# Sync Service Reassignment with ServiceNow

Bidirectionally sync incident reassignments between ServiceNow and PagerDuty

The Service Reassignment feature enables bidirectional sync between ServiceNow and PagerDuty when incidents are [reassigned to different Configuration Items (CIs) in ServiceNow](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/yokohama-it-service-management/page/product/incident-management/task/associate-cis-with-incident.html), and when incidents are [reassigned to different services in PagerDuty](/incident-management/incidents/edit-incidents#reassign-an-incidents-service). This ensures data consistency and accuracy across both platforms.

The feature allows you to reassign an incident to a different service if it becomes clear that incident ownership belongs to another team, or if it was attributed to a service in error. It also ensures that updates to the service assignment are synced between PagerDuty and ServiceNow.

> **Prerequisites:** - You must configure the [ServiceNow Integration](/integrations/servicenow-integration-guide) in order to use this feature.
> - The [Service Reassignment](/integrations/servicenow-integration-guide/advanced-servicenow-configuration/sync-service-reassignment-with-servicenow) feature is available with [ServiceNow 8.2](/integrations/servicenow-integration-guide). If you have already configured the integration, please ensure that you've [upgraded to the latest version](/integrations/servicenow-integration-guide/servicenow-integration-details#upgrade-to-servicenow-v8) to realize the full feature value.

## Configure Service Reassignment

1. In ServiceNow, navigate to the **PagerDuty Settings** page. 
2. Under the **Activity stream customization** section, you can check the **Service Reassignment** option to enable incident work notes related to service reassignment updates. This will allow you to view these updates in the ServiceNow incident activity stream.

## Webhook Support

When a PagerDuty incident is assigned to a different service, the integration sends an `incident.service_updated` webhook to update the corresponding incident record in ServiceNow. 

You can mass-enable this event subscription for your existing v3 webhooks in ServiceNow by [running a webhook health check](/integrations/servicenow-integration-guide/servicenow-integration-details#how-and-when-to-run-a-webhooks-health-check). After the health check completes, click **Auto resolve inconsistencies** to auto-remediate your existing v3 webhooks to support the new `incident.service_updated` event type.

## Key Concepts

### Mapped vs. Unmapped Services/CIs

- **Mapped**: A Configuration Item in ServiceNow is mapped if the CI is linked to a PagerDuty service. For a CI to be considered mapped, its Assignment Group must also be linked to a PagerDuty escalation policy.
- **Unmapped**: An unmapped Configuration Item does not have a linked service in PagerDuty, or an Assignment Group linked to a PagerDuty escalation policy.

### Synchronizing CI and Service Reassignments

> **Overview:** - There are no limits to the number of times a CI or PagerDuty service can be reassigned.
> - You can reassign an incident to a different CI from the ServiceNow incident record, and then later reassign again from the PagerDuty incident.

#### Mapped to Mapped

**ServiceNow to PagerDuty**

![A diagram showing service reassignment sync from ServiceNow to PagerDuty when both services are mapped](/images/kb/7b453a5ea5d08a26d80b98627b14bdc1e8a212066298c0ea0caa63bb47dfc0ea-snow-mapped-to-mapped.webp)

When you reassign an incident from one mapped CI in ServiceNow to another mapped CI, the integration automatically updates the incident’s service in PagerDuty.

The **PD Update Service** Business Rule detects when the `cmdb_ci` incident field is updated in ServiceNow, and then relays the incident details to the **PagerDuty** Script Include for processing. The `updateService()` function within the **PagerDuty** Script Include will construct the request payload, and then make the PUT request to update the PagerDuty incident’s service assignment.

```
{
    "incident": {
        "type": "incident_reference",
        "service": {
            "id": "XXXXX",
            "type": "service_reference"
        }
    }
}
```

**PagerDuty to ServiceNow**

![A diagram showing service reassignment sync from PagerDuty to ServiceNow when both services are mapped](/images/kb/671a5d96a64174df4a7311a16c5a2ae8e93cbbef7b13cf0236a9e2ae6bb5585b-snow-mapped-to-mapped-pd-to-sn.webp)

When you reassign an incident from one mapped PagerDuty service to another mapped PagerDuty service, the integration will send an `incident.service_updated` webhook event to update the Configuration Item  field (e.g., `cmdb_ci` field) in the corresponding ServiceNow incident.

