ServiceNow Archive Rules Explained

ServiceNow Archive Rules: The Foundation of Long-Term Data Management

As organizations expand their use of ServiceNow across IT, HR, Customer Service, Security Operations, and other business functions, the volume of operational data grows rapidly. Over time, millions of historical records can accumulate, increasing storage requirements, slowing queries, extending upgrade timelines, and making it more difficult for users to find the information they need.

ServiceNow Archive Rules help organizations manage this growth by defining which records should be archived based on criteria such as age, status, or business rules. Rather than deleting historical information, Archive Rules move inactive records out of production tables while preserving access to the data when it is needed for auditing, compliance, or historical reference.

For many organizations, Archive Rules represent the first step in a broader data lifecycle management strategy. As data volumes continue to increase, enterprise teams often combine native ServiceNow archiving with complementary solutions for long-term retention, historical reporting, analytics, and off-platform storage to maintain platform performance while meeting governance and compliance requirements.

In this guide, we’ll explain what ServiceNow Archive Rules are, how they work, how to configure them, their limitations, and best practices for managing archived ServiceNow data at enterprise scale.

What are ServiceNow Archive Rules? 

In ServiceNow, Archive Rules are used to configure what data to archive. They are made available via the Data Archival plugin which is active in ServiceNow’s default configuration.

Creating ‘Archival Rules’ requires admin level access. Admins can create Archival Rules via the designated ‘Archive Rules’ module within ServiceNow, by specifying the names of the rule and table and defining a condition for the rule.

Once the rule is created, it is set to an Inactive state by default – users must set it to Active to enable the rule. 

Where Can I Find Archive Rules in ServiceNow?

The pathway to Archive Rules in ServiceNow is – Navigation > System Archiving > Archive Rules.

How Do I Create Archive Rules in ServiceNow?

After navigating to Archive Rules, users can create archive rules by completing the Archive Rule form.

Field	Description
Name (Required field)	A unique name used to identify the archive rule.
Table (Required field)	Identify the table where the archive rule should apply. Note: ServiceNow allows only one archive rule per table. When a table has an Archive Rule assigned, it will no longer appear as an option the list of available tables to archive. Archive rules are specific to the table they are create for and cannot be changed. To archive another table, a new archive rule must be created. Tables in different application scopes cannot be selected for archiving. Archive rules for tables where update_synch is set to true in the dictionary entry cannot be archived.
Active	Archive rules are made active by selecting the “Active” checkbox. New Archive Rules are set to inactive by default. Currently active rules can be made inactive by deselecting the checkbox. Note: It is considered best practice to leave archive rules inactive until the estimated number of records the rule affects has been calculated. This is so that users can verify that rule will behave as expected.
Retain references	Select this check box to keep the sys_id for a reference field instead of storing the display name as a string in the archive table.
Description	Include a description of the archive rule to help users understand the scope of the archive event.
Conditions	Govern the conditions that must exist for the archive rule to run. For example, conditions can be applied to archive inactive records older than a specified date or time period.
Auto Rearchive	Control whether a restored record should be automatically re-archived after a defined time period.
Auto Rearchive Duration	Define the time period that must lapse before a restored record is re-archived. This is a required step if Auto Rearchive is set to true.

Manual Archiving vs. Scheduled Archiving

Archive Rules can be activated immediately or scheduled as per the users needs.

To run a ServiceNow Archiver Job manually:

1. Navigate to System Archiving > Archive Rules
2. Select the archive rule that should be run.
3. Click “Run Archive Now”.

Is There Anything Else I Need to Know About ServiceNow Archiving?

There are a number of things ServiceNow users should be aware of when using the platform’s default archive feature:

• Data is archived within ServiceNow, consuming platform memory
  Data is archived within the ServiceNow platform, meaning the default archive feature is not suitable for reducing the amount of data on the platform. Other, purpose-built archiving solutions for ServiceNow allow users to archive data off-platform, in their preferred data repository. 
• Each table record can only be archived only once
  ServiceNow’s built-in data archiving feature limits you to running archiving each table record only once. Other, purpose-built archiving solutions for ServiceNow allow users to archive a record multiple times 

The Types of Archiving Rules

ServiceNow’s out-of-the-box (OOTB) configuration makes both archive rules and destroy rules available to help users manage stale, inactive and/or historic data. 

Archive rules govern what data to archive, while destroy rules govern the conditions where archived data should be deleted.

Also available, is the Archive Related Records feature. This feature allows users to add related records to an existing archive rule.

Configuring ServiceNow Archive Settings

As standard, ServiceNow’s archive feature is configured to prevent the archive process from consuming too many system resources.

However, users can manually control/edit their platform’s configuration by adding or changing archive system properties.

Note: For organizations concerned about platform resource consumption, users can also use a purpose-built archiving solution for ServiceNow, designed to avoid performance degradation on the platform. 

