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Setting Up ServiceNow with Traceless

Audience: Organization administrators connecting ServiceNow to Traceless for the first time

Written by Peter

This guide walks you through connecting ServiceNow to Traceless from scratch using OAuth. Once connected, your team can send identity verification requests and secure data from ServiceNow tickets, and Traceless can update those tickets with outcomes.

Before you start: enable ServiceNow with Sales

ServiceNow is not self-serve until your Traceless organization is enabled for it.

  1. Contact sales@traceless.com and ask to enable the ServiceNow integration for your organization.

  2. Wait for confirmation that ServiceNow is turned on for your account.

Prerequisites

After Sales has enabled ServiceNow for your organization, make sure you have:

  • An active Traceless account with organization administrator permissions

  • Administrative access in ServiceNow (to create an Application Registry OAuth application and a UI Action)

  • A ServiceNow user that Traceless will run as (an integration / service account is typical)

  • Your ServiceNow instance hostname (for example, YOURINSTANCE.service-now.com)

Overview

Setup has three parts:

  1. In ServiceNow: create an OAuth application and tie it to a ServiceNow user

  2. In Traceless: enter your instance URL, Client ID, and Client Secret

  3. In ServiceNow again: add the Traceless UI Action (script provided by the Traceless team, personalized with your organization ID)

Step 1: Choose (or create) the ServiceNow user

OAuth does not remove the need for a ServiceNow user. Every OAuth application in ServiceNow’s Application Registry is associated with a User. API calls Traceless makes with the OAuth token run as that user.

  1. Create or pick an active ServiceNow user for the integration, ideally named Traceless

  2. Give that user the roles needed to read ticket contacts and write ticket updates for the tables (for example, Incidents) you use with Traceless

  3. Keep this user active; if it is disabled later, the integration will stop working even if the Client ID and Secret are still valid

Step 2: Create the OAuth application in ServiceNow

  1. In ServiceNow, go to System OAuth → Application Registry

  2. Create a new inbound OAuth application

  3. Choose the option for an OAuth client credentials grant

  4. Configure the application:

    • Name: something clear, such as Traceless

    • Client ID: copy this; you will paste it into Traceless

    • Client Secret: generate or copy this and store it securely; you will paste it into Traceless

    • User: set this to the ServiceNow user from Step 1

  5. Save the Application Registry record

Keep the Client ID and Client Secret handy for the next step.

Step 3: Connect ServiceNow in Traceless

  1. Log in to Traceless as an organization administrator

  2. Open the ServiceNow connect page: https://traceless.io/servicenow/connect/

  3. Confirm or fill in your company information (company name, website, support phone, primary support email)

  4. Under ServiceNow OAuth Credentials, enter:

    • ServiceNow Instance URL: your instance host (for example, YOURINSTANCE.service-now.com)

    • OAuth Client ID: from the Application Registry

    • OAuth Client Secret: from the Application Registry

  5. Click Connect

Traceless validates the credentials by requesting an access token from your ServiceNow instance. If that succeeds, you should land on a completion page Your organization is now connected over OAuth.

Step 4: Add the Traceless UI Action (from the Traceless team)

Connecting OAuth lets Traceless talk to your instance. To open Traceless from a ticket, you also need a UI Action in ServiceNow. That action uses a short Glide script that includes your Traceless organization ID.

  1. You will be provided with a script already custom defined for your organization. Do not copy a script from another customer. This will not work.

  2. In ServiceNow, create a new UI Action on the table(s) you use with Traceless (commonly Incident, and Case if you use Agent Workspace / CSM)

  3. Paste the script provided into the UI Action (follow any notes included for classic UI vs Agent Workspace)

  4. Set the UI Action so agents can see and use it (name, table, form button / workspace settings as instructed)

  5. Save, then open a test ticket and run the action to confirm Traceless opens for that ticket

Step 5: Confirm end to end

  1. Open a ServiceNow ticket as an agent

  2. Run the Traceless UI Action

  3. Confirm Traceless loads for that ticket

  4. Send a verification or ticket update and confirm the note or status appears as expected

Using the integration day to day

Once OAuth and the UI Action are in place, agents can:

  • Open Traceless from a ServiceNow ticket

  • Send identity verification requests

  • Send and receive secure data and files up to 200gb

  • See ticket updates from Traceless (for example verification outcomes)

Troubleshooting

Connect page says the integration is not available / you cannot connect

Sales has not enabled ServiceNow for your organization yet, or you are not an organization administrator.

Solution: Confirm with sales@traceless.com that ServiceNow is enabled, then retry as an org admin at https://traceless.io/servicenow/connect/.

“Could not establish connection with ServiceNow”

Common causes:

  • Incorrect instance URL (use the hostname form such as

    YOURINSTANCE.service-now.com)

  • Incorrect Client ID or Client Secret

  • The Application Registry application is inactive or misconfigured

  • The User on the Application Registry entry is missing, inactive, or lacks required roles

Solution: Re-check the Application Registry values and associated user, then submit the connect form again.

Connection succeeds but ticket lookups or updates fail

The OAuth application is valid, but the associated ServiceNow user does not have enough permissions.

Solution: Review roles on that user and restore the access Traceless needs for your tables.

UI Action opens but Traceless shows the wrong org or fails to load

Ensure that you have 3rd party cookies enabled. See this article for troubleshooting

The Glide script’s organization ID does not match your Traceless organization, or you are using another customer’s script.

Your servicenow domain does not match the domain entered in Traceless.

Solution: Check the url entered into Traceless. Ask the Traceless team for a fresh UI Action script personalized with your organization ID and replace the action script.

Do I put my ServiceNow username and password in Traceless?

No. Enter only Client ID and Client Secret. The ServiceNow user is configured inside ServiceNow on the Application Registry record.

Reconnecting or rotating credentials

If you rotate the Client Secret (or need to re-enter credentials):

  1. Go to https://traceless.io/servicenow/connect/

  2. Enter the updated Client ID, Client Secret, and instance URL

  3. Click Connect again

Your UI Action usually does not need to change when you only rotate OAuth credentials.

To disconnect ServiceNow entirely, use Organization → Integrations (or Manage Your Integrations) and remove the ServiceNow connection.

Security notes

  • Treat the Client Secret like a password; rotate it in ServiceNow if it may have been exposed, then re-enter it on the connect page

  • Keep the Application Registry user limited to the minimum roles required

  • Only use the UI Action script issued for your organization

Additional resources

Note: You must be an organization administrator in Traceless to connect or update integrations. If you do not have those permissions, ask your Traceless organization administrator to complete setup.

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