value.

CC
:   Data type: String

    Additional recipients copied on this email. Enter a list of user email addresses separated by commas or white spaces. You can also drag data pills that contain email addresses
    into the field.

BCC
:   Data type: String

    Additional recipients of this email, who are visible only to the sender (blind copied). Enter a list of user email addresses separated by commas or white spaces. You can also
    drag data pills that contain email addresses into the field.

Subject
:   Data type: String

    Subject of the email. You can enter text or drag data pills into the field.

Body
:
    The content of the message body. You can enter text or drag data pills into the field. The editor formatting options add inline styles. There is no style sheet associated with an email body. You can add your own inline style sheet to this HTML input.  
    Note:  
    You can partially reuse content from the Email Template \[sysevent_email_template\] table with some manual editing. The Send Email action can't process Email template variables, which are strings that start with the dollar sign character and include content in curly braces. You must replace email variables with references to data pills. For example, replace the string <kbd class="ph userinput">${number}</kbd> with a data pill reference to an incident record number.

## Action error evaluation {#send-email-action__id_lg2_4s3_15b}

If this step fails
:   Data type: Choice

    Option to continue running the next step or go to error evaluation. To use the step status code or message for a custom action error condition, see [Action error evaluation](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/CcC8uUbuR0i67ZKb17xIDA "Enable actions to catch step failures and continue running. Identify when specific error conditions occur and return your own action status code, status message, and error state.").

## Outputs {#send-email-action__action-outputs}

These outputs appear in the Data panel. You can use them as inputs elsewhere in your action or flow.

Email
:   Data type: Record

    Email record created.

## Testing the email step {#send-email-action__section_r3v_r4s_kcb}

To verify that the email was generated when testing the action, review the email record in the Email \[sys_email\] table. The Headers field indicates whether the email was successfully
generated. For example: ACL restrictions apply to the Send Email action. If you configured your flow to run as the user who initiates the session, ensure that the user can access email. To test access controls for a Send Email action,
impersonate a typical email sender and manually trigger the flow.