Introducing the locking option for CRM records

Introducing the locking option for CRM records

Last modified on 06/04/2023: Record locking option in CRM is now available for all Zoho CRM users in all DCs. Note that it was an early access feature available only upon request. 

Hello All,

Hope you're doing well!

We're thrilled to introduce our latest enhancement to CRM—record locking. 

Certain business scenarios demand that records in your organization's modules be safe from editing or deletion once they reach a certain stage in your sales process or satisfy specific conditions.

For example, if a deal has reached the final stage—"closed won" or "closed lost"—then perhaps it shouldn't be further edited or deleted.

Alternatively, let's say a record is in its proposal or review stage. During such a stage, the details of the record need to be verified, and even though a sales rep may be the record's owner, you can't allow them to update the record while the review is ongoing.

There might also be situations where the record doesn't match certain criteria, but the user dealing with the record might want to lock the record to avoid changes. For example, when a sales rep is in touch with a prospect, they may want to temporarily lock the record while prospecting is in progress to prevent other reps from adding incorrect information to the record.

Zoho CRM's record-locking feature enables you to lock records manually or automatically when certain conditions are met.

NOTE (added on 02/03/23): The locking configuration must be set up separately for each module. You can navigate to the specific module in Modules and Fields under Customization in your setup page, and you will find the Record Locking Configuration tab.

Record locking configurations
Now that we've established why locking records can be useful or necessary, let's take a quick look at the different configuration options available:

  • Users can lock records manually from the record details page if they have lock permissions.


  • You can set up automatic locking by setting some default criteria. Create conditions, name them, and decide whether to apply the conditions and lock existing records, or to restrict the conditions only for newly created records.

  • There might be scenarios where, say, you want members of the accounts team to be able to edit quotes, but not other profiles. You can simply lock the records for all profiles except those belonging to members of the accounts team, any other set of exceptions using the multi-select menu. Additionally, you can also choose to lock records for all profiles.

  • You can lock the records that are accessible to your portal users.
  • For locked records, the edit action is disabled by default, but you can restrict other types of native actions, as well as custom buttons.

  • Even when a record is locked, you can configure certain fields which don't affect your business process to remain editable. For example, you might want the Description or comment fields to remain editable. You can leave a maximum of 15 fields unlocked. 

What happens when a record is locked?

Once a record is locked, you will see the lock icon on the record image and in the UI of the record detail page itself. Only fields you've enabled will be available to edit.



The details of the locking, such as the reason (i.e., the locking condition), locking date, and the fields available for edit will be shown on the details button available on the record detail page.

In the record's timeline, you can also see timestamped details like when the record was locked and the condition that was followed.

On the record list view, locked records are indicated by a lock icon.

Additionally, you can filter records in the list view based on the pre-defined filter option, as well as based on the system-defined custom view.

Who can unlock records and how is it done?

If a user locks a record manually, they can unlock it themselves. Admins can unlock records, too. On the other hand, automatically locked records will be unlocked only when they're no longer subject to the lock conditions or criteria.

However, deleting a rule or locking configuration will automatically unlock all records the rule or condition had previously locked.

Additional notes
  • Set up to five rules per module. Each rule will have a name that is displayed on the record detail page when a record is locked.
  • System actions like automation and integration syncs will still be performed on locked records, even when a user who is excluded from locking triggers those processes.
  • Locked records are still displayed in list views. However, bulk actions done from list views are not allowed if the respective action is restricted under the record locking configuration.
  • Record locking configuration is available for enterprise and ultimate editions of Zoho CRM. If an user downgrades from enterprise edition, locking configurations will be ineffective and all records will be unlocked.
Locked status can not be regained upon upgrading back.

That's all for this exciting new enhancement. Read more about the record locking configurations and its usage in our help doc.

Thanks and have a good one!


Note: 
  • Manual locking/unlocking of records is not available for the mobile app as yet. 
  • Auto-locking of records will get reflected on the mobile app, and locked records cannot be updated from mobile app also.
  • The locking configuration must be set up separately for each module.





        • Recent Topics

        • ZeptoMail is now Zoho CPaaS!

          ZeptoMail has a new name and it’s expanding beyond email. With ZeptoMail, our focus was simple : help developers and businesses with reliable transactional emails. At the time, email handled a big part of those customer moments. But transactional communication

        • Button Display Conditions

          Hi Guys, Is it at all possible to have extra button conditions? Context: We have data in our deals module which has a custom button which converts the deal into contacts + set up relationships between them. At the end of the conversion we set a field

        • WhatsApp Business Message Pricing Update: Effective October 1, 2026

          Hi everyone, Starting October 1, 2026, Meta is updating how WhatsApp Business messages are charged. This guide explains the new per-message pricing model, how message categories work, and what changes for service messages specifically. How Meta charges

        • Cannot login to Zoho Mail on Mobile App

          Hi, I am the super administrator for our company's email account. I just created 4 new email accounts, and my users have downloaded the zoho mail app. However they are unable to login to their email on the app. It kept saying "User does not exist". Please help! Thank you.

