Outlook Rules: Automatically Move or Forward Emails (Step by Step)

To move or forward email automatically in Outlook, create an Inbox rule: in new Outlook for Windows or Outlook on the web go to Settings > Mail > Rules, add a rule, pick a condition such as the sender, and choose the action Move to, Forward to or Redirect to. In classic Outlook for Windows, right-click a message and choose Rules > Create Rule, or use File > Manage Rules & Alerts for the full Rules Wizard.

The rule runs in Exchange Online for work and school accounts, so it keeps working when your computer is off, unless it uses a client-only feature. External forwarding has one extra hurdle: the default Microsoft 365 outbound spam setting can block it, and the sections below explain how to tell when that is the reason.

Who this is for and what you will have at the end

This guide is for anyone with a Microsoft 365 work or school mailbox who wants mail sorted or passed on automatically, and for the admin who gets the "my forwarding rule stopped working" ticket. At the end you will have a move rule, a forward rule, and a short list of checks for rules that do not run. Menu paths were checked against Microsoft Support and Microsoft Learn on 2026-11-01.

Before you start

• Account type. Microsoft says rules in new Outlook are not supported for third-party accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud. These steps assume a Microsoft 365 mailbox.
• Create the folder first. For example, create an Invoices folder under your Inbox before you build the rule.
• External forwarding. Ask your admin whether it is allowed. If it is not, the rule saves normally but the forwarded copies bounce.

Option 1: New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web

Move mail from a sender to a folder

1. Open Settings, then go to Mail > Rules.
2. Select Add new rule (some builds show it as Add rule).
3. In Name your rule, type something descriptive, for example Fabrikam invoices to folder.
4. Under Add a condition, choose the condition for the sender and enter the address, such as billing@fabrikam.com.
5. Under Add an action, choose Move to and select your Invoices folder.
6. Optionally select Add an exception, for example to skip messages that contain a particular word.
7. Leave Stop processing more rules selected if you do not want later rules to act on the same message.
8. Select Save.

There is a faster route for simple cases: right-click a message from the sender, point to Rules, choose Create rule, pick the target folder and select OK. Choose More options if you want to add more conditions or an exception before saving.

Forward specific mail to another address

1. Go to Settings > Mail > Rules and add a new rule.
2. Name it, for example Forward support requests.
3. Add a condition: Apply to all messages, or a sender or subject condition. Use Add another condition to narrow it.
4. For the action, choose Forward to, Forward as attachment or Redirect to, and type the destination address.
5. Select Save.

Copies of forwarded or redirected messages stay in your own mailbox.

Run a rule on mail you already have

Rules apply only to mail that arrives after you create them. To apply a rule to messages already in your mailbox in new Outlook, go to Settings > Mail > Rules and select the run-rule icon next to the rule.

Change rule order, pause or delete a rule

• Order: select a rule and use the up or down arrow. Rules run from top to bottom.
• Pause: turn off the toggle next to the rule instead of deleting it.
• Edit or delete: select More actions (...) next to the rule, then Edit rule or Delete rule.

Option 2: Classic Outlook for Windows

Quick rule from a message

1. Right-click a message from the sender and select Rules > Create Rule.
2. Select the condition you want. Microsoft's own example uses Subject contains.
3. Select Move the item to folder, pick the folder, or select New to create one, then select OK.
4. To sort what is already in the folder, select Run this new rule now on messages already in the current folder.

Rules Wizard: move mail from a sender

1. Go to File > Manage Rules & Alerts. The same dialog opens from Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts in the Move group of the ribbon.
2. Select New Rule.
3. Under Start from a blank rule, select Apply rule on messages I receive, then Next.
4. Select the condition from people or public group, click the underlined value in the rule description, pick the sender, then select Next.
5. Select move it to the specified folder, click the underlined value, choose the folder, then select Next.
6. Add exceptions if you need them, select Next, name the rule and select Finish.

