---
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id: cbfb15f4ab307bd9cab74417967738501c0494006ae90548f6c5bd60dafc5bd6
title: How Account Assignment Rules Work
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/sales/264-0-0/tm2_how_assignment_rules_work.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sales.tm2_how_assignment_rules_work.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: af07a8541b3352b3fb974aec76e3e312edbad1d65ef1d5719b6e9fcf586a43e8
description: Before you create and use account assignment rules, make sure that you review how they work.
products:
  - Sales Cloud
release: "264"
---
# How Account Assignment Rules Work

Before you create and use account assignment rules, make sure that you review how they work.

### 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: Salesforce Classic for some features and Lightning Experience for all features</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: <strong>Performance</strong> and <strong>Developer</strong> Editions and in <strong>Enterprise</strong> and <strong>Unlimited</strong> Editions with Sales</td></tr></tbody></table>

- A territory can have inherited account assignment rules, meaning that the rules were created somewhere higher in the territory hierarchy and also impact the given territory.
- A territory can have locally defined account assignment rules, meaning that the rule was associated at the given territory.
- If a territory doesn't have any inherited or locally defined account assignment rules, then it only contains accounts that were associated manually.
- If an account matches all inherited and locally defined account assignment rules for multiple territories on the same branch of the hierarchy, the account is assigned to the lowest matching territory.
- If a territory has multiple locally defined account assignment rules, an account is assigned to the territory only if it matches all locally defined account assignment rules on the territory.
- When referring to picklist values in your account assignment rules, specify the API name instead of its corresponding value. That way, your account assignment rules reflect any updates to picklist values. For example, you refer to the picklist API name Agriculture\_Sales. You change its corresponding value from Agriculture Sales to Agriculture. Account assignment rules now reflect Agriculture.

![Example](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sales-sales_core-264-0-0-production-enus/3c339c40-ca6c-49ba-9c6e-684be7a55f80/images/icon_example.png)

Example

- Territory A has four rules marked “Apply to child territories“ and is a parent of territory B.
    - Territory B has three rules not marked “Apply to child territories” and is a parent of territory C.
        - Territory C has two rules.

If you assign an account that matches all of territory A’s and territory C’s rules but only one of territory B’s rules, the account is assigned to territory C. However, if territory B’s rules are marked ‘Apply to child territories,” the account is assigned only to territory A.