Issue could not be assigned error in Jira Service Management Cloud

Summary

When attempting to assign tickets to an agent in Jira Service Management, users may encounter the error message 'Issue could not be updated.'

Diagnosis

Cause

The "Issue could not be updated / user cannot be assigned issues" error means the target agent is missing something.

To be assigned issues, an agent needs a Jira Service Management license plus the Assignable User and Service Project Agent permissions; to assign to others, they also need the Assign Issues permission.

Solution

Check for a Jira Service Management license

1. Go to Settings > User management

2. Select a user on the Users page

3. Under Groups, confirm the user has a Jira Service Management License

Check for Permissions in the service project

1. Navigate to the affected space

2. Go to Space Settings > Permissions

3. Ensure the affected user has the Assign Issue and Assignable User permissions

   1. If not, select Actions > Edit permissions

   2. For both permissions, select the Update link

   3. In the Update permission dialog, choose who to grant the permission to and select Update

After granting the license/permissions, retry assigning a ticket to the agent to confirm the error is cleared.

Related documentation

• View team member licenses

• Manage project permission

• Permissions for company-managed projects