Task Active State Management business rule

concept brazil Updated Sep 10, 2026 1 min read c_TaskActiveStateMgmtBusRule.md

The Task Active State Management business rule determines whether the active field value needs to change based on changes to the State field.

The business rule is executed when the State is changed for a task record. Its execution order is 50, and it runs before most other task business rules.

If the current task table has the close_states attribute defined on its table, or if it is inherited from a higher-level table, then the rule determines whether the active field needs to change. This is done by comparing the previous and current state values.

If the state changes from an active state to an inactive state, the Active field is set to false.
If the state changes from an inactive state to an active state, the Active field is set to true, effectively re-activating or re-opening the task.

It is recommended that you leverage the (current.active.changesTo([true/false]) action in your business rule, as opposed to creating rules on each task table that mark tasks as inactive or active.

Parent Topic:Classic Business rules

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---
title: Task Active State Management business rule
description: The Task Active State Management business rule determines whether the active field value needs to change based on changes to the State field.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/api-reference/business-rules-classic/c\_TaskActiveStateMgmtBusRule.html
release: brazil
product: Business rules \(Classic\)
classification: business-rules-classic
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Classic Business rules, Write server-side scripts, Scripting, API implementation, API implementation and reference]
---

# Task Active State Management business rule

The Task Active State Management business rule determines whether the active field value needs to change based on changes to the **State** field.

The business rule is executed when the **State** is changed for a task record. Its execution order is 50, and it runs before most other task business rules.

If the current task table has the **close\_states** attribute defined on its table, or if it is inherited from a higher-level table, then the rule determines whether the active field needs to change. This is done by comparing the previous and current state values.

-   If the state changes from an active state to an inactive state, the **Active** field is set to false.
-   If the state changes from an inactive state to an active state, the **Active** field is set to true, effectively re-activating or re-opening the task.

It is recommended that you leverage the **\(current.active.changesTo\(\[true/false\]\)** action in your business rule, as opposed to creating rules on each task table that mark tasks as inactive or active.

**Parent Topic:**[Classic Business rules](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/api-reference/business-rules-classic/c_BusinessRules.md)