#### Mapped to Unmapped

**ServiceNow to PagerDuty**

![A diagram showing reassignment behavior from ServiceNow to PagerDuty when the target service is unmapped](/images/kb/0651681969c03f582368ec520a0109dd7722228230c12d69be8b9a351477fb0f-snow-Mapped-to-Unmapped-sn-to-pd.webp)

When you reassign an incident from a mapped CI in ServiceNow to an unmapped CI, no changes are made to the PagerDuty incident’s service. The PagerDuty incident retains its original service assignment. 

The incidents do not become “unlinked”, so data will continue to synchronize to the corresponding PagerDuty incident.

**PagerDuty to ServiceNow**

![A diagram showing reassignment behavior from PagerDuty to ServiceNow when the target service is unmapped](/images/kb/89eeca467dfea76f020f9f12608dbed409d8c2de00f639f434ac8d8d96b95c78-snow-mapped-to-unmapped-pd-to-sn.webp)

When you reassign an incident from a mapped PagerDuty service to an unmapped service, no changes are made to the ServiceNow incident's Configuration Item. The ServiceNow incident retains its original CI reference.

If the updated service is missing a webhook connection to ServiceNow, then the integration will create a `data_only` webhook so that the data from PagerDuty can continue to synchronize to the ServiceNow incident.  

`data_only` webhooks are only used to sync data from PagerDuty to ServiceNow when a PagerDuty incident is reassigned from a mapped service to an unmapped service — they are not used to create or trigger incidents.

#### Unmapped to Mapped

**ServiceNow to PagerDuty**

![A diagram showing reassignment behavior from ServiceNow to PagerDuty when moving from an unmapped to a mapped service](/images/kb/52453ece3022f9a13da3be4cf94bc2f23dce809c7b5437f4d9d13269ea8b4a31-snow-Unmapped-to-Mapped-sn-to-pd.webp)

When you reassign an incident from an unmapped CI in ServiceNow to a mapped CI, a new incident will trigger in PagerDuty, and it will assign to the PagerDuty service linked to the updated ServiceNow CI.

**PagerDuty to ServiceNow**

![A diagram showing reassignment behavior from PagerDuty to ServiceNow when moving from an unmapped to a mapped service](/images/kb/01da61a1709b6c4eceb7b59a68b9a26cbf87c230148a8881a514726d3e052a7b-snow-Unmapped-to-Mapped-pd-to-sn.webp)

When you reassign an incident from an unmapped service in PagerDuty to a mapped service, a new incident will be created in ServiceNow, and it will assign to the ServiceNow CI linked to the updated PagerDuty service.

### Synchronize Assignment Group and Escalation Policy Reassignments

#### ServiceNow to PagerDuty

**Assignment Group Reassignment**:

a. **Assignment Group is linked to a PagerDuty Escalation Policy**: The PagerDuty incident delegates to the escalation policy associated with the updated Assignment Group.  
b. **Assignment Group is not linked to a PagerDuty Escalation Policy**:

1. **Enabled**: Resolves the PagerDuty incident if the ServiceNow incident is assigned to a group that doesn't exist in PagerDuty. The ServiceNow incident becomes “unlinked” and the PagerDuty incident status changes to **Resolved**. No changes are made to the PagerDuty incident’s escalation policy.
2. **Disabled**: Resolves the PagerDuty incident if the ServiceNow incident is assigned to a group that doesn't exist in PagerDuty. No changes are made to the PagerDuty incident’s escalation policy. 

#### PagerDuty to ServiceNow

**Escalation Policy Reassignment**:

a. **Escalation Policy is linked to a ServiceNow Assignment Group**: The ServiceNow incident is reassigned to the Assignment Group linked to the updated escalation policy.  
b. **Escalation Policy is not linked to a ServiceNow Assignment Group**: No changes are made to the ServiceNow incident’s Assignment Group.