Adding custom ticket fields to your tickets and forms

<body>
<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">You can addnumerous types of custom fieldsto ticket forms and make them visible to agents only or to both agents and end users.</p>
<div class="article-banners">
<div id="docs-wmp-link">
<a href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5411234991258-plan" rel="noopener" target="_blank">What's my plan?</a>
</div>

<div class="article-banner" id="suite_all">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<strong>All Suites</strong>
</td>
<td>Team, Growth, Professional, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>

<div class="article-banner" id="support_all">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<strong>Support</strong>
</td>
<td>Team, Professional, or Enterprise</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>

</div>
<div id="docs-ai-summary">
<p id="docs-ai-summary-toggle">Summary: <span id="up-triangle">◀</span><span id="down-triangle">▼</span></p>
<p id="docs-ai-summary-content">You can add custom ticket fields to gather specific information from agents and end users, making fields visible, editable, or required as needed. These fields integrate with triggers, automations, macros, views, and reporting. Custom fields like drop-downs and checkboxes generate tags for use in business rules. Cloning fields and managing their persistence helps maintain data consistency across tickets.</p>
</div>

<div class="body">

<div class="note fastpath">
<span class="fastpathtitle">Location: </span> <span class="ph">Admin Center &gt; Objects and rules &gt; Tickets &gt; Fields</span>
</div>
<p class="p">You can add <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408838961562" target="_blank">numerous types of custom fields</a> to ticket forms and
make them visible to agents only or to both agents and end users. </p>
<p class="p">After you create your custom ticket field, you can use it in triggers, automations, macros,
and views. On Suite Professional and above, you can report on custom ticket fields in
Explore.</p>
<p class="p">You must be an administrator to create custom ticket fields and add them to ticket forms.</p>
<p class="p">Topics covered in this article:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_5ss_q4z_xk">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_upd_ynk_xj">How custom ticket fields work</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ubz_ynk_xj">Adding a custom ticket field for agents and
end users</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_jkc_m4d_hk">Understanding the persistence of custom field
data</a></li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Related articles:</p>
<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_kvd_mck_my">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828883738" target="_blank">Managing custom ticket fields</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5494868102426" target="_blank">Editing and managing ticket forms</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_upd_ynk_xj">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">How custom ticket fields work</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="div">
<div class="p">Custom ticket fields are typically used to gather more information about the support
issue or product or service. You can add custom fields to your tickets for agents
and you can also add them to your Help Center Submit a Request form if you want end
users to see the custom field. Custom ticket fields can be required or
optional.<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Custom ticket fields that are required for agents to solve a
ticket can be bypassed by triggers and automations when solving and closing
tickets.</div>
</div>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_upd_ynk_xj__d9e22" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/submit_a_request.png">
</p>
<p class="p">Drop-down list, multi-select, and checkbox custom fields generate tags that can also
be used in automations, macros, triggers, reports, and views (see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408834953114#topic_ext_est_kc" target="_blank">Understanding custom ticket fields, tags, and business
rules</a>). There are two ways field values and tags interact:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_upd_ynk_xj__d9e31">
<li class="li">When you select a field option, the associated tag is automatically added to the
ticket.</li>
<li class="li">If you add a tag to a ticket, the associated ticket field option is
selected.</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Lookup relationship fields can be used in triggers and views (see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4591924111770#topic_pgk_llh_vtb" target="_blank">Using lookup relationship fields in triggers and
views</a>). All custom fields can be referenced as placeholders (see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408887218330#topic_nfp_nja_vb" target="_blank">Placeholders for custom fields</a>). </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ubz_ynk_xj">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Creating custom ticket fields</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can add custom fields to tickets to gather more information about the customer or
issue. Fields can be visible to agents only or to both agents and end users.</p>
<p class="p">You can permit end users to view the custom field in their ticket by
making the field visible, or you can add the custom field to the Support Request form by
making the field both visible and editable. </p>
<p class="p">Before you begin, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408888481178" target="_blank">Optimizing your ticket form</a> to understand ticket fields and do
some planning to build an optimal ticket form.</p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note tip">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> Check out <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408822200346" target="_blank">The
'Resolution' field</a> and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409155792026" target="_blank"> The
'About' field</a> to learn about two custom fields used by Zendesk. </div>
</div>
<p class="p">You must be an administrator to create custom ticket fields. </p>
<p class="p">The following video gives you an overview of how to create custom ticket fields:</p>
<p class="p"></p>
<div class="non-responsive"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" class="iframe embed-responsive-item" controls="controls" height="225" src="https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/5w25saft2j" width="400"></iframe></div>