        • Zoho Projects - Linking CRM Deals to Projects via API without sending customer contact email invitation to project portal

          We are using the Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects APIs to automatically create a project in Zoho Projects and then associate that project with the relevant Deal in Zoho CRM. The API process is working in that the project is created successfully and appears

        • In ZOHO Books, it appears that there is a maximum of 200 Shipping addresses.

          I am using ZOHO Books and what you call a shipping address, we use as a Service address. I have a couple of customers that have Many Many service addresses, I am starting to get an error saying too many shipping addresses. Additionally, is there a way

        • Notice to Zoho Community Members: Updated Zoho Community Guidelines

          Hello everyone, We have updated the Zoho Community Guidelines to keep the exchanges original, relevant, and meaningful. The major focus of this update is on AI use, and on sharing apps, extensions or other software in the community. This community works

        • How to add a fee based on payment method

          I currently accept both ACH payments and credit card. I want to add a 3% fee to a number of my subscription plans if the customer chooses to use a credit card (and not ACH/checking). How do I do this? Is there an in-built feature, or would i have to create

        • How to charge Convenience fee OR payment gateway charges to the end client who is paying the invoice?

          Hello, I am creating this topic after having discussions with various sets of users and have understood that with people moving more and more to digital payments, it is important for the client to enable the "Convenience fee" kind of scenario. I have

        • Can't copy and paste from email in Zoho email client

          I don't know what happened, but I have lost the ability to cut and paste information from an email.

        • Hide Inactive Social Sign-In Providers from Login Screen

          Hello Zoho Team, We hope you are doing well. Currently, Zoho One allows admins to configure security policies and enable or disable Social Sign-In options for third-party providers such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook,

        • How does Zoho handle the daylight savings time change in Alberta?

          Alberta has just made the decision to get rid of daylight savings. This means that as of November 1, 2026 we remain on UTC-6 year-round. We have timing errors in meetings scheduled after that For example, we scheduled meetings in late November at 9:00

        • Shared Mailbox in iOS app

          Hi, On the desktop I am using a Shared mailbox for our company's general mailbox that somebody else should be able to view. In the iOS app however I can't find it? Old sources on the internet says this isn't possible but that can't be right? Somebody

        • Issues with Zoho Insights and email template web links

          Is anyone else out there having the same issue we're experiencing? When we send out an email template, Zoho insights is converting the URLs from the URL we insert in to the template in to one of the form https://mailer1.zohoinsights.com/ocgeturl/2d6f.327230a?l=0ed7f050-5b31-11eb-a1a...

        • UCP: Why We Killed the Multi-Portal Mess and Simplified Customer Self-Service

          Let's talk about the multi-portal mess nobody wants to admit that it exists. Your customer needs an invoice from one app, wants a ticket update from another, and has a project waiting in a third, each behind its own login, its own UI, its own "was it

        • Object-level edit permissions

          Hi, we are currently running into a limitation with permissions inside larger workspaces. Our use case is a central Analytics workspace that contains many tables, Query Tables, reports and dashboards used by different teams. We would like to allow certain

        • inventory removal at packing list or shipment.

          currently our system is set to remove inventory at invoice. This is creating an inventory nightmare? Is it possible to change the settings to remove the item from inventory at either the packing slip stage or shipping the item.

        • Item description is not displayed

          I added the item description while importing the new item through the bulk item Excel sheet, and the import was completed successfully. However, I cannot see the description in the item details under Inventory. Could anyone please advise how to make the

        • Shared inbox unable to see replies

          Hi we are a small company me and someone else, we have a shared inbox for our sale@ and contact@ however we have this issue where by if i reply to an email or the other person reply to the email, it does not show it to them and therefore we end up replying

        • Record Payment - Auto Populate Amount as payments are selected

          When recording payments you have the option of clicking on "Pay in Full" next to the bill which automatically adds the total at the bottom of the page next to "Amount used for payments" but this should also auto populate / update the total at the top

        • Can't set conditional layout rule on lookup field in Zoho CRM

          Namaskaram Zoho CRM team, Usually any fields of module except mandatory fields can be hide using conditional layout rules. But that can't be set on lookup fields event that is not a mandatory fields. Many users are in need of that. Crafted with ❤️ Zoho

        • [Request] Pivot filter date option : from set date to relative value ie from 01Jan to LastMonth

          I don't think I can currently do this... but it's worth asking if it's possible. My use case is concerning annual leave which is calculated from the beginning of the calendar year (01Jan) then each month I want to have details of leave taken etc... In

        • Need to be able to apply layout rules to 'Multi Pick List'

          Currently, we are unable to apply layout rules to fields that are 'Multi Pick List'. This means we have to instead use checkbox fields, but they are inefficient. For example, we use the Multi Pick List to list our products. However, we're unable to apply

        • Announcing the new SKILL.md for Zoho CRM and the updated OAS repository!

