How to create a category?

Create a category to sort incoming tickets by department, product, or team, and control which agents and contacts can see them.

Watch a feature walkthrough

Before you start

You need the Manage Categories permission. An account administrator can grant this from Roles and Permissions.

Create the category

Go to Manage > Categories.
Click the + icon.
Enter a Name for the category.
Enter a Prefix. This shows up in ticket numbers for this category, so you can recognize them at a glance. For example, a Billing category with the prefix BILL produces ticket numbers like BILL-1042.
Set Visible in new ticket form for contact to Yes or No.
Under Associate Agents, add the agents who should see tickets in this category. You can add individual agents or entire roles.
Optional: enter a Description to note what kind of tickets belong in this category.
Click Save.

Setting	What it means
Visible in new ticket form for contact: No	Contacts never see this category as an option. Only agents can move or create tickets into it. Use this for internal-only categories.
Associate Agents	Agents not added here won't see tickets in this category in their queue at all, even if they're on the account. If you still want agents to be able to create tickets in a category they can't otherwise see, enable the "Create tickets in unassociated categories" ticket-level permission for their role.

Set up email for the category

Expand Email Channel Setup on the category form to see which email channel currently routes tickets into this category.

If no channel is routing tickets here yet, click channel settings to create one. See How to set up an email channel for the full setup.
Use the Outgoing channel for contact notifications dropdown to choose which verified address this category's replies and notifications are sent from. You can set this even if no incoming channel is linked yet.

Note Incoming email routing is managed entirely from Channels, not from the category form. A category with no channel linked can still receive tickets manually or through smart rules.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add an image to a category's email signature?

See How to add image in category signature?

Can a category keep the ticket subject in sync with email replies?

Yes, this is a per-category setting. See Changing Ticket Subject through Email Replies.

How do I delete a category?

See Deleting a Category from your helpdesk. Deleting a category is irreversible, so check that article's dependency checklist first.

How to set up an email channel › Deleting a Category from your helpdesk ›