Decoding ServiceNow Notifications: When Events Fire But Emails Don't Arrive

Setting up event-driven email notifications is a powerful way to automate communication within your ServiceNow instance. Imagine a scenario where a specific action triggers an event, and you expect an email notification to be sent out automatically. However, what happens when the event log confirms the event has fired, but the email notification stubbornly refuses to appear in anyone's inbox? This situation can be perplexing, but with a systematic approach, you can pinpoint the cause and get your notifications flowing again. This article will guide you through the common reasons why your ServiceNow event might not be generating the corresponding email notification and provide verified steps to troubleshoot the issue.

Unraveling the Mystery of Missing ServiceNow Email Notifications

The frustration of seeing an event successfully recorded in your ServiceNow logs, yet no email notification being created, is understandable. It suggests that the fundamental link between the event and the notification is broken somewhere. Several factors can contribute to this, and carefully examining each possibility is key to resolving the problem.

Proven Steps to Troubleshoot Missing Event-Based Email Notifications

Here's a breakdown of the most common reasons why your event might not be triggering the associated email notification in ServiceNow, along with detailed steps to investigate:

1. Is Your Notification Actually Active?

This might seem obvious, but it's always the first thing to check. An inactive notification will never be sent, regardless of how many times the associated event fires.

Step-by-Step:

1. Navigate to System Notification > Email > Notifications.

2. Search for the specific notification you expect to be triggered by your event.

3. Ensure the Active checkbox on the notification record is selected. If it is not, check it and save the record.

2. Are There Conditions Preventing the Notification from Sending?

Email notifications in ServiceNow can have conditions that must be met, in addition to the event firing, for the email to be generated.

Step-by-Step:

1. Open the email notification record.

2. In the When to send section, carefully review any conditions specified.

3. Ensure that the context of your fired event meets all the defined conditions. For example, if there's a condition based on a field value, verify that the record associated with your event has that field set to the expected value.

3. Did You Specify the Correct Event Name?

The email notification needs to be explicitly linked to the event you are firing. If the event name in the notification configuration does not precisely match the name of the event being triggered by your script, the notification will not be created.

Step-by-Step:

1. Open the email notification record.

2. In the When to send section, locate the Event name field.

3. Compare this value character-by-character with the name of the event you are firing in your script (e.g., using gs.eventQueue()). Even a minor typo can cause the notification to fail. In the provided community post, this was the exact root cause – a simple naming mismatch.

4. Is Your Event Registered on the Default Queue?

Events in ServiceNow are processed by queues. For email notifications, the event should typically be processed by the default queue.

Step-by-Step:

1. Navigate to System Policy > Events > Registry.

2. Search for the event name you are using.

3. In the event registration record, ensure the Queue field is empty. An empty field indicates the default queue. If a specific queue is defined, it might require further investigation into your instance's event processing setup.

5. Have You Configured the Recipients Correctly?

The "Who will receive" section of the email notification determines who the email will be sent to. Incorrect configuration here can lead to the email not reaching the intended recipients.

Step-by-Step:

1. Open the email notification record.

2. In the Who will receive section, review how the recipients are defined.

3. If you are using fields from a record (e.g., "Requested for"), ensure that the field contains valid email addresses.

4. If you are using event parameters (parm1, parm2) to pass recipient information, make sure the corresponding checkboxes (e.g., "Send to event creator," "Send to parm1," "Send to parm2") are selected as needed.

6. Check the ServiceNow Email Logs (sys_email Table)

Even if you don't see the email in an inbox, ServiceNow might have attempted to send it. The sys_email table contains a log of all emails generated by the system.

Step-by-Step:

1. Navigate to the sys_email table (you can do this by typing sys_email.list in the filter navigator).

2. Filter the list to look for emails related to your event or the expected recipients.

3. Examine the State of the emails. A state other than "sent" (e.g., "ready," "sending," "failed") can provide clues about why the email was not delivered.

7. Examine Advanced Conditions (If Applicable)

If your email notification has a script in the Advanced condition field, this script must evaluate to true for the notification to be sent.

Step-by-Step:

1. Open the email notification record.

2. Navigate to the Advanced condition section.

3. Review the script. Ensure that under the specific circumstances of your event, the script logic will result in the notification being sent. As highlighted in the community discussion, even commented-out code in this field can be interpreted as a condition that needs to be met.

Conclusion: Bringing Your ServiceNow Email Notifications to Life

When your ServiceNow events are firing but the corresponding email notifications are not being created, it's a signal to methodically investigate the configuration of your notification. By systematically checking the active status, conditions, event name, queue, recipient settings, email logs, and any advanced conditions, you can effectively diagnose and resolve the issue. Often, as seen in the original community post, the solution lies in a simple oversight like a misspelled event name. By following these troubleshooting steps, you'll be well-equipped to ensure your ServiceNow event-based email notifications are reliably delivered, keeping your users informed and your processes running smoothly.