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ServiceNow App Engine and custom table licensing

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This article is about how ServiceNow licenses custom application development: App Engine packages, App Engine Studio, Creator Studio and the custom table entitlement every subscription carries. Grandfathered-table basics and the Custom Table metric are also summarized in ServiceNow user and subscription-unit licensing. It is not legal advice and does not replace the Order Form or the Custom Table Guide.

On This Page

ServiceNow App Engine and custom table licensing is the part of ServiceNow’s subscription model that governs applications customers build themselves. Its unit is the custom table, defined as “a table that you create on the ServiceNow AI Platform that isn’t provided by ServiceNow”.[1] Every subscription comes “with custom table entitlements that dictate the number of custom tables that you can map to a subscription”, and the number “depends on the subscription”.[1] App Engine is the product family sold to extend that allotment and to govern custom development. ServiceNow describes App Engine as the “Platform suite and entitlement” and App Engine Studio as the “Development environment within App Engine”.[7] Custom tables are tracked through the Custom Table capacity meter in Subscription Management.

Editions

ServiceNow’s current App Engine package page lists two tiers.[11]

Package Custom development capabilities listed 
App Engine Foundation ServiceNow Otto for Creator, App Engine Studio, Creator Studio, ServiceNow Studio for App Engine, Workspace Builder, Custom Tables, Scoped Apps, Virtual Agent 
App Engine Prime Foundation plus ServiceNow Otto for App Engine, App Engine Management Center, Unlimited Custom Tables, Unlimited Scoped Apps, Process Mining, Mobile Publishing, Platform Analytics Advanced, Universal Request Pro 

Earlier App Engine editions still appear in documentation. Creator Studio requires “an App Engine Enterprise license” (Creator Studio requires an App Engine Enterprise license).[9] The grandfathered-tables example refers to “App Engine Starter custom tables (formerly Bundled Custom Tables)”.[2] Workflow packages include a smaller allotment for tailoring the packaged application. The CSM package page notes that “App Engine Starter tables are for configuring packaged applications”.[12]

Subscription Management treats two generations of App Engine differently. App Engine V2 subscriptions appear like any other product: applications and custom tables can be mapped to them, and per-user subscriptions can be allocated through groups with measured roles. App Engine V1 details are not shown on the subscription details page and are read from a separate App Engine usage module (App Engine V2 subscriptions are managed in Subscription Management; V1 through a usage module).[1]

The development tools carry their own entitlements. “An App Engine Studio subscription is required to install on a production or non-production instance”, and the Store’s Opt-in button is not available without a purchased AES subscription (App Engine Studio needs a subscription on production and non-production instances).[8] Creator Studio uses roles to decide who may build. Holders of sn_creatorstudio.user can create apps, while holders of sn_creatorstudio.restricted_user must request them and are approved by an App Engine admin.[10]

Metrics

Counting / floors

What counts as a custom table

Any table a customer creates that ServiceNow does not ship counts, whether it is created in the global scope or inside a scoped application (A custom table is a table created on the platform that ServiceNow does not provide).[1] Two groups are treated differently:

  • Exempted tables “don’t count toward your subscription entitlements”. They are mostly custom extensions of system tables such as sys_portal_page and sys_user_preference, and the complete definition is in the Custom Table Guide legal schedule.[2] Which version of that guide applies depends on the contract date: “Legal schedules are enforced based on when the contract is executed” (The Custom Table Guide applicable is the one in force when the contract is executed).[2]
  • Grandfathered tables preserve earlier custom table entitlements through a one-time license migration. They cannot be transferred or reclassified, and a deleted grandfathered table cannot be replaced.[2] ServiceNow’s example combines three new subscriptions worth 55 App Engine Starter tables with a 25-table grandfather subscription, for a total entitlement of 80.[2]

Tables that arrive with third-party software can also count. “The tables of free Partner store apps are considered custom tables and are mapped to ServiceNow subscriptions” (Tables of free Partner store apps count as custom tables).[13] When a Store application with custom tables is mapped, it must go to “a subscription with a custom table entitlement” (Store applications with custom tables map to a subscription with custom table entitlement).[3]

Mapping obligations

Compliance depends on mapping each table to a subscription. ServiceNow’s rules, effective 2026-09-10, are:

