External user details are being provisioned from Azure to the ServiceNow user table but Manager field is not fetching

Run Provision on demand for one affected user and inspect the imported and exported values separately; this will show whether extensionAttribute10 and manager are absent in the Entra guest object, omitted by the mapping, or rejected by ServiceNow.

An Application Owner/Application Administrator is required for on-demand provisioning and attribute mappings, along with appropriate ServiceNow administrative access to inspect or add reference-table entries.^1^

1. Identify where each value disappears

1. Open Microsoft Entra admin center → Entra ID → Enterprise apps → ServiceNow → Provisioning → Provision on demand.
2. Select one affected external user and choose Provision.
3. Expand View details:
   • Under Import user, check whether the manager source attribute and extensionAttribute10 have values.
   • Under Perform action, check whether the corresponding ServiceNow target attributes appear and what values were exported.

The import details show what the provisioning service read from the Entra user object. The final action shows what it attempted to export to ServiceNow. Null source attributes aren't provisioned.^1^ ^2^

Also open ServiceNow enterprise application → Provisioning logs, select the event for that user, and inspect Modified properties and any error code. All provisioning activity is recorded there.^3^

2. Correct the location mapping and reference value

Go to Enterprise apps → ServiceNow → Provisioning → Attribute Mapping → users, then edit the location mapping:

• Mapping type: Direct
• Source attribute: extensionAttribute10 (or its actual exposed source name)
• Target attribute: the ServiceNow location field
• Apply this mapping: Always

Select Save, then rerun Provision on demand for the test user. Attribute mappings control which Entra values are sent during create and update operations; Always applies the mapping to both.^4^

Then apply the result-specific fix:

• If extensionAttribute10 is absent under Import user: populate that attribute on the external user object in the resource tenant. A value existing only in the guest’s home tenant is not enough—the provisioning service must retrieve it from the Entra object used as its source.
• If it is imported and exported but ServiceNow rejects or ignores it: verify that the exported text exactly matches an existing record in ServiceNow’s location reference table.
• If there is no exact match: either add the missing location to the ServiceNow location reference table or change extensionAttribute10 in Entra to exactly match an existing ServiceNow location. Then rerun Provision on demand.

ServiceNow location values must already exist in its reference table; mismatches can produce InvalidLookupReference.^5^

If the extension is missing from the source-attribute list, open Advanced Options on the attribute-mapping page and add it manually. Microsoft documents that schema extensions can sometimes be absent from the dropdown.^2^

3. Resolve the manager separately

manager is a reference attribute, not ordinary text. Entra first provisions or matches users and then performs further target updates to link referenced objects such as Manager.^6^

For the same test user:

1. Confirm that Import user contains a manager reference.
2. Confirm that the manager is also in provisioning scope and has been successfully created or matched in ServiceNow.
3. In Attribute Mapping → users, verify that the manager source maps to the ServiceNow manager target and applies on updates.
4. Select Save, then provision the manager first if necessary.
5. Rerun Provision on demand for the subordinate and inspect the final exported attributes.

If the manager is absent at the import stage, mapping changes cannot create that relationship; the external user object in the resource tenant must first contain a manager value. If it is exported but the link still fails, use the provisioning-log error and ServiceNow SOAP/debug records to determine whether ServiceNow matched the referenced manager record.

Avoid resetting the entire provisioning job merely to force these updates. Incremental provisioning updates matched users, and on-demand provisioning provides the safer per-user validation path.^6^

References

1. On-demand provisioning in Microsoft Entra ID (app-provisioning)
2. Known issues for provisioning in Microsoft Entra ID (app-provisioning)
3. Tutorial: Reporting on automatic user account provisioning
4. Tutorial - Customize user provisioning attribute-mappings for SaaS applications in Microsoft Entra ID
5. Configure ServiceNow for automatic user provisioning with Microsoft Entra ID
6. How Application Provisioning works in Microsoft Entra ID