To forward instead, choose the action forward it to people or public group, forward it to people or public group as an attachment, or redirect it to people or public group, then click the underlined text to add the address. If you leave every condition cleared, the rule applies to all incoming mail and Outlook asks you to confirm with Yes. If Outlook warns "Certain rules will only run when Outlook is on," the rule has a client-side element, explained below.

Run Rules Now on existing mail

1. Go to File > Manage Rules & Alerts and select Run Rules Now.
2. Under Select rules to run, select the rules.
3. Next to Run in Folder, select Browse and choose the folder. Select Include subfolders if needed.
4. Under Apply rules to, choose all, read or unread messages.
5. Select Run Now.

To pause a rule in classic Outlook, clear its check box in Manage Rules & Alerts. To remove it, select the rule on the E-mail Rules tab, then Delete and OK.

Option 3: Outlook for Mac

The current Outlook for Mac creates only server rules; Microsoft says client rules are no longer supported.

1. On the Outlook menu, select Settings.
2. In the side navigation pane, select Rules.
3. Select +Add Rule and name the rule.
4. Choose a condition and an action, using Add another condition or Add an exception as needed.
5. Save the rule.

By default Stop processing more rules is on, so when a message matches several rules only the first one applies. To run a rule immediately, open the ... menu next to it and choose Run rule now. Microsoft notes that support for legacy Outlook for Mac ends in October 2026.

Forward, redirect or forward as attachment

Use Redirect when a colleague or ticketing mailbox should reply straight to the customer, and Forward when replies should come back through you.

Server-side and client-only rules

• Server-side rules run in Exchange before a message reaches your device, whether or not Outlook is open. New Outlook, Outlook on the web, Outlook.com and the current Outlook for Mac create only these.
• Client-side rules contain at least one Outlook-specific condition or action and do not run until you sign in to classic Outlook for Windows with the account that created them. Playing a sound for mail from certain senders is Microsoft's example.

A server-side rule cannot move mail to a folder that exists only on your device. If a rule from classic Outlook shows "This rule can't be edited or viewed," it is a client-side rule, and Microsoft's fix is to create it again in new Outlook.

Rule order and Stop processing more rules

Inbox rules run from top to bottom in the order shown on the rules page. In Outlook on the web, Stop processing more rules is on by default, which means only the first matching rule acts on a message. A broad rule near the top can stop a narrower rule below it from ever firing, so put specific rules first.

Rule size limit in Exchange Online

Microsoft Learn states that Inbox rules are limited to 256 KB in total per mailbox in Exchange Online. Only enabled rules count, there is no maximum number of rules, and admins can lower the quota (32 KB to 256 KB) but cannot raise it. A mailbox migrated from on-premises Exchange might carry a lower value, which an admin can increase. At the limit, Outlook warns that you cannot create or update a rule; merge rules, shorten names and delete unused ones. To check a mailbox's quota:

Get-Mailbox -Identity "user@contoso.com" | Format-List RulesQuota 

Two more limits affect forwarding: a rule that redirects to more than 10 recipients cannot be applied, and Inbox rules redirect a message only once, so a chained forward is dropped without an NDR.

Create a rule with Exchange Online PowerShell

Admins can create a rule on a user's behalf with New-InboxRule. The folder syntax is mailbox:\folder\subfolder. This example moves mail from one sender into a subfolder of the Inbox and stops further rules:

New-InboxRule -Mailbox user@contoso.com -Name "Fabrikam invoices to folder" -From billing@fabrikam.com -MoveToFolder "user@contoso.com:\Inbox\Invoices" -StopProcessingRules $true 

This one forwards matching subjects to an internal mailbox:

New-InboxRule -Mailbox user@contoso.com -Name "Forward support requests" -SubjectContainsWords "support request" -ForwardTo support@contoso.com 

To list a mailbox's rules, including hidden ones:

Get-InboxRule -Mailbox user@contoso.com -IncludeHidden 

Microsoft cautions that when you create, change, remove, enable or disable an Inbox rule in Exchange PowerShell, any client-side rules disabled by Outlook are removed.

