What is the difference between a solved ticket and a closed ticket?

<h2 id="h_01H9R1RRBJVHXMKY944CJM4J7A">Question</h2><p>What is the difference between a solved ticket and a closed ticket, and why does a solved ticket automatically change to closed?</p><h2 id="h_01H9R1RRBKB7DV1RB08Z32APCS">Answer</h2><p>Agents can set tickets to <strong>Solved</strong> after they resolve a customer’s issue or complete their work on the ticket. After a predefined period without any updates, the system automatically moves the ticket to <strong>Closed</strong> status. The major differences between solved and closed tickets are described in the table below.</p><figure class="wysiwyg-table wysiwyg-table-align-left" style="height: 155px; width: 100%;"><table style="border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="background-color: #f5f5f2; height: 22px; width: 10.3809%;"><strong>Aspect</strong></td>
<td style="background-color: #f5f5f2; height: 22px; width: 18.6904%;"><strong>Solved</strong></td>
<td style="background-color: #f5f5f2; height: 22px; width: 19.0953%;"><strong>Closed</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px; width: 10.3809%;">Can agents directly move tickets to this status?</td>
<td style="height: 22px; width: 18.6904%;">Yes. Agents can set tickets to Solved, but not if the tickets are closed.</td>
<td style="height: 22px; width: 19.0953%;">No. Tickets can be closed by a trigger or automation, but not by agents.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 67px;">
<td style="height: 67px; width: 10.3809%;">Can the ticket be reopened?</td>
<td style="height: 67px; width: 18.6904%;">Yes. If a user replies, a solved ticket reopens or updates.</td>
<td style="height: 67px; width: 19.0953%;">No. Even when a user replies, a closed ticket remains closed and the system creates a <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883882522-Creating-a-follow-up-for-a-closed-ticket" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">follow-up ticket</a>.</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px; width: 10.3809%;">Can your agents update the ticket?</td>
<td style="height: 22px; width: 18.6904%;">Yes. Agents can update solved tickets.</td>
<td style="height: 22px; width: 19.0953%;">
<p>When the account-level Modify closed tickets setting is enabled, admins can modify closed tickets. </p>
<p>Admins can also grant this permission to selected users with non-administrator custom roles. </p>
<p>The role-level permission is available only when the account-level setting is enabled.</p>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> You must have the <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581758611866-Activating-and-deactivating-the-Zendesk-Agent-Workspace" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Agent Workspace</a> activated to do this. If you don’t, you can edit closed ticket fields through the API only.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="height: 22px; width: 10.3809%;">Automatic transition</td>
<td style="height: 22px; width: 18.6904%;">Moves to <strong>Closed</strong> after 28 days of being solved</td>
<td style="height: 22px; width: 19.0953%;">Moves to <strong>Archived</strong> after 120 days of being closed</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table></figure><p class="p1">By default, Zendesk contains an automation called <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408835051546-About-the-Support-default-automations#topic_44p_cty_5t" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Close ticket 4 days after status is set to solved</a> that gives your customers four days to respond to a solved ticket before moving the ticket to the closed status. The best practice is to close a ticket after three to five days. However, you can adjust this automation to run anywhere between one hour and 28 days.</p><p>In accounts with <a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4412575841306-Activating-custom-ticket-statuses" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">custom ticket statuses</a> activated, <strong>Closed</strong> tickets display a custom or default <strong>Solved</strong> status.</p><p>For more information on the other ticket statuses, see these articles:</p><ul>
<li data-list-item-id="e0aebe647da62acab309fc97215bbb8c6"><a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408843029658-About-open-vs-pending-and-on-hold-tickets" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">About open vs. pending and on-hold tickets</a></li>
<li data-list-item-id="e0e45c19b9744c2b57ff75ae25bb6fa76"><a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7335734335258-Modifying-closed-tickets" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Modifying closed tickets</a></li>
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<summary>THIS SECTION IS AI CONTENT. DON'T EDIT OR DELETE.</summary>
<h2 id="h_01KS21273DAVVZ6TJVE629BNE9">
What is the difference between a solved ticket and a closed ticket? What
is the difference between a solved progress state and a closed progress
state?
</h2>
<p>
Assignees or support staff set tickets or progress states to solved after
they resolve a customer request or complete work. The ticketing system
automatically moves the request to a closed status after a predefined
period without updates.
</p>
<h2 id="h_01KS21273DCKNN3JAHXP985PYJ">
Can agents directly move tickets to closed status? Can my team manually
close a ticket progress state?
</h2>
<p>
No. Assignees or team members cannot manually change requests to closed.
An auto-reply trigger or time-based rule automation handles this transition.
</p>
<h2 id="h_01KS21273DSBHQ5BX0C6WTMV9E">
Can a user reply reopen a solved ticket? Does a customer message update
a solved state?
</h2>
<p>
Yes. If a customer or end user replies, a solved request reopens or updates.
</p>
<h2 id="h_01KS21273D6CGCYSNSCFZSKNMV">
Can a customer reply reopen a closed ticket? Does a user message update
a closed state?
</h2>
<p>
No. Even when a customer or visitor replies, a closed request remains
closed. The ticketing system creates a follow-up ticket for the request.
</p>
<h2 id="h_01KS21273D8378QCWNPPF53M8J">
Can your agents update the ticket? Can my team edit a solved ticket?
</h2>
<p>
Yes. Staff members update solved requests. You must activate the Agent
Workspace or inbox dashboard to perform this action. If you do not activate
this workspace, you edit closed fields through the API only.
</p>
<h2 id="h_01KS21273DWEGF5JJ2JJ7FHYFA">
Can admins modify closed tickets? Can administrators edit closed ticket
fields?
</h2>
<p>
No. Only administrators modify closed requests by editing tags, subjects,
priority fields, and a subset of custom data boxes or fields.
</p>
<h2 id="h_01KS21273DMQ2JFP95SRWZCWA1">
When does a solved ticket automatically move to closed? How long before
a solved progress state changes to closed?
</h2>
<p>
By default, a time-based rule automation closes a request 4 days after
staff members set the status to solved. This rule gives customers or
end users four days to respond. You can adjust this automation to run
anywhere between one hour and 28 days. A ticket moves to closed after
a maximum of 28 days of being solved.
</p>
<h2 id="h_01KS21273DYA1W27919VEZR7B4">
When does a closed ticket automatically move to archived? How long before
a closed progress state changes to archived?
</h2>
<p>A request moves to archived after 120 days of being closed.</p>
<h2 id="h_01KS21273D8VEYXD73JEJMDAQ8">
What is the best practice for closing a ticket? What is the recommended
timeframe to close a progress state?
</h2>
<p>
The best practice is to close a request after three to five days.
</p>
<h2 id="h_01KS21273D54ZR2B0K03TEV43X">
How do closed tickets display in accounts with custom ticket statuses? What
state do closed requests show with custom progress states activated?
</h2>
<p>
In accounts with custom progress statuses activated, closed requests
display a custom or default solved status.
</p>
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