Instance backup policy, retention, and data recovery optionsIssue Learn how backups are scheduled and stored, what the retention period means for recovery, and which options are available to recover data or restore an instance. This information applies to all hosted instances. It doesn't apply to self-hosted instances. To restore a non-production instance from a backup yourself, see How to restore a non-production instance from a backup through Service Catalog. Backup schedule and retention Full backups are kept for 15 days by default. Some instances have a longer retention period under an agreement with ServiceNow. MariaDB instances: Full backups run weekly. Differential backups run daily on a rolling six-day cycle. The seventh day of the week is the full backup and doesn't have a differential backup. RaptorDB instances: Backups run daily. Each day's backup is either a full backup or an incremental backup, which contains the changes made since the last full backup. Each database server is backed up independently, including production (primary and standby) and non-production servers.ServiceNow doesn't offer on-demand backups for any instance. For more information, see Ad-hoc backup requests. Regulated Market environments follow the default full backup retention period. Some customers have a longer retention period under an existing agreement with ServiceNow. Backup storage and timing ServiceNow stores backups on standalone storage racks, which helps prevent a single point of failure from affecting both the hosted instance and its backups at the same time. Backups don't run on a set schedule, and backup times aren't guaranteed. Backup times are selected automatically within each 24-hour period, and neither you nor ServiceNow can change them. For security reasons, ServiceNow doesn't provide screenshots of the internal instances that host backups under any circumstances. What backup retention means for recovery Important: A 15-day retention period for full backups doesn't mean you can restore an instance to any point in the past 15 days. It also doesn't mean a backup is available for every day in that period. In some data recovery situations, a point-in-time restore can return a production instance to any point in the past four days. Point-in-time restore isn't generally available to customers and applies to production instances only. For details, see the Production instance restores section. Beyond four days, only available backups can be restored, and nothing between two backups can be recovered. For example, if data that isn't audited is created and then deleted between two consecutive backups, that data can't be recovered. It doesn't exist in the backup taken before it was created or in the backup taken after it was deleted. Release All supported releases Resolution Check available backups On Now Support, open the List of backups for the instance Service Catalog item.Select the instance.Select the current date. The latest backups are displayed, with the date and time each backup was taken. Recover lost or corrupted data Production instances: If data is lost or corrupted on a production instance, open a Support case as soon as possible. Technical Support follows standard operating procedures to help recover data for each case. For more information, see How to recover deleted data from a ServiceNow instance.Non-production instances: If data is lost or corrupted on a non-production instance, self-service options are available, and Technical Support has limited scope. For more information, see How to recover data on non-production instances.Temporary instances: Because of capacity management, ServiceNow doesn't typically provide temporary instances unless there's a clear business reason that none of your non-production instances can be used. For more information, see Requesting a temporary instance. Production instance restores Restoring a production instance from a backup is a last resort because the effects of the restore can be worse than the issue that prompted it. In most cases, a restore causes data loss because data created or updated after the backup was taken isn't available after the restore. A point-in-time restore is limited to data recovery situations on production instances. It might be an option only if you open a Support case within four days after the start of the event that caused the need for the restore. For details, timelines, and FAQs, see Restoring a Production Instance from Backup. Related Links Create a case on Now Support