How to Create an Email Group in Outlook

Create a group by opening your contacts and naming the members

An Outlook email group (called a distribution list in some versions) lets you send one message to multiple people at once without typing each address. You create it in your Contacts, give it a name, add the people you want, and then use that name in the "To" field just like you would a single email address.

The steps differ slightly depending on whether you use Outlook on the web, Outlook on your desktop, or Outlook on your phone. All three versions let you make groups, but the desktop version gives you the most control and is the easiest place to start if you are setting up a group for the first time.

Key Takeaways

A distribution list in Outlook lets you type one name in the "To" field and send to everyone in that group at once.
Desktop Outlook requires you to open Contacts, create a new contact group, name it, and add members one at a time or paste them in.
Outlook on the web uses the "New Contact Group" button in your Contacts section and works the same way as desktop.
Once you create a group, you can edit it later to add or remove people without deleting the group itself.
Groups you create are stored locally on your device (desktop) or in your Outlook account (web), so they stay with you when you sign in elsewhere.

How to create a group in desktop Outlook

Open Outlook and go to the People tab at the bottom of the window (or press Ctrl+3 on Windows, Command+3 on Mac). This opens your Contacts. Look for the New Contact Group button in the toolbar at the top. Click it.

A new window opens with a blank contact group form. In the Name field at the top, type the name you want to use — for example, "Book Club" or "Project Team". This is the name that will appear in your address book and the name you will type when you want to send to the whole group.

Below the name field, you will see an Add Members button. Click it and choose Add from Outlook Contacts. A list of your existing contacts appears. Click each person you want to add, then click OK. If someone is not in your contacts yet, click Add from Directory instead and search for them by name or email address.

Once you have added everyone, click Save & Close. The group is now in your Contacts and ready to use. When you compose a new email, type the group name in the "To" field and Outlook will recognize it.

How to create a group in Outlook on the web

Sign in to your Outlook account at outlook.com or outlook.office.com. Click the People icon in the left sidebar (it looks like a person's head and shoulders). This opens your Contacts.

At the top of the page, click New Contact Group. A form appears. Type the name of your group in the Group Name field. Below that, you will see a text box that says "Add a member". Click in that box and start typing the name or email address of someone you want to add. Outlook will show matching contacts as you type. Click the person's name to add them.

Repeat this for each person you want in the group. You can also paste multiple email addresses separated by semicolons if you have them copied from somewhere else. Once everyone is added, click Create at the bottom of the form. The group is now saved to your account.

How to create a group in Outlook on your phone

Open the Outlook app and tap the People tab at the bottom. Tap the + icon in the top right corner. Choose New Contact Group from the menu that appears.

Type the name of your group. Then tap Add Members and search for each person you want to add by name or email. Tap their name to add them. When you are done, tap Save. The group is now in your phone's Contacts and syncs to your other devices if you are signed into the same Outlook account.

Edit or delete a group after you create it

You do not have to delete a group if you want to change who is in it. Open your Contacts, find the group name, and open it. In desktop Outlook, click Edit or double-click the group name. In Outlook on the web, click the group and then click the Edit button. You can now add new members, remove people by clicking the X next to their name, or change the group name itself.

If you want to delete the entire group, right-click it (desktop) or click the three dots next to it (web) and choose Delete. This removes the group from your Contacts but does not delete the individual people in it — they stay in your address book.

Use your group when sending email

Once your group exists, sending to everyone in it is straightforward. Open a new email, click in the "To" field, and start typing the group name. Outlook will show the group name as an option. Click it to add the whole group to the message. You can also add individual people to the same email if you want to send to the group plus a few others.

Before you send, you can click the group name in the "To" field to expand it and see exactly who will receive the email. This is useful if you have not used the group in a while and want to make sure the membership is still correct.

Common reasons groups do not work the way you expect

If you type a group name and Outlook does not recognize it, the group may be stored on a different device or account. Groups created in desktop Outlook stay on that computer unless you sync them. Groups created in Outlook on the web are tied to your account and appear everywhere you sign in. If you created a group on your phone, it may not show up on your desktop until you sign out and back in.

If someone in your group has an email address that has changed, the message may bounce back for that person. Open the group, remove the old address, and add the new one. If you are sending to a very large group (more than 100 people), some email providers may flag it as spam or delay delivery — this is a limitation of the email system itself, not Outlook.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a group that includes other groups?

In desktop Outlook, yes — you can add a contact group to another contact group. In Outlook on the web, you cannot nest groups inside each other. If you need this feature, use desktop Outlook to set it up, and the nested groups will work when you send from the web version too.

What happens if I delete someone from my Contacts?

If you delete a person from your Contacts, they are automatically removed from any groups they were in. The group itself stays, but that person will no longer receive emails sent to the group. You can add them back to the group later if you re-add them to your Contacts.

Can I share a group with someone else?

In Outlook on the web, you can share a contact group with other people in your organization if you are using a work or school account. Right-click the group and choose "Share". In desktop Outlook or with personal accounts, groups are private to you and cannot be shared directly — you would need to tell the other person the email addresses in the group.

Is there a limit to how many people I can add to a group?

Outlook itself has no hard limit, but your email provider may restrict how many recipients you can send to in a single message. Most providers allow 500 to 1,000 recipients per email. If you hit this limit, you can send the same message to the group multiple times or split the group into smaller groups.

Do groups work the same way in Outlook and Gmail?

No. Gmail calls them "contact groups" and creates them differently — through your Google Contacts, not through Gmail itself. If you use both services, you will need to create separate groups in each one. Groups created in Outlook do not transfer to Gmail automatically.

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