How to add, manage, and remove a shared mailbox in Outlook

A shared mailbox is an excellent way for an entire office or department to keep tabs on a single email stream. It’s an especially useful tool for public relations or communications offices to ensure emails are responded to as quickly as possible. There are plenty of other benefits, too, including shared calendars and a shared contact list. But how do you set up a shared mailbox in Outlook? We detail the steps below.

How to create a shared mailbox in Outlook

Firstly, you’ll need administrator privileges to create a shared mailbox in Outlook. If you do not have a Microsoft 365 administrator account, you’ll have to contact the admin to create a shared mailbox for you or your team.

1. Log in to Office 365 with your Microsoft 365 administrator credentials.
2. In the admin center, tap on Teams & Groups > Shared mailboxes > + Add a shared mailbox.
3. Enter a name for the mailbox (the name of the group will inform the email address, but you can tweak the latter if required).
4. Hit Save changes and wait for the mailbox to be created.

How to add someone to a shared mailbox in Outlook

1. Once the mailbox is created, a Next steps dialog should appear. Here you can add members to the shared mailbox.
2. Select Add members to this mailbox.
3. Check the boxes alongside the members’ names you wish to add to the mailbox.
4. Tap Save, then Close.

Users added to the shared mailbox should see the mailbox listed in their Outlook app. If not, try restarting the app on their respective platform.

How to add a shared mailbox in the Outlook app on iOS or Android

1. Open the Outlook app.
2. Tap your profile image, then select the settings cog.
3. Tap Add email account > Add shared mailbox.
4. Enter the email address.

How to access and use your shared mailbox in Outlook

Members of the shared mailbox can now read or send mail from the address.

To send new mail from the shared mailbox:

1. Open Outlook, then tap New Mail.
2. Check if the From field is visible at the top of the mail. If not, head to Options > From.
3. Next, select the From field and choose the address of the shared mailbox. If the shared mailbox address is not visible, click Other email addresses then manually type in the mailbox address.
4. Hit OK, complete typing your email, then click Send.

How to remove a shared mailbox from Outlook

If you’re a Microsoft 365 administrator, you can head back to Teams & Groups > Shared mailboxes on the admin portal to add more members or remove existing members from the shared mailbox.

Removing yourself from a shared mailbox within the Outlook app is also pretty simple.

1. Open the Outlook app.
2. Tap your profile image, then select the settings cog.
3. Select the shared mailbox, then tap Delete account.