How to Automatically Forward Emails in Outlook

Why Use Automatic Email Forwarding?

Automatic forwarding lets Outlook send a copy of every incoming email (or emails that match certain criteria) to another address. Common reasons businesses use this include:

• Staff leave cover — forwarding emails from an absent employee to their manager or colleague
• Consolidated inboxes — sending emails from one address to a shared monitoring account
• Backup copies — sending messages to a secondary archive address
• Role transitions — when someone changes roles and their old emails need to reach their replacement

There are two main ways to set up forwarding in Outlook: through Outlook rules on the desktop app, or through account settings in Outlook on the web.

Method 1: Set Up Forwarding in Outlook on the Web (Recommended)

This method works from Microsoft's servers, so forwarding happens even when your computer is off.

• Go to outlook.office.com and sign in with your Microsoft 365 account
• Click the Settings gear icon in the top right corner
• Click View all Outlook settings at the bottom of the settings panel
• Go to Mail > Forwarding
• Toggle Enable forwarding to on
• Enter the email address you want to forward messages to
• Optional: tick Keep a copy of forwarded messages if you want the originals to stay in your inbox as well
• Click Save

All incoming messages will now be automatically forwarded to the address you entered.

Note: If you do not see the forwarding option, your organisation's IT team may have disabled it for security reasons. Contact your IT team to set up forwarding on your behalf.

Method 2: Create a Forwarding Rule in Outlook Desktop

This method creates a rule that runs within the Outlook desktop app. Your computer must be on and Outlook must be running for the rule to work.

• Open Outlook on your computer
• Click the Home tab and then click Rules in the ribbon
• Select Manage Rules and Alerts
• Click New Rule
• Select Apply rule on messages I receive and click Next
• Choose your conditions — for example, you can forward all messages or only those from specific senders. To forward everything, click Next without selecting any conditions (Outlook will ask you to confirm this applies to all messages — click Yes)
• In the actions list, tick Forward it to people or public group
• In the rule description at the bottom, click people or public group to enter the forwarding address
• Click Next, add any exceptions if needed, then click Next again
• Give the rule a name and click Finish

Your rule is now active. To pause or delete it, go back to Rules > Manage Rules and Alerts.

Method 3: Forwarding via Exchange Admin (IT Team Only)

If you need to forward emails from a staff member's account and they are not available to set it up themselves, your IT team can configure forwarding through the Microsoft 365 Admin Centre. This does not require access to the employee's inbox.

Contact Netluma IT and we can set this up on your behalf.

How to Forward Only Certain Emails

If you only want to forward emails that meet certain criteria (for example, emails from a specific client or with a particular subject line):

In the desktop rule wizard:

• Follow Method 2 above but at the conditions step, select the relevant filters
• For example: From people or public group (to forward only emails from specific senders)
• Or: With specific words in the subject (to forward only emails mentioning a project name)

In the web version, Outlook does not support conditional forwarding through the Settings > Forwarding screen — you will need to create a rule there instead via Settings > Mail > Rules.

How to Turn Off Forwarding

In Outlook on the web:

• Go to Settings > View all Outlook settings > Mail > Forwarding
• Toggle forwarding off and click Save

In Outlook desktop:

• Go to Rules > Manage Rules and Alerts
• Uncheck or delete the forwarding rule

Important Security Notes

Automatic email forwarding is a common target for hackers. If a cybercriminal gains access to your Microsoft 365 account, they will sometimes set up silent forwarding to intercept your emails without you noticing.

Signs that forwarding may have been set up without your knowledge:

• Emails disappearing from your inbox without explanation
• Clients or colleagues saying their messages were not replied to
• Unexpected forwarding rules appearing in your settings

If you suspect unauthorised forwarding has been set up, contact your IT team immediately and change your password.

Your IT team may also have policies around forwarding to external addresses — always check before setting up forwarding outside your organisation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will forwarding also send emails I send to others? No — forwarding only applies to incoming emails sent to your address.

Can the original sender tell their email was forwarded? No — forwarding is invisible to the sender.

Does forwarding work with shared mailboxes? Yes — your IT team can configure forwarding on shared mailboxes through the Microsoft 365 Admin Centre.

Need Help?

Contact Netluma IT if you need help setting up forwarding, especially for staff leave or account changes.

Phone: 1300 521 162 Email: helpdesk@netlumait.com.au