Preserving audit fields during restore in Salesforce

When restoring records into Salesforce, standard audit fields are typically set to the user performing the restore and the current date. However, Salesforce provides specific permissions that allow original audit values to be preserved during record creation. This article explains what is supported and what to expect.

What are audit fields?

Audit fields include:

• CreatedById
• CreatedDate
• LastModifiedById
• LastModifiedDate

By default, these fields are system controlled and not editable in the Salesforce UI.

Record owner (OwnerId)

The Record owner (OwnerId) is a standard field, not a system audit field.

By default:

• The owner must be an active user
• Additional permissions are required to assign records to inactive users

Required Salesforce permissions

To preserve original audit values during restore, the following settings must be enabled in Salesforce: 

1. User-level permissions

The authenticated user performing the restore must also have:

• Set audit fields upon record creation
• Update records with inactive owners

These can be assigned via Profile or Permission Set.

Note: Both org-level and user-level permissions are required. Without both, Salesforce will not allow audit field preservation.

What happens during restore?

Created fields

When permissions are properly enabled:

• CreatedById will be set to the original user
• CreatedDate will be set to the original date

Last modified fields

Last Modified behavior depends on what happens during the restore process.

Scenario 1: Clean insert (No additional updates)

If the record is inserted without any additional updates or relinking: 

• LastModifiedById is preserved from the snapshot
• LastModifiedDate is preserved from the snapshot

In this case, original Last Modified values can be retained.

Scenario 2: Post-insert updates or relinking 

If the restore process performs additional updates (such as relationship relinking or data adjustments):

• LastModifiedById is set to the Authenticated User
• LastModifiedDate reflects the time of the update

This is expected behavior.  Any update after insert causes Salesforce to stamp the record with the user and time of that update. 

Inactive owners

If Update Records with Inactive Owners is enabled:

• Records can be restored with their original owner, even if that user is inactive

If this setting is not enabled:

• Salesforce will not allow assignment to an inactive owner
• The owner will be reassigned to an active user (typically the Authenticated User, depending on restore behavior and business logic)

Important notes

• Applies to both Records and Files
• If the original user does not exist in the target org, Salesforce cannot assign: 
• CreatedById
  OwnerId
• Audit fields are not editable in the standard UI and are only supported via API-based operations (e.g., restore, data load)
• Audit fields can only be set at the time of record creation
• They cannot be updated afterwards through any operation
• This is standard Salesforce functionality
• Any update action performed after insert will cause Salesforce to update the Last Modified fields

Summary

To preserve audit fields and support inactive owner assignment during restore:

• Enable required settings in User Interface Settings
• Assign the same permissions to the Authenticated User

What to expect:

• Created fields can be preserved when permissions are enabled
• Last Modified fields are preserved only when no updates occur after insert
• If updates or relinking occur, Salesforce will update Last Modified fields accordingly

This ensures the most accurate historical data possible while still adhering to Salesforce platform rules.