How to Customize and Manage Ticket Statuses in BoldDesk

Ticket statuses show the current progress of support requests and help agents organize tickets throughout their lifecycle. BoldDesk includes default system statuses and allows you to create custom statuses for additional workflow stages.

Each status belongs to a fixed status category that controls the SLA timer. You can edit status labels, configure end-user reply behaviour, reorder statuses, and delete custom statuses. However, default system statuses and status categories cannot be deleted.

This article explains how ticket status categories work and how to create, edit, reorder, and delete ticket statuses.

Prerequisites

Before managing ticket statuses, ensure that:

Your assigned role includes the Manage fields and forms permission.
You understand the SLA behaviour required for the status.
You have identified how end-user replies should affect tickets in the status.
You have reviewed any automations, SLAs, reports, views, or integrations that use the status.

Understand Ticket Status Categories

Every ticket status belongs to one of the following system-defined categories:

Status Category	SLA Timer State
Pending	On
Hold	Paused
Closed	Off

The status categories are fixed and cannot be deleted, renamed, or replaced. You also cannot change the SLA timer behaviour associated with a category.

For example:

A status in the Pending category keeps the SLA timer active.
A status in the Hold category pauses the SLA timer.
A status in the Closed category stops the SLA timer.

You can customise statuses within the supported categories, but you cannot customise the categories or their SLA timer behaviour.
The default system ticket statuses, including Resolved and Closed, cannot be removed from BoldDesk. If your organisation prefers to use Closed as the final ticket status, you can configure internal workflows and agent processes accordingly and avoid using the Resolved status during ticket handling. Alternatively, the Resolved status can be renamed in both the Agent Portal and Customer Portal to a more meaningful status such as Awaiting Confirmation, Solution Provided, or Pending Closure to better align with your business workflow while retaining the built-in system status.

Watch the following video for an overview of ticket status customisation:

Understand the Default System Statuses

BoldDesk includes the following default system statuses:

Status	Status Category	SLA Timer	Description
New	Pending	On	Indicates that a new ticket has been created. After an agent or group is assigned, the ticket cannot be changed back to New.
Open	Pending	On	Indicates that the ticket requires active handling. A ticket may move from New to Open after an agent responds. An end-user reply may also move a ticket to Open, depending on the configured reply behaviour.
On Hold	Hold	Paused	Indicates that ticket handling is temporarily paused. The SLA timer is paused while the ticket remains in this status.
Waiting for Customer	Hold	Paused	Indicates that the support team is waiting for information or action from the requester. The SLA timer is paused while the ticket remains in this status.
Solved	Closed	Off	Indicates that an agent has provided a solution. The SLA timer is stopped while the ticket remains in this status.
Closed	Closed	Off	Indicates that ticket handling is complete. The result of an end-user reply depends on the configured On End User Reply behaviour.

The default system statuses (New, Open, On Hold, Waiting for Customer, Solved, and Closed) are built-in statuses and cannot be deleted. While you can modify supported labels and settings for these statuses, their underlying system status and category remain unchanged. Only custom statuses can be deleted.

Configure End-User Reply Behaviour for a Closed Ticket

Use the On End User Reply setting to control what happens when an end user replies to a ticket in the Closed status.

Option	Behaviour	Result	Recommended Use Case
Automatically Change the Ticket Status to Open	Reopens the original ticket when an end user replies.	Ticket status changes to Open. Reply is added to the original ticket. Agents continue working on the same ticket.	Use when customer replies should continue the existing conversation within the original ticket.
Create a New Follow-Up Ticket	Keeps the original ticket closed and creates a new ticket for the reply.	End users cannot update the closed ticket through the Customer Portal. Email replies create a new follow-up ticket. Original ticket remains Closed. Multiple follow-up tickets may be created if multiple separate replies are received.	Use when new replies should be treated as separate requests while preserving the original ticket history.
Do Not Perform Any Action on the Ticket State	Does not change the ticket status when an end user replies.	Replies can be added through email or the Customer Portal. The ticket remains in its current status.	Use when automations, workflows, or custom rules should determine the ticket’s next status.

If an automation or workflow is expected to determine the resulting status of a closed ticket, select Do Not Perform Any Action on the Ticket State. Otherwise, the built-in behaviour may automatically reopen the ticket or create a follow-up ticket before the automation is applied.

Create a Ticket with a Closed Status

You can make the Status field available in the Agent Portal ticket-creation form. This allows agents to create a ticket directly with an applicable Closed-category status. Explore How to Create a Ticket with Closed Status in BoldDesk

Status field visible in the ticket creation.gif

Create a Custom Ticket Status

Create a custom status when the default statuses do not fully represent your ticket-handling process. Custom statuses can be created under the following categories:

Pending
Hold

You cannot create a new custom status directly under the Closed category.

Create a Pending or Hold Status

To create a custom status:

Go to Admin > Fields & Forms > Ticket Fields.
Open the Status field.
Click Create Status.
Configure the required settings.
Click Create.

