You can attach a video to most ServiceNow records the same way you attach any file: open the record, use the attachments icon, pick the file and confirm the upload. The harder questions come after that. Which formats work, what size is allowed, who can see the clip, and why the upload sometimes just spins. This guide covers all of it, plus how to make video useful as test feedback instead of a heavy file nobody opens.

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TL;DR

Attach a video from the record’s attachments icon or the Manage Attachments link. Portal forms can also accept drag and drop or paste, depending on how the widget is configured.
For embedding in HTML fields, ServiceNow supports .mp4 and .webm. Catalog items use an Attachment variable with a default limit of 20 MB that admins can change.
Most failed uploads come down to permissions (ACLs), API parameters, browser issues or trusted media domain settings.
Check who can open a clip before you share it. Public and logged-out users have different access to videos and attachments.
For UAT, a short recording with a transcript beats a raw file. Capture it at the moment of the issue and attach it to the ticket.

How to attach a video to a ServiceNow record
Formats, size limits and settings that matter
Why a video upload fails, and what to check
What to check before you share a video
Making video useful as UAT feedback
Perspective: attach less video, capture more context
Sending test video into ServiceNow with Wezard
A short checklist for your next UAT cycle
FAQ
Sources

How to attach a video to a ServiceNow record

The standard path is the same on incidents, requests, change records and most forms. According to ServiceNow’s documentation on adding attachments, you navigate to the record, select the attachments icon or the Manage Attachments link, choose the file from your computer and confirm the upload.

A practical routine:

Open the record you want the video on and save it first if it is a new form, since attachments need a record to belong to.
Click the paperclip (attachments) icon.
Choose Files or Browse, depending on your browser, and select the video.
Confirm the upload and check that the file name appears in the attachment list.

On portal pages the experience differs. Portal documentation for the Xanadu release says users can add files by browsing the file system, pasting from the clipboard or dragging and dropping, depending on how the widget is set up. If your testers say they cannot drag a file onto a form, the widget configuration is the first place to look, not the browser.

Attaching video through the API

Integrations and scripts can push video into a record without anyone opening a form. The Attachment API accepts binary files through a POST to /now/attachment/file. The authenticating user needs roles that let them read, write and create attachments on the target table. If a script works for an admin and fails for a service account, compare the roles first.

Viewing, renaming and removing a video

Going back to a clip uses the same control. Per the Manage attachments page, you open the record and select the attachments icon or Manage Attachments link to view, rename or remove files. Large videos are downloaded rather than previewed in many setups, so tell reviewers to expect a download when they click.

Formats, size limits and settings that matter

Two different things get called a video attachment in ServiceNow: a file attached to a record, and a video embedded in rich content. The rules differ.

Where the video lives	What to know
Record attachment	Uploaded through the attachments icon, subject to roles, ACLs and the system-wide attachment limit
Catalog item	Uses an Attachment variable. Default limit is 20 MB, adjustable by admins
HTML field or knowledge content	Embedded with the HTML editor, supports .mp4 and .webm
Employee portal content	Content Library can embed YouTube and Vimeo videos

Catalog items

For Service Catalog items, the Attachment variable lets requesters upload files. The service catalog variable documentation lists a default limit of 20 MB, and administrators can set their own limit with the max_file_size variable attribute. If the attribute is not specified, the catalog limit falls back to the glide.sc.variable.attachment.default_max_size property, still bound by the system-wide attachment limit.

That 20 MB figure matters for video. A short screen recording at modest resolution can fit. A five-minute walkthrough at full HD usually will not. Decide the limit on purpose: if you want testers to attach recordings through a catalog item, raise the limit and keep clips short instead of letting users hit an error halfway through a test cycle.

Embedding video in HTML fields

The HTML editor documentation says ServiceNow supports .mp4 and .webm for embedding. It also carries a warning worth passing to your admin: the Videos [db_video] table is public and non-restricted, so unauthenticated users have full access to videos uploaded there. If a clip shows a production screen, customer names or internal data, do not treat the embed route as private.

Content Library and employee portals

For employee experience portals, the Content Library video guidance describes embedding video from YouTube and Vimeo. That is a link-based approach: the file stays on the hosting service, and ServiceNow displays it. It suits training and announcements better than test evidence, because you do not control retention or access in the same place as the ticket.

Video in knowledge articles has an access catch. Virginia Tech’s ServiceNow documentation states that attachments in knowledge articles are not visible to customers who are not logged in. Your instance may be configured differently, but test as a logged-out user before you promise an external audience that a clip will play.

Why a video upload fails, and what to check

When a clip will not upload, resist the urge to blame file size alone. ServiceNow’s own support article on users who cannot upload video points to a short list of causes: incorrect API parameters such as a missing table_name, missing permissions through ACLs, browser compatibility issues and misconfigured trusted media domains for external integrations.

Work through them in this order:

Permissions. Can the user create attachments on that table? Ask an admin to test with the same role, not an admin account.
Size and type. Compare the file to the attachment limit, and to the catalog variable limit if the upload happens on a catalog item.
Browser. Try another supported browser and a private window to rule out extensions.
API call. If a script or integration sends the file, confirm table_name, the sys_id of the record and the file name in the request.
Trusted media domains. For media sent through external channels, check the domain settings on the channel configuration.

Mobile uploads

Testers often record on a phone. The Horizon Design System attachment guidance notes that ServiceNow Mobile supports video captured with the camera, and administrators can enable a secure local backup library for uploads that fail. The same page suggests restricting attachment sources to the camera when you need to prevent reused or AI-generated images, which supports authenticity and compliance. For acceptance testing, that control helps when the evidence must be fresh.

