How to Create a Contact Group (Distribution List) in Outlook

Applies to: Microsoft Outlook (Microsoft 365, Outlook 2021, Outlook 2019)
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-03-09

Summary

A Contact Group (formerly called a Distribution List) allows you to email multiple people at once by typing a single group name instead of adding each recipient individually. This article shows how to create, edit, and use Contact Groups in Outlook — no admin rights required.

Prerequisites

• Microsoft Outlook desktop app or Outlook on the web.
• No admin rights required — Contact Groups are saved to your personal contacts.

Instructions

1. Create a New Contact Group (Desktop App)

Build a reusable group of email addresses.

1. Open Outlook and go to the People tab (click the people icon at the bottom of the navigation pane).
2. On the Home ribbon, click New Contact Group.
3. In the Name field, type a descriptive name for the group (e.g., Project Alpha Team).
4. Click Add Members and choose one of the following:
   • From Outlook Contacts — Select from your personal contacts.
   • From Address Book — Search your organisation's global address list.
   • New E-mail Contact — Manually type a name and email address.
5. Select each person you want to add and click Members (or double-click their name).
6. Click OK when finished adding members.
7. Click Save & Close on the ribbon.

Tip: If the people you want are not in your contacts yet — they arrived as a spreadsheet from a colleague, or they live in a personal account — load them in bulk first. How to Import and Export Contacts in Outlook walks through the CSV import, then From Outlook Contacts picks them up here.

2. Create a Contact Group (Outlook on the Web)

Create a group using Outlook in your browser.

1. Open Outlook on the web (outlook.office.com).
2. Click the People icon in the left navigation bar.
3. Click New contact list from the toolbar.
4. Enter a name for the contact list.
5. In the Add email addresses field, type each member's name or email and press Enter.
6. Click Create when all members have been added.

3. Send an Email to a Contact Group

Use the group to email all members at once.

1. Create a new email in Outlook.
2. In the To field, type the name of your Contact Group (e.g., Project Alpha Team).
3. Outlook auto-suggests the group — select it from the dropdown.
4. The email will be sent to every member in the group.

4. Edit an Existing Contact Group

Add or remove members from an existing group.

1. Go to the People tab in Outlook.
2. Find and double-click your Contact Group to open it.
3. To add a member, click Add Members and follow the same steps as creation.
4. To remove a member, select their name in the member list and click Remove Member.
5. Click Save & Close.

Troubleshooting

TIP

Contact Groups are stored in your personal mailbox, not on the server. If you need a group that other people can also use, ask your IT department to create a shared Distribution Group or Microsoft 365 Group.

Symptom / Error	Potential Cause	Solution
Contact Group does not appear in auto-suggest	Group not saved properly	Open People, verify the group exists, and try typing the exact name in the To field.
Some members do not receive the email	Incorrect email address in group	Open the Contact Group and verify each member's email address is correct.
Cannot find Contact Group option in Outlook	Using Outlook on the web	In Outlook on the web, Contact Groups are called Contact lists — look for New contact list in the People section.

Related Articles

• How to Import and Export Contacts in Outlook
• How to Create Email Rules in Outlook
• How to Create an Email Signature in Outlook
• How to Add a Shared Mailbox in Outlook

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