External auto-forwarding and the 5.7.520 error

Automatic forwarding to people outside your organization is controlled by the outbound spam filter policy in Microsoft Defender. Microsoft's reasoning: forwarding can disclose information, and Inbox rules can forward mail externally either deliberately or as a result of a compromised account. An attacker who takes over a mailbox can add a forwarding rule so copies of new mail keep flowing out even after the password is reset.

The Automatic forwarding rules setting has three values:

• Automatic - System-controlled: the default. Since 2021 it means off for new organizations, but it can still mean on for some older tenants, so Microsoft recommends choosing On or Off explicitly.
• On - Forwarding is enabled: the policy does not block external forwarding.
• Off - Forwarding is disabled: blocks external forwarding by Inbox rules and by admin-configured mailbox forwarding.

When the policy blocks a forwarded message, the NDR contains:

5.7.520 Access denied, Your organization does not allow external forwarding. Please contact your administrator for further assistance. AS(7555) 

For Inbox-rule forwarding, Microsoft says the NDR is generated for messages from external senders but not for internal senders. Forwarding between internal users is not affected by this policy.

How an admin allows it for specific users only

The least-exposure approach is to leave the default policy at Off and create a custom policy just for the people with a business need:

1. In the Microsoft Defender portal at security.microsoft.com, go to Email & collaboration > Policies & rules > Threat policies > Anti-spam.
2. Select Create policy > Outbound.
3. Name the policy, then on the Users, groups, and domains page add only the users or group that need forwarding.
4. On the Protection settings page, under Forwarding rules, set Automatic forwarding rules to On - Forwarding is enabled.
5. Review and select Create.

Custom policies apply before the default policy, which always has the lowest priority. The same thing in PowerShell, scoped to a group:

New-HostedOutboundSpamFilterPolicy -Name "Allow external forwarding" -AutoForwardingMode On New-HostedOutboundSpamFilterRule -Name "Allow external forwarding" -HostedOutboundSpamFilterPolicy "Allow external forwarding" -FromMemberOf "Forwarding Approved" Get-HostedOutboundSpamFilterPolicy | Format-List Name,AutoForwardingMode 

Remote domains and mail flow rules can also block forwarding, and when one control allows it but another blocks it, the block typically wins. Review the Auto forwarded messages report periodically so approved forwarding does not quietly grow. For the full admin walkthrough see Allow or block external auto-forwarding in Exchange Online, and for hunting rules planted by attackers see Find and remove malicious inbox and forwarding rules.

Common errors and fixes

If a rule still does not fire, confirm it is turned on and send a test message that clearly matches it. Also check the mailbox is not over its storage quota; Microsoft notes forwarding rules may not work until you delete enough messages.

For related guides, browse More Microsoft 365 tutorials.

Closing checklist

• The target folder exists in the mailbox, not only on your device.
• Specific rules sit above broad ones, and Stop processing more rules is set deliberately.
• Forward or redirect was chosen based on where replies should go.
• Existing mail was processed with Run Rules Now or the run-rule icon, if needed.
• External forwarding is allowed by a custom policy for this user only.
• A test message triggered the rule, and unused rules are deleted.

References

• Manage email messages by using rules in Outlook
• Use rules to automatically forward messages
• Edit or fix a broken rule in Outlook
• Create a rule in Outlook for Mac
• Microsoft Q&A: How to use a rule in Outlook to move an email to a folder
• Modify the space used by Inbox rules in Exchange Online
• Exchange Online limits
• New-InboxRule
• Get-InboxRule
• Control external email forwarding and fix 5.7.520 errors
• Configure outbound spam policies
• New-HostedOutboundSpamFilterPolicy
• New-HostedOutboundSpamFilterRule
• Set-HostedOutboundSpamFilterPolicy

This guide was researched and drafted with AI assistance and checked against the vendor documentation listed in its References. Read the maintained version and related guides on EpiFive.