Error 'FIELD_FILTER_VALIDATION_EXCEPTION' for Email-to-Case with Account Name lookup filter

When Email-to-Case cannot match an incoming email to a contact or account that satisfies a lookup filter, the case creation fails with a FIELD_FILTER_VALIDATION_EXCEPTION error. The fix is to modify the lookup filter logic to exclude the Automated Case User, allowing Email-to-Case to continue creating cases without triggering the filter validation.

When Email-to-Case matches an email to a Contact, it is expected behavior for the new case to be populated with a matching contact and their related account record.

When lookup filters have been created and applied to the Case object's standard Contact or Account Name lookup fields, and the matching or related Account or Contact records do not match the filter criteria, the case will not be created in Salesforce.

How to Modify the Lookup Filter to Exclude the Automated Case User

To allow new cases to be created from Email-to-Case, adjust the lookup filter criteria to exclude the Automated Case User specified in Support Settings.

Keep your existing lookup filter criteria, then add the following additional filters. Substitute <Automated Case User's Id> with the actual Salesforce record ID of your Automated Case User. To find this ID, see Find the Salesforce ID for a User or Profile.

Filter Criteria

1. Your current lookup field's criteria.

2. Current User: User ID not equal to Value <Automated Case User's Id>

3. Current User: User ID equals Value <Automated Case User's Id>

Filter Logic

(1 AND 2) OR 3

Note: If your current lookup filter has more than one criterion, adjust the filter logic accordingly. For example, if the lookup filter already has three existing filters, the filter logic should be:

(1 AND 2 AND 3 AND 4) OR 5

The added filters and logic allow the Automated Case User (or the user with the specified ID) to create or edit cases without enforcing the lookup filter. The lookup filter continues to apply to all other users. Administrators can also exclude users based on other criteria, such as profiles. See the Profiles in Lookup Filters section of the Lookup Filter Examples documentation for additional examples.

Considerations

• If the Automated Case User is changed in Support Settings, update the lookup filters with the new user's ID.

• The lookup filter conditions are not applied for the specified user when creating or editing cases in Salesforce. However, the lookup filter conditions continue to apply for all other users.