Turning the service catalog on and off

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">The service catalog is a user-defined ticket channel. Support admins can create a list of services and assets that users can then request through the help center. When a user submits a service request, a ticket is automatically created and linked to the service or asset, and includes all of the unique fields and data required to resolve the request. Additionally, tickets for service requests use a service catalog ticket form, which makes it possible to define business rule conditions for service requests. Support specialists can interact with service requests as an agent would access any other type of ticket, and users can manage their service requests through the customer portal in the help center.</p>
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<p class="p">The service catalog is a user-defined ticket channel. Support admins can create a list of
services and assets that users can then request through the help center. When a user
submits a service request, a ticket is automatically created and linked to the service
or asset, and includes all of the unique fields and data required to resolve the
request. Additionally, tickets for service requests use a service catalog ticket form,
which makes it possible to define business rule conditions for service requests. Support
specialists can interact with service requests as an agent would access any other type
of ticket, and users can manage their service requests through the customer portal in
the help center.</p>
<div class="p">This article contains the following topics:<ul class="ul" id="topic_zbg_1l1_wfc__ul_tjn_vp1_wfc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_bcy_c3f_pdc">Turning on the service catalog</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_kxv_gww_zfc">Turning off the service
catalog</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="p">Related articles:<ul class="ul" id="topic_zbg_1l1_wfc__ul_wg1_hgw_dgc">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10464506112026" target="_blank">Workflow recipe: Building an employee service
catalog with Zendesk</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8478940252698" target="_blank">Adding services to your service catalog</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408846805530#topic_y2c_gfk_cgc" target="_blank">Submitting a service request</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408846805530-#topic_v2c_gfk_cgc" target="_blank">Accessing the service catalog</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9444017009690" target="_blank">Editing and managing services in your service
catalog</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10231440438938" target="_blank">Creating and managing categories for your service
catalog</a></li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/documentation/employee-services/build-a-custom-service-catalog/part-1-laying-the-groundwork/" target="_blank">Building a custom employee service catalog</a>
in the developer documentation</li>
<li class="li">
<a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/api-reference/help_center/employee-services/service_catalog_items/" target="_blank">Service Catalog Items API</a> in the developer
documentation</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_kqz_45w_dgc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Considerations for using the service catalog</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">The service catalog is a powerful tool to increase efficiency and resolution times
for common service and asset requests. However, before you start using the service
catalog, consider the following requirements and limitations:<ul class="ul" id="topic_kqz_45w_dgc__ul_zct_t5w_dgc">
<li class="li">Service catalog is available in the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408845834522" target="_blank">standard Copenhagen theme</a> and help
center themes that were customized after July 31, 2025. If your help center
uses a custom theme that was customized before July 31, 2025, you need to
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408832681626#topic_r3w_fr4_yfc" target="_blank">update your custom theme to support
service catalog</a>.</li>
<li class="li">The service catalog becomes visible to users in the help center as soon as
you turn it on, even if no services have been published yet.</li>
<li class="li">The service catalog can only be turned on in one help center. If you have
multiple brands, each with a help center, the service catalog can only be
turned on and used in one of them. However, you can <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9319604460826" target="_blank">configure</a> your account to allow
users to view their service requests from all help centers.</li>
<li class="li">On Employee Service plans, the help center must be <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408842656154" target="_blank">restricted to signed-in end users</a>.
On Customer Service plans, the help center doesn't need to be restricted;
however, users must be signed in to access the service catalog.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_bcy_c3f_pdc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Turning on the service catalog</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">By default, the service catalog is not activated. Support admins can turn on the
service catalog to activate the feature and gain access to the admin interface,
where you can create and manage services.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To turn on the service catalog</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_bcy_c3f_pdc__ol_ucy_35d_pdc">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9041943683354#topic_b5q_nwn_s2c" target="_blank">Knowledge admin</a>, click <strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> (<img class="image" id="topic_bcy_c3f_pdc__d7e84" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/guide_icon_settings.png">) in the sidebar.</span></li>
<li class="li">If you have <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828794778" target="_blank">multiple help centers</a>, click the
brand selector, then select the help center where you want to turn on the
service catalog.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_bcy_c3f_pdc__image_upl_ccg_22c" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/guide-serv-cat-brand-sel.png" width="150"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Under <strong class="ph b">Service catalog</strong>, select <strong class="ph b">Turn on service
catalog</strong>.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_bcy_c3f_pdc__image_rdk_mxf_pdc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/guide-turn-on-service-cat.png" width="600"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Update</strong>.<p class="p">The service catalog icon appears in the sidebar
(<img class="image" id="topic_bcy_c3f_pdc__image_ctt_bj4_sdc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/Service-cat-tag-icon.png" width="20">). You can click this icon to
create and manage services. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/8478940252698" target="_blank">Creating services</a> and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9444017009690" target="_blank">Editing and managing
services</a>.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_kxv_gww_zfc">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Turning off the service catalog</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">If the service catalog has been activated, Support admins can turn the service
catalog off again, if needed. When you deactivate the service catalog, you can no
longer create and manage services and the service catalog is no longer visible to
end users in the customer portal. However, requests and tickets associated with
requests created while the service catalog was turned on remain visible and
accessible.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To turn off the service catalog</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_kxv_gww_zfc__ol_lxv_gww_zfc">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9041943683354#topic_b5q_nwn_s2c" target="_blank">Knowledge admin</a>, click <strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> (<img class="image" id="topic_kxv_gww_zfc__d7e84" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/guide_icon_settings.png">) in the sidebar.</span></li>
<li class="li">If you have <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828794778" target="_blank">multiple help centers</a>, click the
brand selector, then select the help center where you want to turn off the
service catalog.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_kxv_gww_zfc__image_mxv_gww_zfc" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/guide-serv-cat-brand-sel.png" width="150"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Under <strong class="ph b">Service catalog</strong>, deselect <strong class="ph b">Turn on service catalog</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Update</strong>.<p class="p">The service catalog is no longer available. Any
services you've created will be available again if you reactivate the
service catalog.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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