Create a PaCE policy
Create a PaCE policy to determine if changes to a software service or application comply with a set of pre-defined rules.
Before you begin
Role required: sn_pace.policy_editor
About this task
After you create a PaCE policy, a decision is then made about these changes, and if they are compliant, non-compliant, or compliant-exception according to these pre-defined rules. The policy must be mapped correctly to the relevant object (table and document ID) to invoke the policy when any changes are made to the object.
Note: Policies are only used if they have active mapping records, and if there was a request to validate an object (tables and document IDs) mapped to the policy. For further information, see Map PaCE policies.
Procedure
-
Navigate to All > Policies > My Policies.
Note: To view all policies generated by admin/other users, navigate to Policies > All Policies.
-
Click New.
The New policy page appears.
-
Select the New blank policy tile or an existing policy template, then Create.
Templates can be filtered by most used, alphabetically, state, and type. By default, inactive templates are hidden.
-
In the Create New Policy form, fill in the fields.
|
Field |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Policy name |
The policy name.Note: The policy name must be unique, and is used as the identifier of the policy. |
|
Document type |
Select a document type for the table of items for the policy to be applied to. |
|
Category |
Categories enable you to group and manage policies more efficiently. See Managing categories in PaCE for details. |
|
Calling service |
The name of the calling service the policy was created in. |
|
Description |
Additional details for this policy. |
|
Comments |
Comments about the policy. |
-
Click Save.
The form is refreshed to display the newly created policy.[Omitted image "pace-new-policy-manage-3.jpg"] Alt text: Details page.
-
Add tags by selecting the tag icon [Omitted image "pace-tag-icon-1.jpg"] Alt text: Tag icon. alongside the policy name to add tags.
For more information about defining tags, Add tags to PaCE policies.
Result
The newly created policy contains the following tabs.
|
Tab name |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Details |
The details of the policy including the policy name, category, date on which it was created, and a description is displayed. |
|
Policy builder |
When you create a policy, by default a draft policy version is created. Each policy version contains version meta-data, a policy script, and variable input definitions, which you can modify according to your requirements. Click the Policy builder tab to view the Policy builder page. You can:- Edit a policy version. Note: You can edit a policy version only if it is a Draft state.
For more details, see Manage PaCE policy versions.Note: You must publish the (See Publish a PaCE policy version) policy version to make it Current before it can be used. |
|
Version management |
The Version management tab lists out the previous versions of the policy. You can also create a new version of the policy. |
|
Mappings |
The Mappings tab enables you to define the object (table and document ID) to which the policy is to be mapped. For more information, see Map PaCE policies. |
|
Executions |
The Executions tab enables you to review the execution activity for the policy. |
You can perform the following actions:
- Delete a policy that is in an inactive state. See Delete a PaCE policy.
- Duplicate or create a copy of an existing policy.
- Write and test custom PaCE policies. See How to write and test custom PaCE policies.
---
title: Create a PaCE policy
description: Create a PaCE policy to determine if changes to a software service or application comply with a set of pre-defined rules.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/servicenow-platform/policy-as-code-engine-pace/pace-create-policy.html
release: australia
product: Policy as Code Engine \(PaCE\)
classification: policy-as-code-engine-pace
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 4
breadcrumb: [Manage PaCE policies, Administer PaCE policies, Policy as Code Engine \(PaCE\), Extend ServiceNow AI Platform capabilities]
---
# Create a PaCE policy
Create a PaCE policy to determine if changes to a software service or application comply with a set of pre-defined rules.
## Before you begin
Role required: sn\_pace.policy\_editor
## About this task
After you create a PaCE policy, a decision is then made about these changes, and if they are compliant, non-compliant, or compliant-exception according to these pre-defined rules. The policy must be mapped correctly to the relevant object \(table and document ID\) to invoke the policy when any changes are made to the object.
**Note:** Policies are only used if they have active mapping records, and if there was a request to validate an object \(tables and document IDs\) mapped to the policy. For further information, see [Map PaCE policies](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/policy-as-code-engine-pace/pace-mapping-inputs.md).
