Create a knowledge block · SN Doc Reader

Create or modify a knowledge block to define a reusable piece of content that can be inserted into knowledge articles in a knowledge base. The knowledge block is secured by user criteria, which controls what users, groups, roles, companies, locations, or departments can read or not read the content in an article or search, enabling users to more easily view content that is relevant to them.

Before you begin

Activate knowledge blocks

Role required: user must have contributor access to the knowledge base.

Procedure

Navigate to All > Knowledge > Knowledge Blocks > Create New.
Click New or open a record.
Fill in the fields on the form.

Field	Description
Number	This field is automatically set to a knowledge block number.
Knowledge base	Name of the knowledge base.The knowledge blocks feature must be enabled for each knowledge base that you plan to create blocks. See Enable knowledge blocks for each knowledge base.
Category	Name of the knowledge category or subcategory.
Ownership Group	Ownership group for the knowledge block. This field appears when the ownership groups feature is enabled.Knowledge blocks can be used with or without the ownership groups feature. To learn more about ownership groups, including how to enable the feature, see Ownership groups.
Can read	User criteria to apply for read access at the knowledge block level.User criteria set at the knowledge base and knowledge block level controls which users can read or not read block content within an article. To learn more about selecting user criteria for a knowledge block, see Select user criteria for a knowledge block.
Cannot read	User criteria to apply for cannot read access at the knowledge block level.User criteria set at the knowledge base and knowledge block level controls which users can read or not read block content within an article. To learn more about selecting user criteria for a knowledge block, see Select user criteria for a knowledge block.
Valid to	Date that the knowledge block expires. After the valid to date:- Knowledge article viewer will no longer display expired knowledge block content in the associated knowledge article. Search will no longer return knowledge articles if the keywords are contained in the expired blocks.
Short Description	Description of the knowledge block.
Text	Text of the knowledge block.
Version	This field is automatically set to a version number when the article versioning feature is enabled.Knowledge blocks can be used with or without the article versioning feature. To learn more about article versioning, including how to disable the feature, see Article versioning.
Article type	This field is automatically set to HTML.Note: Knowledge blocks are only supported with HTML knowledge articles.
Workflow	This field is automatically set to the publication state of the block, such as Draft, Published, or Retired.
Source task	Not applicable.

4. Click **Save** or **Update** to create or update the block.

Click Publish to publish the block.

Note: Any additional steps required to publish the knowledge block, such as approvals, depend on the publishing workflow for the knowledge base. See Knowledge workflows for more information.

What to do next

After the knowledge block is published, you can add the block to an article within the knowledge base.

Select user criteria for a knowledge block
Control which users can read or not read knowledge block content within an article in a knowledge base by setting user criteria at the knowledge base and knowledge block level. As a knowledge contributor, you can apply user criteria at the knowledge block level.
Retire a knowledge block
You can retire a published knowledge block so that it's no longer available for users to view or search.

Parent Topic:Using knowledge blocks

title	Create a knowledge block
description	Create or modify a knowledge block to define a reusable piece of content that can be inserted into knowledge articles in a knowledge base. The knowledge block is secured by user criteria, which controls what users, groups, roles, companies, locations, or departments can read or not read the content in an article or search, enabling users to more easily view content that is relevant to them.
locale	en-US
canonical_url	https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/servicenow-platform/knowledge-management/create-modify-knowledge-block.html
release	australia
product	Knowledge Management
classification	knowledge-management
topic_type	task
last_updated	2026-09-10
reading_time_minutes	4
breadcrumb	Using knowledge blocksUsing Knowledge ManagementKnowledge ManagementManage content capabilitiesExtend ServiceNow AI Platform capabilities