A video shows more than the bug. It shows the browser tabs, the notification that just popped up, the customer record in the background. Before you attach or share:

Who can open the record? Attachments inherit the access of the record, so check the roles and any portal visibility.
Is the audience logged in? As noted above, knowledge attachments and public-page behavior differ for logged-out users.
What is on screen? Names, emails, account numbers, tokens and internal URLs all end up in the file.
Where does the file live? An attachment on a record is governed by that record. A link to an external video host is governed by the host.
How long should it stay? Decide retention before the cycle starts, not after sign-off.

We wrote about this in more depth in our piece on UAT video privacy by design, including how to limit what a recording captures in the first place. Recording only the part of the screen that matters also helps, which is the idea behind partial screen recording.

Making video useful as UAT feedback

Attaching a file is the easy part. The question for a business analyst or project manager is whether the developer who opens the ticket can act on it in under a minute.

A video attached with no context fails that test. The reviewer has to scrub through, guess which moment matters, and then write a comment asking what the tester expected. Four habits fix most of it:

Keep clips short. One issue per recording. Two minutes is plenty for most defects, and a short file also stays under catalog limits.
Say what you expected. Narrate the expected result and the actual result while recording. The sentence takes five seconds and saves a round trip.
Put the text in the ticket. Reviewers search tickets, not video. A written summary and steps next to the clip make the issue findable.
Check for duplicates before filing. Ten testers hitting the same defect should produce one good ticket and nine confirmations, not ten attachments.

For the writing side, see our guide on documenting software issues with screen recording and the checklist for real-time bug transcription in UAT. If duplicates are your main pain, the pilot approach to cutting duplicate tickets shows how to measure it.

Heavy files and the backlog

Every recording attached to a record adds storage. Over a long UAT cycle with many testers, clips add up faster than screenshots. Agree on a convention: a maximum length, a naming pattern and a cleanup step after sign-off. The same trade-offs show up in other trackers too, and we covered them in video attachments in Azure DevOps.

Perspective: attach less video, capture more context

We build UAT software, so we see the same pattern across teams. Testers do record video. The problem is what happens next. The clip lands on a ticket as an opaque file, nobody has time to watch it, and a second tester files the same defect an hour later because the first ticket was impossible to search.

Our view is that a video attachment is only as good as the text and structure around it. The recording should capture the moment of the issue, a transcript should turn the narration into searchable words, and a duplicate check should run before the ticket reaches the backlog. That is why Wezard records the screen, transcribes the issue in real time and uses AI to flag likely duplicates before they reach Jira, Azure DevOps or ServiceNow.

If you stay with native attachments, that is a legitimate choice. Set a size limit, define a naming rule, require a written summary beside every clip and test access as the person who will open it. If you want the capture, transcript and duplicate check handled for you, that is where a dedicated tool earns its place.

— Marketing

Sending test video into ServiceNow with Wezard

Wezard is built for the people who run acceptance testing: business users, UAT testers, business analysts, QA leads and project managers. Testers record the screen and describe the problem by voice or video. The tool transcribes it as they speak, builds an enriched ticket with the attachments, and checks for duplicates before the ticket is sent to your backlog in Jira, Azure DevOps or ServiceNow.

Plans are published at Wezard pricing: Starter is $25 per month, Team is $70 per month and Business is $160 per month. Enterprise has no published price. You can see how the workflow runs on the UAT testing feedback page or browse use cases to match your team.

If your testers currently drag raw recordings onto forms and your reviewers ask for steps in the comments, a trial is the quickest way to see the difference on your own test cycle.

A short checklist for your next UAT cycle

Before testing starts, an admin and a QA lead can settle most video problems in about an hour:

Confirm which roles can create attachments on the tables your testers use.
Decide the clip limit and set max_file_size on catalog Attachment variables where testers upload.
Test an upload from the browsers and, if relevant, phones your testers actually use.
Open a sample clip as a logged-out user and as a reviewer, and record what each can see.
Write the one-page convention: maximum length, one issue per clip, a text summary on every ticket.
Agree who deletes clips after sign-off, and when.

Then run a small pilot with two or three testers before opening the cycle to everyone. Problems with limits and permissions show up on the first day, and they are far cheaper to fix before fifty people are testing.

FAQ

Can I attach an MP4 to a ServiceNow incident?

Yes, in most configurations. Open the incident, select the attachments icon, choose the file and confirm. If it fails, check your role’s attachment permissions and the system-wide attachment limit before looking at the file itself.

What is the file size limit for video in ServiceNow?

It depends on where you upload. Catalog Attachment variables default to 20 MB, and admins can change that with the max_file_size attribute, still within the system-wide limit. Ask your administrator for your instance’s actual values.

Can I embed a video in a knowledge article?

The HTML editor supports embedding .mp4 and .webm. Remember that videos stored in the db_video table are publicly accessible according to ServiceNow’s documentation, and that knowledge attachments may not be visible to logged-out users. Test as your target audience first.

Why does my video upload keep failing?

The usual causes are missing ACL permissions, incorrect API parameters such as a missing table_name, browser problems and misconfigured trusted media domains. Check permissions first, then try another browser, then review any integration settings.

Is there a better way to send video feedback from testing?

If testers file many issues, a tool that records, transcribes and checks for duplicates before the ticket is created saves review time. Wezard does this and sends the result to ServiceNow, Jira or Azure DevOps.

TL;DR

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