---
title: Custom Observation Severity Names
description: >-
  Rename observation severity levels in SwiftReporter to match your standards —
  cosmetic vs safety language that fits your market and templates.
canonical: 'https://www.swiftreporter.com/docs/custom-severity-names'
pathname: /docs/custom-severity-names
category: templates
date: '2026-03-24T00:22:40.621Z'
helpDocsSource: templates/custom-severity-names.md
---

![SwiftReporter custom severity names](/images/docs/swiftreporter-templates-custom-severity-names.png)

When severity ratings are enabled for a template, every observation can be tagged as Low, Medium, or High severity. These default labels cover most inspection styles, but different professional contexts use different terminology. SwiftReporter lets you rename each severity tier to match your preferred language.

## How Severity Works

Severity is a per-template setting. When enabled, a severity picker appears on every observation you add during an inspection. The selected severity:

- Appears as a coloured label next to the observation in the report editor.
- Is used to group and highlight observations in the Summary section of the report if enabled.
- Appears in the PDF report, allowing clients to quickly understand the importance of each finding.

By default the three levels are named after their internal tiers:

| Tier   | Default Display Name                |
| ------ | ----------------------------------- |
| High   | Material Defects / Safety Items     |
| Medium | Recommendations / Improvement Items |
| Low    | Monitor / Maintenance Items         |

## Enabling Severity on a Template

1.  Go to **Templates** in the sidebar.
2.  Open the template you want to edit.
3.  Click **Template Settings** to expand it.
4.  Under **Observation Settings**, find the **Enable Severity** toggle and turn it on.

Once enabled, severity pickers appear on all observations for inspections that use this template.

## Customising the Severity Names

With severity enabled, a section called **Customize the display name for each severity level** appears directly below the toggle. It shows three text fields, one for High, one for Medium, and one for Low.

To rename a level:

1.  Click inside the text field next to the tier you want to rename.
2.  Type your preferred label.
3.  If you leave a field blank it will fall back to the default name.
4.  On web, the three severity label fields save automatically about half a second after you stop typing. You can edit more than one field in a row without losing text you have not finished typing yet.
5.  Other controls in **Template Settings** (such as the **Enable Severity** toggle, industry, and cover page options) save immediately when you change them.
6.  When you switch to a different template, the severity label fields reload from that template.

The placeholder text in each field shows the default name so you always know what it will fall back to if left empty.

## Where Custom Names Appear

Once set, your custom names appear everywhere that severity is displayed:

- **Observation editor (web):** The severity picker in the Add Observation modal shows your custom labels instead of the defaults.
- **Report editor:** Severity badges on each observation card display your custom names.
- **Summary section:** Observations grouped by severity use your custom headings.
- **PDF report:** The finished PDF uses your custom names in all severity labels and section headings.
- **Mobile app:** The severity picker on the observation screen in the mobile app also uses your custom names.

## Tips

- **Keep names short.** Longer names can wrap awkwardly in the PDF.
- **Be consistent across templates.** Using the same severity names across templates helps reports stay consistent.
- **You can change names at any time.** Updating the labels changes the display name, not the underlying data.
- **Severity is optional per observation.** Inspectors can leave the severity field blank if it is not applicable.

## Related

- [Observations System Overview](/docs/observations-system-overview)
- [Adding Observations](/docs/adding-observations)
- [Viewing Observation Details](/docs/viewing-observation-details)
- [Recording Audio for Observations](/docs/recording-audio-observations)