  1. Production is mandatory. “Map custom applications and custom tables on your production instance to a valid subscription. On non-production instances, mapping is recommended but not required” (Custom table mapping is required in production and recommended elsewhere).[1]
  2. Every table. “To stay in compliance, all custom tables must be mapped to a product subscription” (All custom tables must be mapped to a product subscription). Tables for which Subscription Management cannot suggest a subscription do not appear on the Unmapped global custom tables tab and must be mapped from the Custom Table Inventory. Such updates show in Subscription Management the next day.[4]
  3. Applications carry their tables. “After you map a custom application to a product subscription, additional tables that developers add to the application are automatically mapped to the subscription” (Tables added to a mapped custom application are mapped automatically).[3]
  4. Some subscriptions cannot receive mappings. The lookup list “doesn’t include expired, grandfathered, or Store application subscriptions”.[3]

Subscription Management suggests a product with free custom table entitlements in a Recommended Product column when it can.[5] The overview reports counts of unmapped global custom tables and unmapped custom applications.[15] Custom table entitlements that come with per-user subscriptions can be consolidated under one product subscription. The pooled total then appears on the Bundled Items tab of only one contributing subscription.[6]

As a worked example, suppose a customer has 80 custom table entitlements (25 grandfathered and 55 App Engine Starter) and builds a scoped application with 12 new tables in production. If the application is mapped to a subscription with at least 12 free entitlements, all 12 tables are covered, and any table added to the application later is mapped to the same subscription automatically. Tables the same developers create in the global scope are not covered by the application mapping. Each must be mapped individually, and none may be mapped to the grandfather subscription unless it was one of the original 25.

Custom tables and generative AI

The AI Skill Kit field of use allows custom skills to add generative AI “on the custom tables that are provided in a customer’s licenses” (AI Skill Kit custom skills may run on custom tables provided in the customer's licenses).[14] An unmapped or unlicensed table is therefore outside that use right.

Virtualization & partitioning

Not applicable. Custom tables are counted per production instance in Subscription Management, not per server.

Cloud / BYOL

Not applicable. App Engine is a subscription to the ServiceNow-hosted platform.

Programs

No App Engine-specific program is published. App Engine packages follow the product tiers.

Out of scope

  • The exempt-table list and per-SKU custom table quantities in the Custom Table Guide. The PDF was not retrieved for this article.
  • App Engine V1 audit procedures, which are in Now Support KB0999383.
  • The per-user meter for users of custom applications built on App Engine. ServiceNow’s documentation defers it to the contract.

References

  1. Managing custom tables and applications in Subscription ManagementBrazil release. Catalog: Managing custom tables and applications in Subscription ManagementEffective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  2. Grandfathered and exempted tablesCatalog: Grandfathered and exempted tablesEffective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  3. Map a custom application to a product subscription in Subscription ManagementCatalog: Map a custom application to a product subscription in Subscription ManagementEffective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  4. Map a missing custom table to a product subscription in Subscription ManagementCatalog: Map a missing custom table to a product subscription in Subscription ManagementEffective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  5. Map custom tables to a product subscription in Subscription ManagementRecommended products; next-day update.Effective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  6. Viewing product subscription details in Subscription ManagementBundled Items tab; consolidation of custom table entitlements.Effective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  7. App Engine and App Engine StudioCatalog: App Engine and App Engine StudioEffective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  8. Get entitlement for AES appsCatalog: Get entitlement for AES appsEffective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  9. Installing Creator Studio from the ServiceNow StoreCatalog: Installing Creator Studio from the ServiceNow StoreEffective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  10. Creator Studio roles and personasCreator Studio roles.Effective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  11. App Engine PricingPackage page, undated. Catalog: App Engine PricingRetrieved 2026-09-26.
  12. Customer Service Management (CSM) PricingApp Engine Starter tables footnote.Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  13. Activating your Performance Analytics subscriptionFree Partner store app tables. Catalog: Activating your Performance Analytics subscriptionEffective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  14. Field of use for AI Skill KitCatalog: Field of use for AI Skill KitEffective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.
  15. Product subscriptions overviewUnmapped custom table and application reports.Effective 2026-09-10. Retrieved 2026-09-26.

See also

Catalog Rows Cited

3Metrics2SKUs11Rules1Programs

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