---
schema_version: "1"
id: 209d8da0fa1ca8105f60bc86d431d3ae421e7435fd8acdb161f5ebdbf6211fd5
title: Create a Custom Picklist Field
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/fields_creating_picklists.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.fields_creating_picklists.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 6615180b228fc51b5dc2b758dde7960dc10c683286f0b098a3542532c71bd488
description: Create custom picklist fields to let your users select values from lists that you define.
products:
- Salesforce Platform
- Security
release: "264"
---
# Create a Custom Picklist Field
Create custom picklist fields to let your users select values from lists that you define.
### Required Editions
Available in: Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience
Available in: all editions
User Permissions
Needed
To create or change custom fields:
Customize Application
Watch a Demo: [ Custom Fields: Picklists](https://salesforce.vidyard.com/watch/UUfBJ9twAakucyPM6E89UA)
You can create these types of picklist fields:
- Local picklist—Lets users select a single value from a list that you define. This picklist is unique and had its own set of values.
- Shared picklist—Lets users select a single value from a global picklist value set that you define in Setup. All custom picklist fields that use a global value set inherit its values and can’t have additional values.
- Multi-select picklist—Allows users to select more than one picklist value from a list that you define. These fields display each value separated by a semicolon.
You can’t add a multi-select picklist, rich text area, or dependent picklist custom field to opportunity splits.
Tip Instead of completing this task manually, get help from Setup with Agentforce. For example, tell the Setup agent, “Add a picklist on Contact called Customer Status with values New, Active, Inactive.” For more information, see [Data Model Management in Setup with Agentforce](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.setup_agentforce_data_model.htm&language=en_US).
1. Go to the fields area of the object you want to create a picklist field for.
2. In the custom fields related list, click **New**.
3. Select **Picklist** or **Picklist (Multi-Select)**, and then click **Next**.
4. Enter a label for the picklist field.
5. To use the values from an existing global picklist, select **Use global picklist value set**. To use values that you create specifically for this picklist, select **Enter values for the picklist, with each value separated by a new line.**
6. If you didn’t use a global picklist value set, enter picklist values.
Put each value on a separate line. Values can be up to 255 characters long.
7. Optionally, sort the values alphabetically or use the first value in the list as the default value, or both.
If you select both options, Salesforce alphabetizes the entries and then sets the first alphabetized value as the default.
Note Don’t assign default values to fields that are both required and unique, because uniqueness errors can result. See [Default Field Values](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.fields_about_default_field_values.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Prepopulate field values with defaults to save your users time and improve consistency. Default field values make your users more productive by reducing the number of fields they must fill in manually.").
You can use a formula to assign a default value dynamically. For example, you can assign a value based on the current user. The following formula sets an Opportunity priority to High for all users in the Fast Response Sales profile. Other users see the default listed in the Values set.
`IF($Profile.Name = "Fast Response Sales", "High", "")`
For picklists, a valid formula result is either a constant or the API name of an entry in the Values list. The formula result has higher precedence than the default assigned in the Values list. If the formula doesn’t generate a valid result, the default assigned in the Values list is entered in the field. If a default isn’t assigned to the Values list, no value is entered in the picklist field.
8. Choose whether to restrict this picklist’s values to an admin-approved list. Selecting **Restrict picklist to the values defined in the value set** prevents users from loading unapproved values through the API. When you set a picklist to be unrestricted, users can't enter new values through the user interface, but they can add new values via the API, automation, or other apps.
9. If you’re creating a multi-select picklist, enter how many values you want displayed at a time on edit pages. The number of values determines the box height.
10. Enter a description or help text if desired, and then click **Next**.
11. Set field-level security for the picklist field, and then click **Next**.
12. Select the Dynamic Forms-enabled Lightning record pages that should include the field, then click **Next**.
If you don’t have any Dynamic Forms-enabled Lightning record pages for the object, this step doesn’t appear.
13. Choose the page layouts on which to include the picklist field.
14. Save your changes.
#### See Also
- [Create a Custom Field](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.adding_fields.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Capture your unique business data by storing it in custom fields. When you create a custom field, you configure where you want it to appear and optionally control security at the field level.")
- [Add or Edit Picklist Values](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.updating_picklists.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Add new values or rename existing values in a custom picklist from the fields area of an object. If the picklist uses a global picklist value set, you can change its values only by editing the global value set. Your changes affect all picklists that inherit their values from that global value set.")
- [Create a Global Picklist Value Set](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.fields_creating_global_picklists.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Use a global picklist value set to share values across objects and custom picklist fields, and to restrict the picklists to only the values that you specify.")
- [Make Your Custom Picklist Field Values Global](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.fields_promote_picklists.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "When you create a custom picklist, it’s only available to the current object. To share the values with other objects, promote the picklist to a global value set. The original custom picklist references the global value set for its values, and the global value set is also available to other custom picklists.")