How to Set Up Automatic Forwarding in Outlook

Outlook lets you automatically forward emails sent to your inbox to any other Outlook or email accounts, like Gmail, AOL, iCloud Mail, Yahoo!, etc. Depending on your device, you can either set up automatic forwarding using the forwarding section of Outlook’s settings or create an automatic forwarding rule using Outlook’s rules feature. This tutorial walks you through the steps.

Tip: going on a vacation soon? Set up an out-of-office message in your Outlook account to keep senders in the loop!

Set Up Auto Forwarding in New Outlook for Windows and Web

You can set up automatic forwarding for both personal and organizational Outlook accounts. Follow the steps below to do so in the Web version as well as the new Outlook app for Windows, which was released in September 2022 and is available for all Office Insiders.

1. Sign in to your Outlook account.

2. Click on the gear icon in the top right to open the settings menu.

3. Click on “View all Outlook settings.”

4. Go to “Mail -> Forwarding” to change your account’s automatic forwarding settings.

5. Check the box for “Enable forwarding.”

6. Type a forwarding email address and choose whether you want to keep a copy of forwarded emails.

7. Click on “Save” at the bottom to apply your automatic forwarding settings.

Tip: you can also set up automatic forwarding in Gmail to forward emails to your Outlook and other email accounts.

Set Up Auto Forwarding Using Rules in Outlook for Windows and Web

Both legacy and new Outlook app versions for Windows allow you to create rules and set up email forwarding. The option is also available in the Web version of Outlook.

New Outlook App and Web

If you want to create an automatic forwarding rule using the new version of Outlook for Windows or the Web version, follow these instructions:

1. Launch the new Outlook app for Windows.
2. Click on the gear icon to open the Settings pop-up.

3. Click on “View all Outlook settings” at the bottom.

4. In the Settings window, go to “Mail -> Rules -> Add new rule” to create a new rule.

5. Type a relevant rule name for easier rule management. Since you’re setting up automatic forwarding, use something like “Automatic Forwarding.”

6. Add a condition. For example, if you want all emails that go into your inbox forwarded, select “Apply to all messages.”

7. Select an action in “Add an action.” For automatic forwarding, select “Forward to.”

8. Type a forwarding address and click “Save.”

9. The forwarding rule you created should be on the list of “Rules” in the Outlook app.

Legacy Version of Outlook for Windows

You can also create an automatic forwarding rule in the classic Outlook interface by following these steps:

1. Launch the legacy version of the Outlook app for Windows.
2. Click on “File” in the app window.

3. To create a rule, click on “Rules and Alerts.”

4. Click on “New Rule.”

5. Select “Apply rule on messages I receive,” then click on “Next.”

6. Select a condition. If you want messages addressed only to your email to be forwarded, check the box beside “Sent only to me.”

7. Select an action. For example, check the box beside “Forward it to people or public group,” then click on the underlined value to add forwarding addresses.

8. Add a forwarding email address, then click on “OK.”

9. Once you get back to the previous window, check the forwarding address you added, then click on “Next.”

10. Select exceptions. This step is optional. If you don’t need to add exceptions, click on “Next.”

11. Review the rule you created, then click on “Finish.”

12. After creating the rule, you should see it in the list of rules. If it’s there, click “Apply.”

Good to know: make sure your Mac is fully secure before sending out your emails and starting other tasks.

Set Up Auto Forwarding Using Rules in Outlook for Mac

If you’re using Outlook’s desktop app for Mac, you can set up automatic forwarding in Outlook using rules.

Note that the rules feature isn’t supported in the new version of Outlook for Mac. To create rules, you need to switch to the legacy version of Outlook by going to the menu bar and clicking on “Help -> Revert to Legacy Outlook.” To switch back to the new Outlook, just click on the toggle beside “New Outlook” at the top right of the Outlook app window on your Mac.

1. Launch the Outlook app for Mac.
2. From the menu bar, click on “Outlook,” then click on “Settings.” You can also press Command + ,.

3. In the “Outlook Preferences” window, click on “Rules.”

4. Inside the “Rules” window, click on the plus icon at the bottom to add a new rule.

5. Type a relevant rule name so that you can easily manage rules when you create more than one. In this case, you can use something like “Automatic Forwarding.”

6. Select a condition under “When a new message arrives that meets all these conditions.” This will filter messages you want to forward automatically. You can select “All Messages” to have all your emails forwarded or select a filter.

7. Select an action under “Do the following.” Since you’re setting up automatic forwarding, select “Forward To.”

8. Type a forwarding email address and click “OK.”

9. You should see the new rule in the list in the “Rules” window.

10. Make sure to click on “Save” when prompted to apply the changes you made.

Tip: send out friendlier emails by using emoji in Microsoft Outlook for Windows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set up automatic forwarding with more than one forwarding address?

You can add more than one forwarding email address if you set up automatic forwarding via Outlook’s rules feature. If you want to use the non-rule method, know that you can only add one forwarding email address.

Can I filter emails that'll be forwarded?

You can only filter emails that’ll be forwarded if you set up automatic forwarding using Outlook’s rules feature. Filters aren’t available if you enable automatic forwarding outside of Outlook’s rules section. To set up filters for the emails that will be forwarded, you need to access the “Rules” section as we showed you above.

Do I need a Microsoft 365 subscription to access Outlook's automatic forwarding features?

No. Moreover, additional automatic forwarding features won’t be unlocked with a Microsoft 365 subscription. If you want to check the benefits of having a Microsoft 365 subscription for your Outlook account, go to Microsoft’s support website.

Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Natalie dela Vega.