          We are introducing a new zoho-crm skill to make working with Zoho CRM Developer tools (like APIs, functions, widgets, client scripts, queries etc) easier and faster, with the help of AI in your preferred AI harness like Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VSCode

        • My "trigger" panel disappear from my workflow ...

          Hello, I want to add a trigger to an email sequence, but the "trigger" panel has disappeared when I want to modify ...I used a predefined template to create this sequence, is that because of that? Thank you. I have attached a screenshot to you

        • Workflow Automation Not Triggering

          My Zoho CRM workflow sometimes doesn’t trigger when a record is updated, even though the workflow criteria appear to be met. What should I check to find out why the workflow is being skipped?

        • AI Calling

          Hi, does anyone have experience or any thoughts on AI Calling. Getting AI to make calls on behalf of your company. We are looking into it, but are finding it difficult to get info and providers that can assist.

        • Zoho Sheet as KB Document

          It would be nice if Zia Agents could take Zoho Sheets as part of the knowledge base. The use case here is that it's infinitely easier for humans to maintain a spreadsheet table than any .md / TAML / JSON document. For situations where humans are responsible

        • Ask the Experts: Five-hour live Q&A session with Zoho WorkDrive product experts

          Have questions about WorkDrive 5.0? Let’s talk! We recently launched Zoho WorkDrive 5.0, packed with powerful updates to help your team work smarter, stay secure, and get more value from your business content. From content-centric workflows and AI-powered

        • Automating CRM backup storage?

          Hi there, We've recently set up automatic backups for our Zoho CRM account. We were hoping that the backup functionality would not require any manual work on our end, but it seems that we are always required to download the backups ourselves, store them,

        • Zoho Community Digest - September 2026 | Part 3

          Hi everyone, and welcome back! Zoho CRM launches PRM for partner management, Bigin builds this year's Apple AI updates into the app, and Snapchat is now a connected channel in Zoho Social. There are also three notices worth reading, including WhatsApp

        • ERROR: This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

          I can add new user for mail, i received message error about; This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details Try creating user name; instagram@eficaztecnologia.com.br

        • Support for Custom Fonts in Zoho Recruit Career Site and Candidate Portal

          Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you're doing well. We would like to request the ability to use custom fonts in the Zoho Recruit Career Site and Candidate Portal. Currently only the default fonts (Roboto, Lato, and Montserrat) are available. While these

        • Ability to filter services and parts based on a field in the Work Order

          Hell FSM team, We have a customer with 2 value streams using Zoho FSM. Each value stream uses different products, at different price point. Currently, all of the products are accessible when creating a work order and modifying a service appointment, which

        • SubTotaks for Item Headers in Estimates

          Hi, Apparently, one can add Item Headers in Estimates in Zoho Books. Is this feature like an Estimate section with a SubTotals for each Item Header/Section? Or is the Item Header just a Title and cannot be SubTotalized? Thank You

        • Sync of products and orders between Zoho Inventory, Zoho Books and Shopify

          Good Day I migrated from QuickBooks to Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory at the beginning of this year. The migration team assisted with importing my data, but I am currently experiencing multiple issues affecting syncing between Shopify and Zoho. 1. SKU

        • Best practices for importing phone numbers

          I've recently found a problem with my phone provider, integrated with Zoho CRM, where a phone number that starts with 00 instead of + won't work. The problem has no solution: they tell me to replace all 00 with + I've always preferred using 00 instead

        • Copy + Paste in Notes: Text color and text background are not retained

          I've recently started using Zoho Notebook as an Evernote replacement. When copying and pasting text within Zoho Notes, I notice that the formatting of the text (text color and background color) is not retained when pasting. Only the attributes "Bold"

        • Add Comprehensive Accessibility Features to Zoho Writer

          Hello Zoho Writer Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to submit a feature request to enhance Zoho Writer with a full set of accessibility tools, similar to the accessibility options already available in the Zoho Desk agent interface. 🚧 Current

        • MAKING ENTRY TIME MORE USER FRIENDLY AND FASTER O PREVENT TAB TIME

          I AM CURIOUS TO KNOW IF WE CAN MAKE IT MORE USER FRIENDLY WHILE MAKING BILLS , I MAJORLY USE OVER DESKTOP SO I AM SUGGESTING TO REMOVE TAB TIME WHILE ENTERING BILL OR MAKING INVOICE DIRECT JUMP TO ONLY REGULAR PARTS OF THE BILL . YOURS RAKESH 782866

        • Next Page