Define a knowledge article category

task australia Updated Sep 10, 2026 1 min read t_DefineAKnowledgeCategory.md

Each knowledge base has a hierarchy of categories that organizes the articles.

Before you begin

Role required: knowledge_admin, knowledge_manager, CanContribute access to the knowledge base

About this task

Define a hierarchy for categories by creating parent-child relationships. Each hierarchy consists of a top-level category and a structure of subcategories, which are also named the child categories. The category hierarchy is saved in the Full category field in the Knowledge Category [kb_category] table.

You can create and edit categories separately for each knowledge base.

Procedure

Navigate to All > Knowledge > Administration > Knowledge Bases.
Select a knowledge base you manage.
Create a top-level category.
1. In the Knowledge Categories related list, click New.
2. On the Knowledge Category form, fill in the fields.

Field	Description
Label	Label for the category.The label appears as the name of the category.
Value	Value for the category you use when referencing the category in scripts.
Parent ID	Top-level component associated with the category.This field is automatically set to the top-level component ID.
Active	Option to enable the category.

3. Click **Submit**.

Create a child category.
1. Expand an existing category and click New within the expanded section.
2. Fill in the Knowledge Category form.
3. Click Submit.

What to do next

In addition to using categories defined by a knowledge manager, knowledge contributors can add and edit categories when editing an article.

Parent Topic:Configuration tasks for knowledge managers

Assign a knowledge base manager

Select a knowledge article category

108 lines · 3.1 KB Wrap lines

---
title: Define a knowledge article category
description: Each knowledge base has a hierarchy of categories that organizes the articles.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/servicenow-platform/knowledge-management/t\_DefineAKnowledgeCategory.html
release: australia
product: Knowledge Management
classification: knowledge-management
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Configuration tasks for knowledge managers, Configuring Knowledge Management, Knowledge Management, Manage content capabilities, Extend ServiceNow AI Platform capabilities]
---

# Define a knowledge article category

Each knowledge base has a hierarchy of categories that organizes the articles.

## Before you begin

Role required: knowledge\_admin, knowledge\_manager, **CanContribute** access to the knowledge base

## About this task

Define a hierarchy for categories by creating parent-child relationships. Each hierarchy consists of a top-level category and a structure of subcategories, which are also named the child categories. The category hierarchy is saved in the **Full category** field in the Knowledge Category \[kb\_category\] table.

You can create and edit categories separately for each knowledge base.

## Procedure

1.  Navigate to **All** &gt; **Knowledge** &gt; **Administration** &gt; **Knowledge Bases**.

2.  Select a knowledge base you manage.

3.  Create a top-level category.

    1.  In the Knowledge Categories related list, click **New**.

    2.  On the Knowledge Category form, fill in the fields.

<table id="table_zpb_v2d_hmb"><thead><tr><th>

Field

</th><th>

Description

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Label

</td><td>

Label for the category.The label appears as the name of the category.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Value

</td><td>

Value for the category you use when referencing the category in scripts.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Parent ID

</td><td>

Top-level component associated with the category.This field is automatically set to the top-level component ID.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Active

</td><td>

Option to enable the category.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>    3.  Click **Submit**.

4.  Create a child category.

    1.  Expand an existing category and click **New** within the expanded section.

    2.  Fill in the [Knowledge Category form](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/knowledge-management/t_DefineAKnowledgeCategory.md).

    3.  Click **Submit**.


## What to do next

In addition to using categories defined by a knowledge manager, knowledge contributors can add and edit categories when editing an article.

**Parent Topic:**[Configuration tasks for knowledge managers](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/knowledge-management/c_KnowledgeManager.md)

**Related topics**  


[Add a knowledge article to featured content]()

[Assign a knowledge base manager]()

[Select a knowledge article category](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/knowledge-management/t_SelectACategory.md)