Are there any specific limitations or best practices for using dropdown (select list) fields in Jira

[Dhyaneshwaran R]

Are there any specific limitations or best practices for using dropdown (select list) fields in Jira, particularly in terms of the maximum number of options, performance impact, and managing options during a migration project?

initially i have used short text for that field now i am planning to use drop down single choice will it work better

[Michael Yaroshefsky - Visor for Jira]

Hi @Dhyaneshwaran R and welcome to the Atlassian Community!

These are all good things to consider. 

I wouldn't expect you to be limited by the maximum number of options. For Team-Managed projects the limit is 55. Company-Managed projects don't have a limit.

You may start experiencing performance issues if your number of dropdown options gets up to the high-hundreds (700, 800 etc.) 

Your main concern should be that lots of dropdown options can impact usability, especially if people are need to review the available options before selecting (as opposed to searching for a value they already have in mind).

[pawarsachin84]

Hello @Dhyaneshwaran R ,

Field Type	Pros	Cons
Short Text (Text field)	Flexible, accepts any input	Inconsistent data, typos, hard to filter/report
Single Select (Dropdown)	Clean reporting, filterable, standard options	Needs manual option management

✅ Conclusion: For structured data like categories, types, or departments — dropdowns are more reliable.

🔎 Limitations of Dropdown (Select List) Fields in Jira Cloud

Aspect	Details
Max Options (Performance)	Atlassian recommends keeping it under 1,000 options for performance reasons. Technically it supports more, but UI performance degrades.
UI Behavior	If you have hundreds of options, it becomes hard to scroll — consider cascading select or autocomplete custom field apps from Marketplace.
Bulk Updates	You can’t bulk-add options natively — use REST API or import via CSV for large lists.
Migration Risk	When migrating, dropdown values must exactly match (case-sensitive) or Jira may create duplicate or empty entries.

🛠️ Best Practices for Using Dropdown Fields

1. Keep it concise — avoid long lists. If you're hitting 500+ values, rethink the field design.

2. Standardize naming — especially if syncing across environments (dev → test → prod).

3. Use Contexts — in Jira Cloud, you can create field contexts per project/issue type to reduce option clutter.

4. Document field usage — helps with onboarding, automation, and avoiding accidental value deletion.

5. Consider automations — to validate or auto-set based on other fields (e.g., if "Region = EU", auto-set "Currency = Euro").