<p class="p">Creating custom ticket fields [1:41]</p>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To add a custom ticket field</strong><ol class="ol" id="topic_ubz_ynk_xj__ol_mst_est_kc">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_ubz_ynk_xj__d10e1661" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_objects_rules_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Objects and rules</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Tickets &gt; Fields</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Add field</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Select a <strong class="ph b">field type</strong>, then enter a <strong class="ph b">Display name</strong>.<p class="p">When naming custom
fields, don't use reserved system or feature names such as "channel." These names are
reserved by Zendesk and won't work in custom fields.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Enter a <strong class="ph b">Description</strong> for the custom field. This is visible to admins
only.</li>
<li class="li">Under <strong class="ph b">Permissions</strong>, select an option:<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_ubz_ynk_xj__ul_lcv_y2c_cdb">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Agents can edit</strong>: Only agents can view and edit the field. It appears in
tickets.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">Customers can edit</strong>: Agents and end users can view and edit the field. It
appears in tickets and in the support request form in the help center.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Customers can view</strong>: Agents can view and edit the field. End users can
only view the field. It appears in tickets and on end users' <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408846805530#topic_qgd_mqd_yy" target="_blank">requests</a>, but isn't included in the
support request form in the help center.
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">For a single ticket form, the new field automatically appears
in your ticket form. If you use multiple ticket forms, you'll have to manually add the
field to any ticket forms you'd like to include it in.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">If the field is visible to customers, enter a <strong class="ph b">Title shown to customers</strong> and
<strong class="ph b">Description shown to customers</strong>.<p class="p">The customer title and description options
aren't available if the field is only visible to agents. Descriptions appear in plain
text, with no line breaks, and are not displayed in the messaging Web Widget..
</p>
</li>
<li class="li">If the agent must complete the field to solve the ticket, select <strong class="ph b">Required to solve
a ticket</strong>.<div class="p">
<div class="note note">
<span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Required fields for solving a ticket can be bypassed by
triggers and automations. These fields are also bypassed when an agent merges a
ticket.</div>
</div>
</li>
<li class="li">If the end user must complete this field to submit the ticket, select <strong class="ph b">Required to
submit a request</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Enter an optional <strong class="ph b">Description shown to end users</strong>.</li>
<li class="li">Configure any additional options, depending on your field type. <ul class="ul" id="topic_ubz_ynk_xj__ul_dqz_z24_htb">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Field option</strong> (checkbox fields only, optional):<p class="p">Enter a tag to apply to a ticket when the checkbox is selected.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Field validation</strong> (regex fields only):<p class="p">Enter a regular expression to create an input mask to validate entry.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Field values </strong> (drop-down and multi-select fields): <ul class="ul" id="topic_ubz_ynk_xj__d11e30">
<li class="li">Enter a value for each option to include in the list, along with an
associated tag.<p class="p">Each tag must be unique. If you add a tag that is
associated with a different field option, the new option is selected and
the tag of the original field option is deleted. You can <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408836502682" target="_blank">bulk import</a> field values if
you have a large number to add. Click the <strong class="ph b">X</strong> to remove a
value.</p>
</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr"> Click <strong class="ph b">Sort ascending</strong> or use the grabber icon (<img class="image" id="topic_ubz_ynk_xj__d11e48" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/drag_and_drop_handle.png" width="16">) to manually reorder the field
values.</li>
<li class="li">To create a nested drop-down list, separate categories and values with a
double colon (::). See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829395738" target="_blank">Organizing drop-down
lists</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Related object</strong> and <strong class="ph b">Set a filter</strong> (lookup relationship fields
only)<p class="p">Select the type of object to relate, and optionally define filters that
restrict possible values for the field. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4591924111770#topic_kmz_wl3_ttb" target="_blank">Adding lookup relationship
fields</a>.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">(Optional) Specify a <strong class="ph b">Default value</strong> for the custom field.<p class="p">The default value is
set only if the field is visible or editable to the end user or agent. In a drop-down
list, the default value applies only to new tickets created by agents in Support or
created by end users in the ticket form. If you change an existing ticket form to one
with a drop-down list with a default option, the default option is not displayed and
is shown as blank.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong> or, to create another custom field, click the drop-down icon and
select <strong class="ph b">Save and add another</strong>.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_ubz_ynk_xj__image_ajv_5kc_cdb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ticket_fields_save_menu.png" width="200"></p>
<p class="p">If you have a single ticket form, the new field automatically appears in your
ticket form. </p>
<p class="p">(Enterprise only) If you have multiple ticket forms, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5494868102426#topic_c5x_l3b_lk" target="_blank">edit the ticket forms</a> where you want the field
to appear, drag the field from the right onto the ticket form, then click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.
Repeat for additional ticket forms.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">If needed, you can <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4420210121114#topic_j2z_wy5_dfc" target="_blank">reorder your custom ticket
fields</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p class="p">The custom field appears on new tickets. It also appears on less-than-closed, closed, and
