---
title: Configure long pending jobs alert
description: Get notifications when jobs that are pending exceed your defined overdue thresholds by configuring the Long Pending Jobs alert. Set up conditions by job priority to take action on groups of jobs—such as all discovery jobs or system cleanup jobs—in one go, rather than managing them individually.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/impact/io-long-pending-jobs.html
release: australia
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
reading_time_minutes: 2
keywords: [long pending jobs]
breadcrumb: [Use alerts to monitor your instance, Monitor instance performance, Platform Health, Using Impact, Impact]
---

# Configure long pending jobs alert

Get notifications when jobs that are pending exceed your defined overdue thresholds by configuring the **Long Pending Jobs** alert. Set up conditions by job priority to take action on groups of jobs—such as all discovery jobs or system cleanup jobs—in one go, rather than managing them individually.

## Before you begin

Role required: admin

## Procedure

1.  Navigate to **Impact** > **Platform Health** > **Monitor** > **Go to Instance Observer**.

2.  Log in to Instance Observer and navigate to **Alerts** > **Configure Alerts**.

    For more information on how to configure alerts, see [Set notifications for configured key alerts](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/impact/configuring-io-alerts.md).

3.  In the **Search** field of the **All Alerts** tab that displays by default, enter `long pending jobs`.

4.  Select **Long Pending Jobs** card.

5.  Select **+ Add Condition** button to open the Create a Condition pop-up.

6.  Select **Long Pending Jobs** from the list in the **Conditions** field.

7.  In the **Snooze time** field, set a time period in minutes before a repeat alert is triggered.

    For example, a snooze time of 30 minutes means you won't receive a follow-up alert for the same condition until 30 minutes have passed.

8.  In the **Any job pending for more than** field, set your tolerance threshold in minutes.

    For example, enter `60` if you want to be alerted when any job has been pending for more than 60 minutes. Use the `+` and `−` controls to adjust the value.

9.  Select the job priority you want to monitor in the **Select a Priority** field.

    All jobs have a priority attribute assigned to them. Use this field to group and act on jobs by priority. For example, priority 110 for discovery jobs or priority 100 for test jobs.

10. Select **Save**.

    You're not limited to a single condition. Select **+ Add Condition** again to add conditions for additional priorities, each with its own threshold and snooze time.

    For example, you can configure:

    -   Priority 100 — alert if any job is pending for more than 5 minutes.
    -   Priority 110 — alert if any job is pending for more than 80 minutes, with a 30-minute snooze.
    \[Omitted image "io-alert-lp-job.png"\] Alt text: Configured alert for long pending jobs with Priority.

    All configured conditions work on an OR basis. A notification is triggered when any one or more conditions are met.

11. Select **Simulate** to preview how many alerts your configured conditions would have generated over the past 7 days.

    Use this option to validate your thresholds before going live with your alerts.

12. Select **Set Notification** button and in the Set Notification section, select your preferred notification rule.

    Notifications can be delivered via Email, SMS, ServiceNow \(webhook integration\), or Third Party \(external integrations\).

13. Select **Review & Create**.

14. Select **Create Alert**.

    The alert is active after you save. When a configured condition is met, you receive a notification that includes the job priority and the specific job names that breached the threshold. For example, Job X \(Priority 100\) has been pending for more than 100 minutes.


**Parent Topic:**[Use alerts to monitor your instance](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/impact/io-alerts-intro.md)