Troubleshooting: How to Handle "The Record Is Locked by a Workflow Action" Even When Your Script Runs as Admin

What happen?

Recently, I ran into a puzzling issue while building a customization in NetSuite. I had a User Event (UE) script that added a custom button to a record. When clicked, the button would open a Suitelet, which then generated a template for printing.

Both the UE and the Suitelet were explicitly set to execute as Administrator. On paper, this should have bypassed most permission or locking concerns. But when users clicked the button, they were greeted with the dreaded error:

"The record has been locked by a user defined workflow."

At first, this feels like a script-level problem. But here's the key insight:
Once a record is locked by a workflow, no script context—including admin execution—can bypass it.

So, what can you do?

What can you do

Step 1: Identify Which Workflow Is Locking the Record

The error doesn't tell you directly which workflow is causing the issue. The quickest way is to:

• Go to the record type page in Scripted Records.
• Review the workflows associated with that record.
• Pinpoint the workflow that might contain locking actions.

Step 2: Check the Workflow Actions

Within the workflow, look for "Lock Record" actions.

• Open each workflow state and review the actions.
• Pay special attention to the Execution Context (the contexts in which the lock applies).

Step 3: Adjust the Context Restrictions

Here's the trick: the record lock isn't global—it depends on the contexts you've defined in the workflow.

For example, in my case, the Suitelet was calling record.load() to fetch data for template printing. The lock was applied to Suitelet context, which blocked my script even though it was running as admin.

The fix:

• Edit the workflow action.
• Remove Suitelet from the restricted contexts.

Key Takeaways

• Record locks from workflows override script execution contexts. Even an "execute as admin" script cannot bypass them.
• The only way to resolve this is by adjusting the workflow itself, not the script.
• Review the workflow's lock actions and contexts to allow your Suitelet (or other script type) to safely read/update the record.

Summary

• Lock by workflow cannot be bypassed by SuiteScript.
• You must adjust the workflow to exclude the script type (e.g., Suitelet) from the lock context.

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