Example Archive System Properties and destroy rule configurations are listed below:

Archive System Properties

Name	Description	Type	Default Value
glide.db.archive.batch_size	Controls the number of records an archive rule can process per batch job	Integer	100
glide.db.archive.sleep_time	Controls the sleep time between each archive rule batch job run within seconds	Integer	1
glide.db.archive.max_iterations	Controls the maximum number of batch jobs to run within one hour	Integer	10

Destroy Rule Configurations

Name	Description	Type	Default Value
glide.db.archive_destroy.batch_size	Specifies how many records an archive destroy rule processes per batch job.	Integer	100
glide.db.archive_destroy.sleep_time	Specifies the sleep time, in seconds, between the running of archive destroy rule batch jobs.	Integer	1
glide.db.archive_destroy.max_iterations	Specifies the maximum number of batch jobs to run within an hour.	Integer	10

ServiceNow Archive Best Practices

Successfully implementing ServiceNow Archive Rules involves more than simply defining which records should be archived. A well-designed archiving strategy helps maintain platform performance, supports compliance requirements, and ensures historical data remains accessible when needed. Following established best practices can help organizations avoid unexpected archive behavior while creating a scalable approach to long-term data management.

Test Archive Rules Before Activating Them

Before enabling a new Archive Rule, estimate the number of records it will affect and verify that the archive conditions accurately reflect your organization’s retention policies. Testing Archive Rules helps prevent accidental archiving of records that are still required for active business processes.

Define Clear Data Retention Policies

Archive Rules should align with documented data retention requirements rather than arbitrary timeframes. Work with business stakeholders, compliance teams, and data owners to determine how long different types of ServiceNow records should remain active before being archived.

Archive Inactive Data Only

Archive Rules are most effective when they target completed or inactive records, such as closed incidents, completed change requests, fulfilled requests, resolved problems, and historical asset records. Keeping active operational data in production tables helps ensure users continue working with the most relevant information.

Schedule Archive Jobs During Off-Peak Hours

Although ServiceNow includes controls to reduce the impact of archive jobs, large archive operations still consume platform resources. Scheduling archive jobs outside of peak business hours helps minimize the effect on users and critical business processes.

Monitor Archive Jobs Regularly

Review archive job execution, batch sizes, and archive duration to identify performance issues or unexpected behavior. As data volumes grow, archive rules and system properties may need adjustment to maintain consistent performance.

Validate Restore Procedures

Archiving is only valuable if data can be restored when necessary. Periodically test the restore process to verify archived records remain accessible for audits, compliance requests, investigations, or operational needs.

Review Archive Rules as Business Requirements Change

Data retention policies evolve as organizations adopt new business processes, regulations, and ServiceNow applications. Regularly reviewing Archive Rules helps ensure they continue supporting current governance and operational requirements.

Consider Long-Term Data Accessibility

Native ServiceNow Archive Rules are well suited for managing historical data within the ServiceNow platform. However, organizations with enterprise-scale data volumes or requirements for long-term retention, historical reporting, analytics, or external data repositories should also evaluate how archived data will be accessed over time. Planning for future reporting and analytics needs early can help avoid additional migration projects later.


Extend ServiceNow’s Archiving Capabilities with Data Archive from Perspectium

For organizations that require more robust archival features, such as the ability to archive off-platform and avoid incurring additional storage fees, Data Archive for ServiceNow is available. 

For ServiceNow Users, by ServiceNow Experts

Data Archive for ServiceNow is a purpose-built archiving application from ServiceNow partners, Perspectium, that facilitates fast, seamless, and secure archiving of ServiceNow data off-platform. 

Easy-to-use, ServiceNow-native Application

Delivered as a ServiceNow-native application – meaning it is available within the ServiceNow UI users are already familiar with – Data Archive for ServiceNow allows users to archive a record multiple times and to an external database of your choice. 

Archive in Bulk and Avoid Performance Degradation

Perspectium’s ServiceNow-native apps were created by the founding developer of ServiceNow, David Loo, who used their intimate knowledge of the platform to create a means of extracting ServiceNow data that does not impact performance. 

Benefits of Perspectium Data Archive:

• Improved instance performance

Perspectium extracts ServiceNow to an external database for archiving purposes, enabling faster querying, data transfers, and page load speeds by reducing the amount of data that needs to be queried, and the total amount of data on the platform.

• Less clutter

Perspectium’s approach to ServiceNow archiving allows users to access relevant data more easily and quickly by archiving “stale” data off-platform.

• Easier to Upgrade ServiceNow

As well as supporting overall platform health, this can also make ServiceNow upgrades easier to manage by reducing the volume of legacy data that needs to be accounted for during testing and deployment. Learn more about preparing for ServiceNow releases.

• Reduced storage costs

Data archiving with Perspectium enables easier data management, helping organizations avoid additional storage costs arising from harboring huge volumes of obsolete and stale data.

Want to learn more about Perspectium’s Data Archive for ServiceNow? Watch our on-demand webinar or Contact us for a demo of the technology in action.