---
schema_version: "1"
id: 7b4211e05e646bac96c796e38d8d5b9c9dda3387ea92db267c9ade980d2c69ef
title: Dependent Picklist Considerations
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/fields_dependent_field_considerations.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.fields_dependent_field_considerations.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 50c2255897dcb5a56d748f4ffb18a2d63b4c4f1fb784e408cfc550369aafd8fc
description: When defining dependent picklists, review these considerations.
products:
  - Salesforce Platform
  - Security
release: "264"
---
# Dependent Picklist Considerations

When defining dependent picklists, review these considerations.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition"><colgroup><col></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: <strong>All</strong> Editions</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small permission">
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            <th scope="colgroup" class="slds-cell-wrap" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:top;" id="d153683e64">User Permissions Needed</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
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            <td data-label="User Permissions Needed" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d153683e64 ">To define and edit dependent picklists:</td>

            <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d153683e64 ">Customize Application</td>

          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>

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          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Checkboxes</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Checkbox fields can be controlling fields but not dependent fields.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Connect Offline</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">While controlling fields and dependent picklists are available in Connect Offline, the
            logic between them isn’t.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Converting fields</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">When you convert existing fields to dependent picklists or controlling fields, it
            doesn’t affect the existing values in your records. After conversion, the dependency rules
            apply to new records and to any changes to existing records.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Default values</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">
            <ul>
              <li>You can prepopulate a record event with default values in dependent picklists.</li>

              <li>Default values on dependent picklists are available on accounts, opportunities,
                contacts, leads, and custom objects.</li>

              <li>If the Automated Account Field setting is enabled, you can’t prepopulate dependent
                picklists with default values.</li>

            </ul>
          </td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Dependency limitations</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">
            <ul>
              <li>Before defining a dependency, make sure that your picklist has at least one value.
                Standard fields such as Product Family don’t contain values until you add them.</li>

              <li>If a standard controlling field relies on functionality that you disable, then the
                dependency rules for the picklist no longer apply. For example, if you disable the
                Self-Service portal, and Closed by Self-Service User is a controlling field, its dependent
                picklist shows all available values.</li>

              <li>If you replace a parent value in a controlling picklist, the picklist dependency is
                lost. After replacing the parent value, re-create the dependency by using the new parent
                value.</li>

              <li>You can update the field dependency of a managed controller picklist field only
                from the UI and not by using the Metadata API.</li>

              <li>Picklist dependencies are created based on the API names of individual picklist
                values. If these API names are modified after the dependency is configured, the
                dependent field relationship doesn’t work as expected.</li>

            </ul>
          </td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Field-level security</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Field-level security settings for a controlling field and dependent picklist are
            independent. Remember to hide a controlling field whenever its correlating dependent picklist
            is hidden.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Import</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">The Data Import Wizard doesn’t consider field dependencies. You can import any value
            into a dependent picklist regardless of the value imported for a controlling field.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Lead conversion</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">
            <ul>
              <li>If you create a dependency for lead fields that map to account, contact, and opportunity
                fields for lead conversion, create the same dependency on the account, contact, or
                opportunity.</li>

              <li>You can map dependent picklists and controlling lead fields to account, contact, or
                opportunity fields with different dependency rules.</li>

            </ul>
          </td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Lightning pages</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Dynamic Forms-enabled Lightning pages that contain dependent picklists must also
            contain their controlling picklist fields, or the dependent picklist values don't
            appear.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Multi-select picklists</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Multi-select picklists can be dependent picklists but not controlling fields.</td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Page layouts</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">
            <ul>
              <li>Page layouts that contain dependent picklists must also contain their controlling
                picklist fields, or the dependent picklist values don't appear.</li>

              <li>Make sure that the dependent picklist is lower on the page layout than its controlling
                field.</li>

              <li>If a dependent picklist is required and no values are available for it based on the
                controlling field value, users can save the record without entering a value. The record is
                saved with no value for that field.</li>

            </ul>
          </td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Picklist limitations</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">
            <ul>
              <li>A controlling field can have up to 300 values. If a field is both a controlling field
                and dependent picklist, it can’t contain more than 300 values.</li>

              <li>No checks are performed for dependent fields when a controlling field is
                updated.</li>

              <li>These fields aren’t available as controlling fields.<ul>
                  <li>Activity Fields<ul>
                      <li>Call Type</li>
                      <li>Create recurring series of events</li>
                      <li>Show Time As</li>
                      <li>Subject</li>
                      <li>Task</li>
                      <li>Type</li>
                    </ul>
                  </li>
                  <li>Contact Fields<ul>
                      <li>Salutation</li>
                      <li>Contact Currency</li>
                    </ul>
                  </li>
                  <li>Custom Object Fields<ul>
                      <li>Currency</li>
                    </ul>
                  </li>
                  <li>Lead Fields<ul>
                      <li>Converted</li>
                      <li>Unread By Owner</li>
                    </ul>
                  </li>
                </ul>
              </li>

            </ul>
          </td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Record types</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">You can define or change the record type for your dependent picklist only within the
            Preview dialog when creating or editing the field dependency values. <span id="fields_dependent_field_considerations__dependent_picklist_record_type_function"><a name="fields_dependent_field_considerations__dependent_picklist_record_type_function"><!-- --></a>The record type controls what values are
              available in the controlling field. The record type and the controlling field together
              determine what values are available in the dependent picklist. For example, a dependent
              value is only available if it’s available in the selected record type and the selected
              controlling value.</span></td>

        </tr>
        <tr class="">
          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Standard versus custom picklists</td>

          <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">
            <ul>
              <li>Custom picklist fields can be either controlling or dependent fields.</li>

              <li>Standard picklist fields can be controlling fields but not dependent fields.</li>

            </ul>
          </td>

        </tr>
      </tbody>
    </table>