Custom fields allow you to capture important information in a consistent way across every Story, Task, or other work item in Jira. They’re especially useful for information you may want to sort, filter, search, or report on later.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create custom fields in Jira using a Company-managed project. I’ll also explain how I decided which information belonged in custom fields and which information was better kept in the Story description while building my Job Search Tracker.

Important: This page refers to fields that can be used in any space, and requires Jira administrator permission.

What You’ll Learn

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to:

  • Understand what custom fields are
  • Decide when a custom field makes sense
  • Learn the difference between structured and unstructured information
  • Create custom fields in Jira
  • Choose the appropriate field type
  • Add fields to a Field Scheme
  • Build reusable fields for future Stories

Common Uses

Custom fields can be used to consistently capture information such as:

  • Dates
  • Priorities
  • Status information
  • Categories
  • Budget or salary
  • Customer information
  • Project metadata
  • Application tracking
  • Team assignments
  • Custom business information

Requirements / Compatibility

  • Jira Cloud account
  • Company-managed space
  • Field Scheme already created (recommended)
  • Permission to create custom fields

Note: This tutorial uses the current Jira Cloud interface for Company-managed projects. Team-managed spaces use a different customization process.

Understanding How Jira Works

One of Jira’s greatest strengths is its flexibility. You can create custom fields for almost any type of information—but that doesn’t mean every piece of information should become a custom field.

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself one simple question: “Will I ever want to search, filter, sort, or report on this information?”

If the answer is yes, a custom field is probably a good choice.

If the answer is no, it’s often better to keep that information in the Story description, comments, or attachments.

For example, while building my Job Search Tracker, I separated my information into two groups.

Structured Information

Information I wanted to capture consistently across every job opportunity.

Examples:

  • Application Date
  • Employment Type
  • Follow-Up Due
  • Last Contact Date
  • Salary
  • Source
  • Work Type

These became custom fields because they can easily be filtered, sorted, or reported on later.

Unstructured Information

Information that is unique to each opportunity.

Examples:

  • Benefits
  • Company culture
  • Why I’m interested
  • Job description
  • Interview impressions
  • General notes

This type of information is better suited for the Story description because it doesn’t need to be standardized.

Choosing the right field type is equally important. Jira provides several different custom field types – including dates, numbers, checkboxes, text fields, and select lists – each designed to store information in a different way. Selecting the appropriate field type helps keep your data organized and makes it easier to work with throughout your project.

Tip: Think About Filtering Before Choosing a Field Type

Different custom field types support different filtering capabilities. If you know you’ll eventually want to search, filter, or build dashboards from a field, take a moment to verify that the field type supports those features before creating it.

You can filter by the following types of custom fields in your space:

  • Single select
  • Checkbox
  • Multi-select
  • Custom date
  • Formula

Step-by-Step Instructions

Note: These instructions are for spaces set up as Company Managed. For Team Managed spaces, please see: How to Create Custom Fields in Jira (Team Managed Spaces)

Step 1: Navigate to spaces management

  • When you’re logged into Jira:
    • Click on the settings icon on the top right of the page
    • Click on Work Items

Step 2: Navigate to fields management

From the work types management page:

  • Hover over the sidebar navigation icon on the top left (if the sidebar is not already open) and click on Fields

Step 3: Create a new field & add it to a field scheme

  • Click on Create New Field
  • Choose the field type:
    • Checkboxes* – choose multiple values using checkboxes
    • Date picker* – a custom field that stores dates and uses a date picker to view them
    • Date time picker – a custom field that stores dates with a time component
    • Labels – add arbitrary labels to issues
    • Number field – a custom field that stores and validates numeric (floating point) input as number, percentage, or currency
    • Paragraph – a multiline text field that can store longer lengths of text. Supports rich text like links to URLs and bold, italicized, underlined, and colored text (note: I would avoid this option for this job tracking project)
    • Radio buttons – a list of radio buttons
    • Select list (cascading) – choose multiple values using two select lists
    • Select list (multiple choices)* – choose multiple values in a select list
    • Select list (single choice)* – a single select list with a configurable list of options
    • Short text (plain text only) – a single line of plain text for shorter lengths of text.
    • URL Field – allows the user to input a single URL
  • Enter a name (e.g., Application Date, Employment Type, etc.,)
  • Add a description
  • Click Create

* filterable fields

Next you’ll have the option to add this new field to a field scheme. Field schemes allow for custom fields to show as options for stories.