## Procedure
1. Navigate to **All** > **Policies** > **My Policies**.
**Note:** To view all policies generated by admin/other users, navigate to **Policies** > **All Policies**.
2. Click **New**.
The New policy page appears.
3. Select the New blank policy tile or an existing policy template, then **Create**.
Templates can be filtered by most used, alphabetically, state, and type. By default, inactive templates are hidden.
4. In the Create New Policy form, fill in the fields.
<table id="table_mc2_q1m_zwb"><thead><tr><th>
Field
</th><th>
Description
</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>
Policy name
</td><td>
The policy name.**Note:** The policy name must be unique, and is used as the identifier of the policy.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Document type
</td><td>
Select a document type for the table of items for the policy to be applied to.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Category
</td><td>
Categories enable you to group and manage policies more efficiently. See [Managing categories in PaCE](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/policy-as-code-engine-pace/pace-categories.md) for details.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Calling service
</td><td>
The name of the calling service the policy was created in.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Description
</td><td>
Additional details for this policy.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Comments
</td><td>
Comments about the policy.
</td></tr></tbody>
</table> **Note:** You can add additional comments in the Compose text box, that will show up in the Activity stream.
5. Click **Save**.
The form is refreshed to display the newly created policy.\[Omitted image "pace-new-policy-manage-3.jpg"\] Alt text: Details page.
6. Add tags by selecting the tag icon \[Omitted image "pace-tag-icon-1.jpg"\] Alt text: Tag icon. alongside the policy name to add tags.
For more information about defining tags, [Add tags to PaCE policies](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/policy-as-code-engine-pace/pace-add-tags-policies.md).
## Result
The newly created policy contains the following tabs.
<table id="table_yck_b1m_zwb"><thead><tr><th>
Tab name
</th><th>
Description
</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>
Details
</td><td>
The details of the policy including the policy name, category, date on which it was created, and a description is displayed.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Policy builder
</td><td>
When you create a policy, by default a draft policy version is created. Each policy version contains version meta-data, a policy script, and variable input definitions, which you can modify according to your requirements. Click the **Policy builder** tab to view the Policy builder page. You can:- Edit a policy version.
**Note:** You can edit a policy version only if it is a Draft state.
- View version details
- Create a new version
- Switch from low-code to the code editor
- Save the policy as a template
- Compare versions
- Duplicate policy versions
For more details, see [Manage PaCE policy versions](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/policy-as-code-engine-pace/pace-policy-versions.md).**Note:** You must publish the \(See [Publish a PaCE policy version](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/policy-as-code-engine-pace/pace-publish-policy-version.md)\) policy version to make it **Current** before it can be used.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Version management
</td><td>
The Version management tab lists out the previous versions of the policy. You can also create a new version of the policy.
</td></tr><tr><td>
Mappings
</td><td>
The Mappings tab enables you to define the object \(table and document ID\) to which the policy is to be mapped. For more information, see [Map PaCE policies](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/policy-as-code-engine-pace/pace-mapping-inputs.md).
</td></tr><tr><td>
Executions
</td><td>
The Executions tab enables you to review the execution activity for the policy.
</td></tr></tbody>
</table>## What to do next
You can perform the following actions:
- Delete a policy that is in an inactive state. See [Delete a PaCE policy](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/policy-as-code-engine-pace/pace-delete-policy.md).
- Duplicate or create a copy of an existing policy.
- Write and test custom PaCE policies. See [How to write and test custom PaCE policies](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/servicenow-platform/policy-as-code-engine-pace/pace-write-test-policies.md).
| title | Create a PaCE policy |
| description | Create a PaCE policy to determine if changes to a software service or application comply with a set of pre-defined rules. |
| locale | en-US |
| canonical_url | https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/servicenow-platform/policy-as-code-engine-pace/pace-create-policy.html |
| release | australia |
| product | Policy as Code Engine \(PaCE\) |
| classification | policy-as-code-engine-pace |
| topic_type | task |
| last_updated | 2026-09-10 |
| reading_time_minutes | 4 |
| breadcrumb | Manage PaCE policiesAdminister PaCE policiesPolicy as Code Engine \(PaCE\)Extend ServiceNow AI Platform capabilities |