archived tickets with a null '-' or empty value.</p>
<p class="p">If the field does not appear on a new ticket, you might need to restart
your browser.</p>
<p class="p">Not all custom field types are available across business rules and
views. For a list of which custom fields apply, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408887162394" target="_blank">Using custom ticket fields in business rules and views</a>. </p>
<p class="p">On Suite Professional and above, you can <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824384538-Reporting-with-custom-fields" target="_blank">report on custom fields in Explore</a>.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested1" id="topic_gnm_wj4_htb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title4">Cloning custom ticket fields</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Administrators and agents in custom roles with permission can create new custom fields from
scratch or clone existing ticket fields and modify them as needed.</p>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To clone a custom ticket field</strong><ol class="ol" id="topic_gnm_wj4_htb__ol_ly4_v1h_htb">
<li class="li"><span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_gnm_wj4_htb__d10e1661" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_objects_rules_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Objects and rules</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Tickets &gt; Fields</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Hover over the row of the user field you want to clone, then click the option menu
icon (<img class="image" id="topic_gnm_wj4_htb__image_yhn_4dh_htb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/uc_options_icon.png">) and select <strong class="ph b">Clone</strong>.<p class="p">A detailed view of the ticket
field's settings is displayed.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">Edit the <strong class="ph b">Display name</strong> so that it is unique.</li>
<li class="li">Set any other options for your field, depending on the type.</li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.<p class="p">If you have a single ticket form, the new field automatically
appears in your ticket form. </p>
<p class="p">(Enterprise only) If you have multiple ticket
forms, <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408846520858#topic_c5x_l3b_lk" target="_blank">edit the ticket forms</a> where you want the field
to appear, drag the field from the right onto the ticket form, then click <strong class="ph b">Save</strong>.
Repeat for additional ticket forms.</p>
</li>
<li class="li">If needed, you can <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828883738#topic_wrl_jm4_ht" target="_blank">reorder your ticket
fields</a>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_jkc_m4d_hk">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Understanding the persistence of custom field data</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">If you delete a custom field, the data from the custom field is not preserved in existing
tickets, including closed tickets. The data is preserved only if the custom field also adds
a tag to a ticket. The three custom fields that add tags are the drop-down list, the
checkbox, and multi-select fields. If you delete one of these custom fields, then the data
in tickets persist as tags.</p>
<p class="p">For example, suppose you have a drop-down list in your ticket form to associate tickets
with different product names. After a while, a decision is made to stop providing support
for one of the products. If you remove the product from the drop-down list, the product name
persists in existing tickets as a tag. If however you use a text field to record a product
ID and you delete the text field, the product ID is not preserved in your tickets.</p>
</div>
</div>
<script id="docs-schema-markup" type="application/ld+json">{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "TechArticle",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883152794",
"url": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883152794",
"headline": "Adding custom ticket fields to your tickets and forms",
"description": "You can create and manage custom ticket fields to collect specific information on tickets, control their visibility to agents and end users, and use them in various support workflows and reports.",
"articleSection": "Ticket customization",
"datePublished": "2021-10-16T16:26:54+00:00",
"dateModified": "2026-07-10T18:42:09.511675+00:00",
"inLanguage": "en-US",
"mainEntityOfPage": {
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883152794"
},
"author": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Zendesk",
"@id": "https://www.zendesk.com"
},
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Zendesk",
"@id": "https://www.zendesk.com"
},
"isPartOf": {
"@type": "WebSite",
"name": "Zendesk Help",
"@id": "https://support.zendesk.com/hc/"
},
"about": {
"@type": "SoftwareApplication",
"name": "Zendesk",
"@id": "https://www.zendesk.com"
}
}</script><script id="fast-path-script">
//<![CDATA[
const fast_path_style = document.createElement('style');
fast_path_style.innerHTML = `#article-body .fastpath{font-size:.9em;background-color:#f3f3f3;border:1px solid #d3d3d3;padding:10px 10px 8px;margin-bottom:16px}#article-body .fastpath::before{content:none!important}`;
document.head.appendChild(fast_path_style);
//]]>
</script><script id="ai-summary-script">
//<![CDATA[
const ai_summary_style = document.createElement('style');
ai_summary_style.innerHTML = `#styled-article-body{padding:0 0 0}#article-body #docs-ai-summary{background-color:#f3f3f3;border:1px solid #d3d3d3;padding:10px 10px 6px;margin-bottom:16px}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle{font-size:.9em;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:4px;cursor:pointer;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle #up-triangle{margin-left:auto;padding-right:10px;display:none}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-toggle #down-triangle{margin-left:auto;padding-right:10px}#article-body #docs-ai-summary #docs-ai-summary-content{font-size:.9em;padding-left:25px;padding-right:25px;margin-bottom:12px}`;
document.head.appendChild(ai_summary_style);

const toggleAISummary = () => {
const summary = document.getElementById("docs-ai-summary-content");
const upTriangle = document.getElementById("up-triangle");
const downTriangle = document.getElementById("down-triangle");
if (summary.style.display === "none") {
summary.style.display = "block";
upTriangle.style.display = "none";
downTriangle.style.display = "inline";
} else {
summary.style.display = "none";
upTriangle.style.display = "inline";
downTriangle.style.display = "none";
}
};

document.getElementById("docs-ai-summary-toggle").addEventListener("click", toggleAISummary);
//]]>
</script>
</body>