The User record
Learn about user records and their use within the ServiceNow AI Platform.
User account records
User records establish a relationship between an individual and your ServiceNow instance. User records consist of a user name, a password, and information relating to the individual, such as contact information, location, and job title.
[Omitted image "user-record.png"] Alt text: A sample user record.
User records are stored in the Users [sys_user] table.
Note: ServiceNow occasionally adds service accounts to the sys_user table to facilitate some platform features and functionality. For more information, see KB1648003: (OOTB) Out of the box local user accounts in sys_user.
Related records
User records are associated with records on several other tables to control permissions, preferences, and other features.
-
Roles
Roles control access to features and capabilities in applications and modules. For more information on roles, see Managing roles.
Note:
When possible, simplify user administration by assigning roles to groups. Create groups that contain all the roles necessary for specific personas, and then assign users to those groups.
-
Groups
A group is a set of users who share a common purpose. Users assigned to groups are automatically assigned to all roles associated with that group. For more details, see Creating groups and Managing roles.
-
Delegates
In addition to role and group assignments, users can be assigned as delegates, giving them permission to act with the same permissions as a delegator user. See Delegating roles for more information on delegation.
-
Skills
Use skill management to associate users with their areas of training and expertise. For more information on skill management, see Skill Management.
-
Subscriptions
Administrators use subscriptions to control which users have access to purchased subscriptions on their instances. Details on subscription management can be found at Subscription Management.
-
User preferences
User accounts are also connected with user preferences. Users can save personalized preferences to configure many UI features, as well as preferences regarding the notifications they receive. Details on administering user preferences are found at User preferences.
Date and time formatting
Note: From the Brazil release, Date format and Time format settings are available in both the user profile and the Language & Region section within the user's Preferences. The time zone setting continues to be available in the user profile from the Brazil release.
For releases before Brazil, you can set your preferred date and time formatting through the User record. If you don't specify a preference in these fields, the system applies default formatting.
Before the Brazil release, the Date format field appears in the User record by default and can be modified without specific permissions. However, the Time format field must be added to the User record by revealing additional form fields. For instructions on showing or hiding form fields, see Configuring the form layout. If you can't modify form fields, contact your organization's user administrator to update your time format preferences.
The Date and time format field in User Menu > Preferences > Language & Region extends the options you select in the Date format and Time format fields of your User record. For more information, see Configure Next Experience language and region preferences. Time zone settings automatically sync between the User record and your preferences.
System and guest users
Some automated processes use the system or guest user to apply and track changes to records. As a result, some records may show that they were last updated by system or guest.
For example, when a user logs in for the first time in a day, some fields on that user's record are updated by the system user. These fields can include Last login and Last login time. If a user has a failed login attempt or is locked out, some fields on that user's record are updated by the guest user, such as Failed Login Attempts or Locked Out.
If a record was last updated by the system or by guest users, you can identify the updated fields by enabling auditing for the table. View the audit history to see the changes. For more information, see Configuring auditing for a table and Knowing about History sets.
---
title: The User record
description: Learn about user records and their use within the ServiceNow AI Platform.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/platform-administration/user-administration/user.html
release: brazil
product: User Administration
classification: user-administration
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-10-29"
reading_time_minutes: 4
breadcrumb: [Explore, User administration, Configure core features, Administer the ServiceNow AI Platform]
---
# The User record
Learn about user records and their use within the ServiceNow AI Platform.
## User account records
User records establish a relationship between an individual and your ServiceNow instance. User records consist of a user name, a password, and information relating to the individual, such as contact information, location, and job title.
\[Omitted image "user-record.png"\] Alt text: A sample user record.
User records are stored in the Users \[sys\_user\] table.
**Note:** ServiceNow occasionally adds service accounts to the sys\_user table to facilitate some platform features and functionality. For more information, see [KB1648003: \(OOTB\) Out of the box local user accounts in sys\_user](https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB1648003).
## Related records
User records are associated with records on several other tables to control permissions, preferences, and other features.
- **Roles**
Roles control access to features and capabilities in applications and modules. For more information on roles, see [Managing roles](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-administration/user-administration/ua-creating-roles.md).
**Note:**
When possible, simplify user administration by assigning roles to groups. Create groups that contain all the roles necessary for specific personas, and then assign users to those groups.
- **Groups**
A group is a set of users who share a common purpose. Users assigned to groups are automatically assigned to all roles associated with that group. For more details, see [Creating groups](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-administration/user-administration/ua-creating-groups.md) and [Managing roles](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-administration/user-administration/ua-creating-roles.md).
- **Delegates**
In addition to role and group assignments, users can be assigned as delegates, giving them permission to act with the same permissions as a delegator user. See [Delegating roles](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-administration/user-administration/c_DelegateRoles.md) for more information on delegation.
- **Skills**
Use skill management to associate users with their areas of training and expertise. For more information on skill management, see [Skill Management](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/servicenow-platform/skills-management.md).
- **Subscriptions**
Administrators use subscriptions to control which users have access to purchased subscriptions on their instances. Details on subscription management can be found at [Subscription Management](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-administration/subscription-management-landing-page-v2.md).
- **User preferences**
User accounts are also connected with user preferences. Users can save personalized preferences to configure many UI features, as well as preferences regarding the notifications they receive. Details on administering user preferences are found at [User preferences](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-user-interface/c_UserPreferences.md).
## Date and time formatting
**Note:** From the Brazil release, Date format and Time format settings are available in both the user profile and the [Language & Region](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-user-interface/next-experience-language-preferences.md) section within the user's Preferences. The time zone setting continues to be available in the user profile from the Brazil release.
For releases before Brazil, you can set your preferred date and time formatting through the User record. If you don't specify a preference in these fields, the system applies default formatting.
Before the Brazil release, the Date format field appears in the User record by default and can be modified without specific permissions. However, the Time format field must be added to the User record by revealing additional form fields. For instructions on showing or hiding form fields, see [Configuring the form layout](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-administration/configure-form-layout.md). If you can't modify form fields, contact your organization's user administrator to update your time format preferences.
The Date and time format field in **User Menu** > **Preferences** > **Language & Region** extends the options you select in the Date format and Time format fields of your User record. For more information, see [Configure Next Experience language and region preferences](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-user-interface/next-experience-language-preferences.md). Time zone settings automatically sync between the User record and your preferences.
## System and guest users
Some automated processes use the system or guest user to apply and track changes to records. As a result, some records may show that they were last updated by system or guest.
For example, when a user logs in for the first time in a day, some fields on that user's record are updated by the system user. These fields can include **Last login** and **Last login time**. If a user has a failed login attempt or is locked out, some fields on that user's record are updated by the guest user, such as **Failed Login Attempts** or **Locked Out**.
If a record was last updated by the system or by guest users, you can identify the updated fields by enabling auditing for the table. View the audit history to see the changes. For more information, see [Configuring auditing for a table](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-security/t_EnableAuditingForATable.md) and [Knowing about History sets](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/platform-security/c_HistorySets.md).
| title | The User record |
| description | Learn about user records and their use within the ServiceNow AI Platform. |
| locale | en-US |
| canonical_url | https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/platform-administration/user-administration/user.html |
| release | brazil |
| product | User Administration |
| classification | user-administration |
| topic_type | concept |
| last_updated | 2026-10-29 |
| reading_time_minutes | 4 |
| breadcrumb | ExploreUser administrationConfigure core featuresAdminister the ServiceNow AI Platform |