How to Take or Assign an RT Ticket Before Responding or Resolving
This guide explains how to make sure an RT ticket has a clear owner before any substantive response or resolution happens. The goal is simple: if you are going to work the ticket, take it; if someone else should work it, assign it to them first.
Assigning ownership before replying helps with workload tracking, accountability, and reporting. It also makes it clear who is actively responsible for next steps on the ticket.
When to Take vs. Assign
Use this rule of thumb before you send a reply, ask follow-up questions, or resolve the request.
Take the ticket if you are the person actively working it now.
Assign the ticket if another staff member should own the work.
Do not leave the ticket unowned if you are already doing substantive work on it.
A practical best practice is to have your assigned tickets reflect what you are currently working on or about to work on, rather than keeping large numbers of tickets unassigned indefinitely.
How to Take a Ticket
Follow these steps when you are the person who will work the request.
Open the ticket.
Locate the Owner field on the ticket display page.
Use the owner control to set the ticket to yourself. In many RT screens this appears as an option such as Take or as an editable owner field.
Save the change if RT does not save automatically.
Confirm that your name now appears as the owner.
Only after that, send your response, request more information, or continue processing the work.
Best practice: if you are asking clarifying questions, performing research, making updates, or preparing to complete the work, the ticket should already be owned by you.
How to Assign a Ticket to Someone Else
Follow these steps when another person should be responsible for the request.
Open the ticket.
Locate the Owner field.
Change the owner from Nobody or the current owner to the correct staff member.
Save the change if needed.
If helpful, add a short comment explaining why the ticket is being reassigned or what the next person should know.
After assignment, the new owner can review, respond, and resolve as appropriate.
If you are only routing the ticket and not working it yourself, assign it promptly and avoid sending a substantive reply as though you are the owner unless your team process specifically calls for that.
Before You Respond
Before replying to the requester, do a quick ownership check.
Before You Resolve
Before resolving a ticket, make sure the owner field reflects who completed or finalized the work.
If you completed the work, the ticket should normally be assigned to you before resolution.
If another person completed the work, assign it to that person before resolving, if that matches your team’s reporting practice.
Verify that any needed communication to the requester has been sent.
Then change the ticket status to resolved.