Jira issue types are the kinds of work you track, such as Epic, Story, Task, Bug and Subtask, and Atlassian's help pages now call them work types. As of October 2026 the default hierarchy has three levels: Epic at the top, standard work items in the middle and Subtask at the bottom.
Here's the catch. The words have changed under you. Atlassian's current help says work types instead of issue types, work items instead of issues, and spaces instead of projects, so a search of the help centre for the old terms can send you round in circles. And you can rename the hierarchy levels, so the level your team calls an epic may carry a different name in someone else's Jira.
Issue types are now called work types
Nothing about what they do has changed, only the language. People still type 'issue types' into Google, and most teams still say it out loud, but the settings screens and Atlassian's documentation use the new names. Here's the translation you'll need when you go looking for a setting:
| Older term | Current term |
|---|---|
| Issue type | Work type |
| Issue | Work item |
| Project | Space |
Default work types for each space type
What you get out of the box depends on the kind of space you create.
| Space type | Default work types |
|---|---|
| Business | Task, with Subtask as the child |
| Software | Epic as the parent; Bug, Story and Task; Subtask as the child |
| Service (Jira Service Management) | Change, IT help, Incident, New feature, Problem, Service request, Service request with approval, Support |
Business spaces are the lightest. You get Task and Subtask and nothing else, which suits a marketing or operations team that only needs to break a job into smaller jobs. Software spaces add Epic, Bug and Story because development work needs to tell a defect apart from a new piece of functionality. Service spaces have their own list built around requests and incidents.
How the hierarchy works
Any work type can be a parent or a child, with one exception: Subtask can only ever be a child. In the default setup that gives you three levels:
- Epic, which can be the parent of stories, tasks and bugs.
- Standard work items, such as Story, Task and Bug. A task can be the parent of subtasks.
- Subtask, which sits at the bottom and can't have children of its own.
That's why a subtask can't hold its own subtasks. If a piece of work keeps sprouting smaller pieces, it probably wants to be a task under an epic rather than a subtask under a task.
Here's how that looks in a software space. An epic called New checkout holds a story called Pay by card and a bug called Card form rejects valid postcodes. The story then holds subtasks such as Write the tests and Update the help page. Each level answers a different question: the epic says why, the story or bug says what, and the subtask says who's doing which piece.
The 500 child work item limit
A work item displays up to 500 child work items. Past that you have to view the children in search, and time tracking can't include subtasks. Atlassian's suggestion is to split the parent.
That limit is easy to hit on a long-running epic that collects every small job for a year. If you're creeping towards it, split by quarter, by feature or by team before you get there, so the parent stays readable and the time tracking still adds up.
Adding levels above Epic
Three levels is the default, not the ceiling. Premium and Enterprise customers can create extra hierarchy levels, and Advanced Roadmaps can use those extra levels for larger initiatives that span several epics. On other plans you work within Epic, standard work items and Subtask.
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How to add or change work types
- Open Jira admin Settings, then Work items.
- Open work types, and add a new one or edit an existing one.
- Group the types you want into a work type scheme.
- Associate the scheme with a space.
- Rename the hierarchy levels if your team uses different words.
The scheme step is the one people skip. The scheme is what ties a set of work types to a space, so a new type needs to be in the scheme your space uses. Atlassian's configuration guide covers adding, editing and deleting work types, setting up subtasks, work type schemes and hierarchy level names.
Curious about the neighbouring question? Try my Jira Backlog breakdown.
My verdict on Jira issue types
I'd stick with the defaults for your space type until your team can name a piece of work the defaults don't fit. Extra types add choices for everyone filing work, and most small teams are fine with Epic, Story, Task, Bug and Subtask. If you're still deciding where documentation lives versus tasks, here's my guide to what Jira and Confluence each handle, and if Jira feels like too much, my roundup of issue tracking tools has lighter options.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the default issue types in Jira?
Software spaces get Epic, Bug, Story and Task with Subtask as the child. Business spaces get Task with Subtask. Service spaces get Change, IT help, Incident, New feature, Problem, Service request, Service request with approval and Support.
Are Jira issue types now called work types?
Yes. Atlassian's current help pages call issue types work types, issues work items, and projects spaces.
Can a subtask have its own subtasks in Jira?
No. Any work type can be a parent or a child except Subtask, which can only be a child.
How many child work items can a Jira work item have?
A work item displays up to 500 child work items. Beyond that you view children in search, and time tracking can't include subtasks.
Can I add hierarchy levels above Epic?
Premium and Enterprise customers can create additional hierarchy levels, and Advanced Roadmaps can use them for larger initiatives.
