Which ServiceNow Roles Are Required to Impersonate a User?

CSA By islever Editorial Last updated

Short answer

CE impersonator admin

Question

Which role(s) are required to impersonate a user? (Choose two.)
  1. security_admin
  2. sys_admin
  3. impersonator Correct Answer
  4. sys_user
  5. admin Correct Answer

Key Takeaways

The question tests whether you know ServiceNow's real role names — the trap is selecting options that are not actual roles, like sys_admin and sys_user.

In ServiceNow, impersonating another user requires either the impersonator role or the admin role. The community overwhelmingly agrees on answers C and E, pointing out that sys_admin does not exist as a role and sys_user is a table, not a role.

Common mistake: Choosing B (sys_admin) and D (sys_user): sys_admin is not a real ServiceNow role (the full administrator role is simply called admin), and sys_user is the name of the Users table, not a role.

Expert Analysis

Why the Answer Is Correct

ServiceNow documentation states that to impersonate another user, a user must have either the impersonator role or the admin role. The impersonator role extends impersonation rights to non-administrators, while the admin role includes impersonation capability by default. Comment [2] confirms this split: "C - Impersonator so you can impersonate people if you are not admin and admin - if you are system administrator." Comment [4] adds that this pairing is "as per the book," and the 78-to-22 vote margin strongly supports CE.

Why the Other Options Are Wrong

Option B (sys_admin) is a trap because no such role exists in ServiceNow — the full administrator role is simply called admin, as comment [3] notes: "No sys_admin role in ServiceNow." Option D (sys_user) is the name of the Users table, not a role, a distinction comment [2] calls out explicitly. Option A (security_admin) governs elevated security administration tasks and is not required for impersonation; comment [4] explains that impersonation already works with the normal admin role.

Community Comment Notes

The community is decisively in favor of CE, with 78 votes versus 22 for BD. Comment [2] provides the most useful breakdown by debunking both distractors: sys_user is a table and sys_admin does not exist. Comment [3] independently reinforces that sys_admin is a fictional role, and comment [4] cites the official courseware while explaining why security_admin is unnecessary. The lone BD comment [7] offers no supporting rationale and conflicts with official documentation.

Official Reference

https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/utah-platform-administration/page/administer/users-and-groups/task/t_ImpersonateAUser.html

This link opens the official vendor documentation in a new tab.

Exam Strategy

On ServiceNow exams, verify that each role name actually exists in the platform before selecting it. Eliminate options like sys_admin (a fictional role) and sys_user (a table name), then pick the two roles the documentation explicitly grants impersonation rights to: impersonator and admin.

Community Votes

CE
78%
BD
22%

78% of anonymous learners picked answer CE. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.

Discussion 7 contributions

Compiled from public community threads and reader submissions, lightly edited for clarity. Handles and vote tallies are shown as recorded, and comments reflect the views of individual contributors.

From public community threads 7

  1. 02532a3 👍 3
    I see this as C and E as per current info.
  2. kristiyan_nikolov 👍 2
    sys_user is a table, there is no such thing as sys_admin in SNOW, the correct answers are C - Impersonator so you can impersonate people if you are not admin and admin - if you are system administrator and you can impersonate people as a sys admin.
  3. JuanSP 👍 2
    C and E. No sys_admin role in ServiceNow
  4. adyrip 👍 1
    CE - as per the book. A - you could impersonate a user with the security_admin role, but it is not required, you can do that with the normal admin.
  5. a375085 👍 2
    B and D is correct
Show 2 more comments
  1. Mayur444 👍 2
    CE are correct
  2. 9e0bd16 👍 2
    CE is for me

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