Configure the Custom Status Settings

Configure the following settings:

Setting	Description
Label for Agent	Specifies the status name displayed to agents in the Agent Portal.
Label for End User	Specifies the status name displayed to end users in the Customer Portal.
Status Category	Determines whether the status belongs to the Pending or Hold category and controls the SLA timer.
On End User Reply	Determines whether an end-user reply automatically changes the ticket to Open, when the setting is available for the selected status.
Color	Specifies the color used to represent the status.

Custom statuses can be created only under the Pending and Hold categories. A custom status cannot be created directly under the Closed category.

Represent Another Workflow Under the Closed Category

BoldDesk does not support creating an additional custom status directly under the Closed category. Use one of the following approaches when another Closed-category label or workflow is required.

Rename Solved or Closed

Rename the agent-facing or end-user-facing label of the existing Solved or Closed status. For example, you can rename Closed to Cancelled.

To rename the status:

Go to Admin > Fields & Forms > Ticket Fields.
Open the Status field.
Locate Solved or Closed.
Click More options, and then select Edit.
Update Label for Agent or Label for End User.
Click Update.

Renaming Solved or Closed changes the displayed label only. The status remains in the Closed category, and its SLA timer remains off.

Use a Hold Status with an Automation Rule

Create a custom status under the Hold category and use an Update Ticket Trigger to move the ticket to Closed when the custom status is selected. For example:

Custom status: Cancelled
Status category: Hold

Configure the trigger as follows:

Event: Status changed
New status: Cancelled

Configure the action as:

Set Status: Closed

Use this approach only when the temporary Hold-category status and automatic transition meet your workflow requirements.

After the automation changes the ticket to Closed, the ticket no longer retains Cancelled as its current status. Use reporting, notes, tags, or another applicable field if the cancellation reason must remain available after closure.

Edit a Ticket Status

Edit a status to update its supported labels and settings. To edit a status:

Go to Admin > Fields & Forms > Ticket Fields.
Open the Status field.
Locate the required status.
Click More options, and then select Edit.
Update the applicable settings.
Click Update.

To change how the status appears:

Update Label for Agent to change the name displayed in the Agent Portal.
Update Label for End User to change the name displayed in the Customer Portal.

Changing a status label does not create a new status or change its category. Review automations, views, reports, integrations, and customer-facing content before renaming a status.

Reorder Ticket Statuses

To change the order in which statuses appear:

Go to Admin > Fields & Forms > Ticket Fields.
Open the Status field.
Drag the required status to the preferred position.
Confirm that the statuses appear in the required order.

Delete a Custom Ticket Status

You can delete a custom ticket status when it is no longer required. Default system statuses cannot be deleted. Before deleting a custom status, select another status from the same category for the tickets currently associated with it. To delete a custom status:

Go to Admin > Fields & Forms > Ticket Fields.
Open the Status field.
Locate the custom status you want to delete.
Click More options, and then select Delete.
Select another status from the same category for the affected tickets.
Confirm the deletion.

Only custom statuses can be deleted. During deletion, the replacement-status list displays statuses from the same category as the custom status being deleted.

Before deleting a custom status, review automations, SLA policies, views, reports, webhooks, macros, and integrations that reference it. Deleting the status does not automatically update every dependent configuration.

Permission Required to Manage Ticket Statuses

Agents must have the Manage fields and forms permission to create, edit, reorder, or delete ticket statuses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a default system status like New or Closed?
No. Default system statuses cannot be deleted. Only custom statuses can be deleted.
Can I create a custom status under the Closed category?
No. Custom statuses can be created only under Pending and Hold. BoldDesk does not support creating new custom statuses directly under Closed.
Does renaming Solved or Closed change SLA behavior?
No. Renaming changes only the displayed label. The status category remains Closed, and the SLA timer remains Off.
Can I change a status category from Pending to Hold (or Hold to Pending)?
The category is the SLA behavior controller. If a different category is required, create another custom status under the required supported category and update workflows to use it.
What happens to tickets when I delete a custom status?
During deletion, BoldDesk requires a replacement status from the same category. BoldDesk moves affected tickets to the selected replacement status.
What does “On End User Reply” do for Closed tickets?
It controls whether an end-user reply:
- Reopens the original ticket by moving it to Open
- Creates a new follow-up ticket
- Leaves the ticket status unchanged so rules/automation can decide next steps
How do I stop a closed ticket from reopening automatically on end-user reply?
For the Closed status, select Do Not Perform Any Action on the Ticket State under On End User Reply (then use automation/workflows if needed).
If I want a “Cancelled” closed-state label, what is the supported approach?
Use one of these supported options:
- Rename Closed to “Cancelled” (label-only change; still Closed category)
- Create a Hold custom status (for example “Cancelled”) and use automation to set status to Closed (note: the ticket will ultimately show Closed, not “Cancelled”)

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