A shared inbox lets multiple people see and respond to the same email address

A shared inbox in Outlook is a mailbox that more than one person can open, read, and send from. Instead of forwarding emails between team members or checking a separate account, everyone with permission sees the same messages in the same place. This works in Outlook on the web, Outlook desktop, and Outlook mobile apps.

The person who sets this up needs admin access to your organization's Microsoft 365 account. If you are that person, you will create a shared mailbox first, then add the people who should have access. If you are being added to someone else's shared inbox, you will follow a different set of steps on your end.

Key Takeaways

  • A shared inbox requires a Microsoft 365 admin to create the mailbox and assign permissions before team members can access it.
  • The admin adds people to the shared mailbox through the Microsoft 365 admin center, not through Outlook itself.
  • Once added, team members open the shared inbox in Outlook by selecting "Add shared mailbox" or "Open shared mailbox" from their account settings.
  • A shared inbox appears as a separate folder in Outlook alongside your personal inbox, and you can send emails from it if the admin gave you that permission.
  • Shared inboxes work across Outlook on the web, desktop, and mobile, though the steps to open one differ slightly on each platform.

Creating a shared mailbox if you are the admin

Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center at admin.microsoft.com and sign in with your admin account. Select "Resources" in the left menu, then "Shared mailboxes". Click "Create shared mailbox" and give it a name — something like "support@company.com" or "sales-team@company.com" — and choose the domain. You can also add a description so people know what the inbox is for.

After you create the mailbox, you will see an option to add members. Click "Add members" and search for each person by their name or email address. You can choose whether each person can only read messages, or read and send from the shared inbox. Someone who can send will appear as the shared mailbox when they reply, not as themselves. Once you add everyone, click "Close" and the mailbox is ready.

Adding yourself to a shared inbox that already exists

If someone else created the shared mailbox and added you as a member, you need to open it in Outlook. In Outlook on the web, click the settings gear in the top right, then "View all Outlook settings". Go to "Mail" and then "Accounts". Under "Shared mailboxes", click "Add a shared mailbox" and type the email address of the shared inbox. Click "Add" and it will appear in your folder list.

In Outlook desktop (Windows or Mac), click "File" at the top, then "Account Settings" and "Account Settings" again. Go to the "Mailboxes" tab, click "New", and select "Open Shared Mailbox". Type the email address of the shared inbox and click "OK". The shared inbox will now appear in your folder list on the left side of Outlook.

On Outlook mobile (iPhone or Android), open the app and tap the settings icon (three horizontal lines or a gear). Tap "Settings", then "Accounts", then "Add Account". Choose "Shared Mailbox" and enter the email address. The shared inbox will appear in your account list, and you can switch between your personal inbox and the shared one by tapping the account name at the top.

Sending email from a shared inbox

Once the shared inbox is open in Outlook, you can compose a new message. In Outlook on the web and desktop, when you click "New Message" or "New Email", look for a "From" field at the top. Click it and you will see both your personal email address and the shared mailbox address. Select the shared mailbox address if you want the reply to go to that inbox instead of yours.

On mobile, the process is similar — when you start a new message, tap the "From" field and choose the shared mailbox. If you do not see a "From" field, the admin may not have given you permission to send from the shared inbox. In that case, you can only read and reply to messages, and replies will come from your personal email address.

Managing permissions and removing people

Only the admin can change who has access to a shared inbox or what they are allowed to do. If you need to remove someone or change their permissions, go back to the Microsoft 365 admin center, select "Resources" and "Shared mailboxes", click the mailbox name, and then "Members". You can remove someone by clicking the X next to their name, or change their permissions by clicking their name and selecting a new role.

If you are no longer part of a team and need to remove yourself from a shared inbox, ask the admin to remove you from the members list. You can also remove the shared inbox from your own Outlook view — in Outlook on the web, go to Settings and remove it from your shared mailboxes list; in desktop Outlook, right-click the shared mailbox folder and select "Remove".

Shared inbox vs. distribution lists and shared folders

A shared inbox is different from a distribution list, which is a group email address that sends a copy of each message to multiple people's personal inboxes. With a distribution list, each person sees the email in their own inbox, and replies go to the sender, not to a shared space. A shared inbox keeps all messages in one place that everyone can see together.

A shared inbox is also different from a shared folder, which is a folder within your personal mailbox that you give other people permission to view. A shared folder is useful if you want to keep messages separate from your main inbox but let others see them. A shared inbox is better when you need multiple people to manage the same incoming email address and respond as a team.

Troubleshooting shared inbox problems

If you were added to a shared inbox but it is not showing up in Outlook, try signing out and signing back in. In Outlook on the web, refresh the page. In desktop Outlook, close and reopen the process. If the shared inbox still does not appear, ask the admin to check that you were actually added to the members list in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

If you can see the shared inbox but cannot send from it, the admin did not grant you send permission. Ask them to go to the shared mailbox members list and change your role to one that allows sending. If you see the shared inbox in Outlook but messages are not syncing, check your internet connection and make sure you are using a recent version of Outlook.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set up a shared inbox without being a Microsoft 365 admin?

No. Only someone with admin access to your organization's Microsoft 365 account can create a shared mailbox. If you need a shared inbox, ask your IT department or the person who manages your Microsoft 365 subscription to create it and add you.

What happens to a shared inbox if the person who created it leaves?

The shared inbox stays active and continues to work. Another admin can take over managing it and adding or removing members. The mailbox itself is not tied to any one person — it belongs to your organization.

Can I see who read a message in a shared inbox?

Outlook does not show read receipts for shared inbox messages the way it does for personal emails. You can see when someone replied, but not when they opened a message. If tracking who reads what is important, you may need a separate tool or system.

Can I create rules or filters for a shared inbox?

In Outlook on the web, you can create rules that explore to the shared inbox. In desktop Outlook, rules for shared mailboxes work differently and may require the admin to set them up. Ask your admin if you need automatic sorting or filtering for shared inbox messages.

What if I want to reply to a shared inbox message from my personal email instead?

When you reply to a message in a shared inbox, you can change the "From" field to your personal email address before sending. This way the reply comes from you, not from the shared mailbox. The original message stays in the shared inbox for everyone to see.