  • If you have already created a field scheme for this custom field, select that field scheme (e.g., Job Search Story Field Scheme) and click add to 1 field scheme. It is optional, but not necessary to also add this to the default field scheme.
  • If you have not created a field scheme for this custom field, a field scheme can be created and added to the field at a later time from this fields management page.
  • The option to add a field scheme after creating a new field is available too, as shown in the screenshot below. See Jira – How to Show Custom Fields on Jira Stories (Create a Field Scheme) for step-by-step instructions.

Create all of the custom fields using this process. Custom fields can always be added, removed, or changed from the fields management page if needed.

A field scheme can be added at this point if needed. See Jira – How to Show Custom Fields on Jira Stories (Create a Field Scheme) for step-by-step instructions.

Below are the custom fields I created for reference:

NameTypeOptionsDescription
Application DateDate PickerThe date an application was submitted for this job.
Employment TypeSelect list (multiple choices)
Select list (single choice)
or
Checkboxes		Full-time
Part-time
Contract
other		Select the employment type: full-time, part-time, contract, other
Follow-Up DueDate PickerThe date of the next follow-up due for this job.
Last Contact DateDate PickerThe last contact date for this job (either sent or received).
SalaryNumber (currency)The salary for this job.
SourceShort textThe source of this job listing (e.g., LinkedIn, recruiter)
Work Type CheckboxesRemote
Hybrid
On-site		The type of work (e.g., Remote, Hybrid, On-site)

Example: Adding a Select List (multiple choices) Custom Field

A Select List (multiple choices) field allows users to select one or more options from a drop-down list. To create this custom field:

  • Field type: Select list (multiple choice)
  • Add the field name and description
  • Under Options, click on + Add option
    • Enter the first option text (e.g., Full-time)
    • To add additional options, click on + Add option and add options until all have been added
  • Click Create
  • Add it to the desired field scheme(s) (e.g., Job Search Story Field Scheme)

Example: Adding a Date Picker Custom Field

A Date Picker field allows users to select a date from a calendar. To create this custom field:

  • Field type: Date picker
  • Add the field name and description
  • Click Create
  • Add it to the desired field scheme(s) (e.g., Job Search Story Field Scheme)

Example: Adding a Number (Currency) Custom Field

A Number field allows for data to be stored as a number, percentage, or currency. To create this custom field:

  • Field type: Number field
  • Add the field name and description
  • Select the Format (I chose currency)
    • Select the currency type (I chose USD)
  • Click Create
  • Add it to the desired field scheme(s) (e.g., Job Search Story Field Scheme)

Example: Adding a Short Text Custom Field

A Short Text field allows for a single line of plain text. To create this custom field:

  • Field type: Short text (plain text only)
  • Add the field name and description
  • Click Create
  • Add it to the desired field scheme(s) (e.g., Job Search Story Field Scheme)

Example: Adding Checkboxes Custom Field

A Checkboxes field choose multiple values using checkboxes. To create this custom field:

  • Field type: Checkboxes
  • Add the field name and description
  • Under Options, click on + Add option
    • Enter the first option text (e.g., Remote)
    • To add additional options, click on + Add option and add options until all have been added
  • Click Create
  • Add it to the desired field scheme(s) (e.g., Job Search Story Field Scheme)

Adding Fields to a Field Scheme

If you missed adding any fields to your field scheme, it can be done from the fields management page:

  • Navigate to the fields management page (if not already there):
    • Click on the settings icon on the top right of the page
    • Click on Work Items
    • Hover over the sidebar navigation icon on the top left (if the sidebar is not already open) and click on Fields
  • Scroll through the list of field names or search for the field using the search box
  • When you’ve located the field, click on the 3 dots in the action column and select View field schemes
  • This will open a side menu showing field schemes using that field
  • Click on + Add field scheme
  • This will open a side menu displaying field schemes
  • Check the box next to the field scheme(s) you want to add the field to
  • Click on Add to field scheme

Additional Tips

Helpful Tip

Create your Field Scheme before creating custom fields. Jira allows you to add new fields directly to an existing Field Scheme during creation, making the setup process much smoother.

Common Mistake

Avoid creating custom fields for information that only needs to be recorded once or doesn’t need to be searched later.

General notes, observations, benefits, interview impressions, and job descriptions are usually better stored in the Story description instead of becoming separate fields.

Version Differences

This tutorial uses Jira Cloud with a Company-managed project. While Atlassian periodically updates the interface, the overall process for creating custom fields remains largely the same.

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