---
schema_version: "1"
id: b94ad2a570ad662713e92f7b108c95f9836a4704e96fe628e795db5b93ba0953
title: Read-Only Field Restrictions for Flow Record Processing
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/flow_considerations_readonlyfields.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_considerations_readonlyfields.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: e8d95c381a7768c5d62939fddacd30ff12295b036ed27b4f20d406f3242b5cca
description: Fields the running user can't edit are inaccessible to the flow during record creation and updates. This happens when the user lacks field-level permissions or when the field is a system field.
products:
  - Flow Builder
  - Salesforce Platform
release: "264"
---
# Read-Only Field Restrictions for Flow Record Processing

Fields the running user can't edit are inaccessible to the flow during record creation and updates. This happens when the user lacks field-level permissions or when the field is a system field.

### 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;"><a href="https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_ref_supported_editions.htm&amp;release=264.0.0&amp;type=5" title="Learn about the editions and user interfaces that support Flow Builder. Some Flow Builder features integrate with other Salesforce products that require additional licenses.">View supported editions.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

To determine which fields are system fields, see the Object Reference for Salesforce and Lightning Platform. To determine which other fields aren’t editable, review the running user’s permissions.

How Did Read-Only Fields Get in My Record Variable?

 
| If the Variable Is Populated by ... | The Variable Includes ... |
| --- | --- |
| A Get Records element, where the field values are stored together | Id and any other read-only fields that you choose to include. |
| An Assignment or Get Records element, where field values are stored in separate variables | Any read-only fields that you choose to include. |
| A process, workflow rule, or Start element | All the object’s system fields and any fields that the running user doesn’t have permission to edit. The variable includes every field for the object by default. |

What Do I Do When My Record Variable Includes Read-Only Fields?

For each read-only field that’s stored in your record variable:

- Determine whether the flow uses that field anywhere. If it doesn’t, update the flow so that it doesn’t store a value for that field. This suggestion applies only if an element in the flow, such as Get Records, populates the variable.
    
    For example, a Get Records element stores CreatedByDate, but no other elements reference that field. You update the Get Records element so that it’s no longer storing CreatedByDate.
- If the read-only field is referenced in the flow, give the running users the permissions needed for the flow to run its operations.
- If you can’t give the running users the needed permissions for a field, update the flow so that it doesn’t try to update that field.

Here's an example: Using an Update Records element, a flow updates several fields on an account. While your users can edit Description and Account Rating, they can’t edit Owner ID or LastModifiedDate. To prevent the flow from failing at run time:

- Give your users “Edit” permission for Owner ID.
- Copy only the writable field values (Description, Account Rating, and Owner ID) from the original record variable into a new record variable. Reference the new record variable in the Update Records element.
    
    Copying only the writable field values ensures that the flow doesn’t try to set a value for LastModifiedDate at run time.

#### See Also

- [Fix Read-Only Field Errors in Flow](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_considerations_readonlyfields_fix.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Troubleshoot flows that try to update fields that the running user doesn't have edit permissions for.")
- [Control What Happens When a Flow Tries to Set Values for Read-Only Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_considerations_readonlyfields_behavior.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "When a flow tries to perform an action, such as create or update records, it uses a flow request to set values for specific fields. But what happens if the running user doesn’t have edit access to all those fields? When you use a record variable or record collection variable in Create Records and Update Records elements, that’s up to you. To control the behavior, select or deselect the Filter inaccessible fields from flow requests preference.")
- [_Object Reference for Salesforce and Lightning Platform_ : System Fields](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/system_fields.htm)