Summary

Delegate access lets a coworker open your mailbox and calendar, respond to meeting invitations, and send email on your behalf while you are out. This article shows you how to set it up in classic Outlook, new Outlook, and Outlook on the web, what each permission level actually allows, and how to remove the access cleanly when you return.

In this guide

• 1. Decide Whether You Need Sharing or Delegating
• 2. Set Up Delegate Access in Classic Outlook
• 3. Choose the Right Permission Level
• 4. Delegate Your Calendar in New Outlook and on the Web
• 5. Give a Coworker Access to Your Inbox Folders
• 6. Choose Between Send on Behalf and Send As
• 7. Remove Delegate Access When You Are Back

Before You Start

• A Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online mailbox.
• Your delegate needs a mailbox in the same organization. Delegate access does not work with external addresses.
• No admin rights are required, with one exception: Send As (covered in Step 6).

Delegate access is one of six ways Microsoft 365 hands out access to a mailbox, and the wrong choice is a second ticket a week later. If you have not settled on it yet, Understanding Mailbox Access Types in Microsoft 365 compares all six in one table — shared mailbox, Full Access, Send As, Send on Behalf, forwarding, and distribution lists — and ends with a "what should I request" guide.

Instructions

1. Decide Whether You Need Sharing or Delegating

These two words get used interchangeably, and they are not the same thing. Picking the wrong one is why people come back from leave to a calendar nobody managed.

• Sharing grants visibility. The other person can look at your calendar, at the detail level you choose, and that is where it stops. Use this for a teammate who needs to know when you are free.
• Delegating grants authority. The delegate can open your folders, create and change items, accept or decline meeting invitations addressed to you, and send messages that carry your name. Use this for the person covering your desk.

A delegate can do everything a viewer can, plus act. If your goal is only "let them see my schedule", stop here and use How to Manage Calendar Sharing Permissions in Outlook instead - it is a smaller change and a smaller risk.

Note: Delegate access is different again from a shared mailbox, which is a separate mailbox that several people work out of. If what you actually need is a team address like support@, see How to Add a Shared Mailbox in Outlook.

2. Set Up Delegate Access in Classic Outlook

Classic Outlook is the only version with the full Delegates dialog, which sets mail, calendar, tasks, and contacts in one pass. If your ribbon has a File tab in the top-left corner, you are in classic Outlook.

1. Open Outlook and click File in the top-left corner. The Account Information page opens.
2. Click Account Settings, then choose Delegate Access from the dropdown. A window titled Delegates opens, listing anyone who already has access.
3. Click Add. The address book opens.
4. Type your coworker's name in the Search box, select their entry in the results list, click Add -> at the bottom, then click OK.
5. The Delegate Permissions dialog appears, showing one dropdown per folder: Calendar, Tasks, Inbox, Contacts, and Notes. Outlook pre-sets Calendar and Tasks to Editor and leaves the rest at None.
6. Set Inbox to Editor if your delegate needs to read and answer your mail. Leave any folder they do not need at None.
7. Leave Automatically send a message to delegate summarizing these permissions checked. Your delegate receives an email confirming exactly what they were given.
8. Click OK to close Delegate Permissions.
9. Back in the Delegates window, choose where meeting invitations go using the radio buttons under Deliver meeting requests addressed to me and responses to meeting requests where I am the organizer to:
   • My delegates only, but send a copy of meeting requests and responses to me - your delegate handles invitations, you stay informed. This is the setting most people want.
   • My delegates only - invitations bypass your inbox entirely.
   • My delegates and me - you both get them, and you both have to remember who is answering.
10. Click OK. The Delegates window closes and your coworker's name is now on the list.

Verification: Ask your delegate to click File > Open & Export > Other User's Folder, type your name, pick Inbox from the Folder type dropdown, and click OK. Your inbox opens in a new window. If it does not, work through Step 5 - the mailbox root permission is the usual cause.

3. Choose the Right Permission Level

Each folder dropdown in the Delegate Permissions dialog offers the same four levels. Outlook describes them in parentheses on screen; here is what they mean in practice.

• None - no access at all. The folder does not open for them.
• Reviewer (can read items) - read-only. They can open and read your messages or appointments and nothing else. No replies, no new items, no deleting.
• Author (can read and create items) - read, plus create new items and delete the ones they created themselves. Your existing mail and meetings stay untouchable.
• Editor (can read, create, and modify items) - full control of that folder. They can change your appointments, move your mail, and delete anything in it, including items you created.

For someone covering your inbox while you are on leave, Editor on Inbox and Calendar is the right call - anything less and they cannot file mail or reschedule your meetings. For an assistant who books your time but does not touch your mail, use Editor on Calendar and None on Inbox.

Letting the delegate see private items. Marking an appointment Private hides its details from people who merely share your calendar. It does not hide it from a delegate if you allow it to. In the Delegate Permissions dialog there is a checkbox reading Delegate can see my private items. Leave it unchecked and your private appointments show as busy blocks with no detail. Check it and your delegate reads them in full.

Note: That checkbox applies to every folder the delegate can reach, not to one calendar. There is no way to expose private calendar items while keeping private mail hidden.

4. Delegate Your Calendar in New Outlook and on the Web

New Outlook and Outlook on the web split the job in two: calendar delegation has its own page, and mail access is handled by folder permissions (Step 5). There is no single Delegate Access dialog in these versions. If you are unsure which version you are running, Understanding Outlook Versions - Classic vs. New vs. Web settles it in about thirty seconds.

1. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the window to open Settings.
2. In the left column of the settings pane, click Accounts, then click Delegation.
3. Under Delegates, click Add. A people picker opens.
4. Type your coworker's name, select them from the suggestions, then click Add.
5. A permissions panel appears. Choose the access level from the dropdown:
   • Can view when I'm busy
   • Can view titles and locations
   • Can view all details
   • Can edit
   • Delegate - the one you want. It grants editing rights and the ability to respond to meeting invitations for you.
6. Choose where meeting invitations are delivered using the options below the dropdown. Send notifications to me and my delegate keeps you both in the loop.
7. To expose private appointments, check Delegate can view my private events. Leave it unchecked otherwise.
8. Click Save. Your coworker's name now appears in the Delegates list on the same page.

Note: Some tenants still show the older path instead: Settings > Calendar > Shared calendars, then Share a calendar, and pick Delegate as the permission. Both routes write the same setting. Use whichever your build offers.

5. Give a Coworker Access to Your Inbox Folders

In new Outlook and on the web, mail access is granted folder by folder. There is one non-obvious requirement that catches almost everyone: your delegate also needs permission on the mailbox root - the entry at the very top of the folder list showing your name - or Outlook refuses to open any folder beneath it.

Grant access to the mailbox root first:

1. In the folder list on the left, right-click your name at the very top of the list.
2. Select Permissions (in classic Outlook, right-click the same entry and choose Data File Properties, then open the Permissions tab).
3. Click Add, select your coworker, and click OK.
4. Leave Permission Level set to None, but check the box labelled Folder visible. This grants no ability to read anything - it grants the ability to see that the mailbox exists.
5. Click OK.

Then grant access to the folders themselves:

1. Right-click Inbox in the folder list and select Permissions (or Properties > Permissions tab in classic Outlook).
2. Click Add, select your coworker, and click OK.
3. Set Permission Level to Editor so they can read, reply, file, and delete.
4. Click OK.
5. Repeat for any subfolder your delegate needs. Folder permissions do not flow downhill - a subfolder of Inbox needs its own entry.

Verification: Ask your delegate to click their profile picture in the top-right corner of Outlook on the web and select Open another mailbox, then type your email address. Your mailbox opens in a new browser tab with the folders you granted.

6. Choose Between Send on Behalf and Send As

Both let your delegate send mail from your address. The difference is what the recipient sees, and only one of them is yours to turn on.

Send on Behalf comes free with delegate access. Nothing extra to configure. When your delegate sends a message from your address, the recipient sees Alex Rivera on behalf of Sam Chen in the From line. To use it, your delegate clicks New Email, clicks the From button above the To field, chooses Other E-mail Address, and types your address. Outlook remembers it for next time.

Send As hides the delegate entirely. The recipient sees only your name, exactly as though you typed the message yourself. This is not part of delegate access and cannot be enabled from Outlook - it is a mailbox permission set in the Exchange admin center, so it needs a ticket.

Send IT this, filling in the two italicised parts:

Subject: Send As permission request

Please grant coworker's full name the Send As permission on my mailbox, [email protected], in the Exchange admin center. They already have delegate access, which gives them Send on Behalf, but our external contacts need replies to arrive from my address alone with no "on behalf of" line.

Send As takes up to an hour to propagate after IT applies it, and your delegate needs to close and reopen Outlook before it works.

Tip: For most internal cover, Send on Behalf is the better choice anyway. The "on behalf of" line tells recipients who actually answered, which prevents the awkward follow-up where someone replies to you about a conversation you never had.

7. Remove Delegate Access When You Are Back

Delegate access does not expire. It stays live until you take it away, so put a reminder in your calendar for your first day back.

In classic Outlook:

1. Click File > Account Settings > Delegate Access.
2. In the Delegates window, select the person's name.
3. Click Remove.
4. Click OK. Their name disappears from the list.

In new Outlook or on the web:

1. Click the gear icon > Accounts > Delegation.
2. Find your coworker under Delegates and click the trash icon next to their name (some builds show Remove instead).
3. Click Save.

Then clear the folder permissions you set in Step 5, because removing a delegate does not undo them:

1. Right-click Inbox > Permissions, select your coworker, click Remove, then OK.
2. Right-click your name at the top of the folder list > Permissions, select your coworker, click Remove, then OK.

Verification: Ask your former delegate to restart Outlook and try opening your mailbox. They get You do not have permission to open this folder, which is the confirmation you want. Your mailbox may linger in their folder list until they remove it from File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Change > More Settings > Advanced, but the folders no longer open.

Troubleshooting

WARNING

A delegate with Editor permission can permanently delete your email and meetings, and messages they send carry your name to clients and colleagues. Grant Editor only to the person actually covering your work, keep every other folder at None, and remove the access the week you return.

Symptom / Error	Potential Cause	Solution
Delegate Access is missing from the File menu	Running new Outlook, not classic	New Outlook has no Delegates dialog. Use Settings > Accounts > Delegation for the calendar (Step 4) and folder permissions for mail (Step 5), or turn the New Outlook toggle off to return to classic.
Delegate sees You do not have permission to open this folder	No Folder visible right on the mailbox root	Grant your coworker Folder visible on the top entry of your folder list, as described at the start of Step 5. This is the single most common delegation failure.
Delegate can open the calendar but not the Inbox	Inbox left at None	Reopen File > Account Settings > Delegate Access, double-click your delegate's name, and change the Inbox dropdown to Editor.
Sent mail shows "on behalf of" and the client noticed	Delegate has Send on Behalf only	Send As is an admin-only permission. Use the ticket wording in Step 6 to request it.
Delegate can read appointments marked Private	Delegate can see my private items is checked	Reopen the Delegate Permissions dialog and clear that checkbox. Marking an item Private protects nothing from a delegate while that box is ticked.
Delegate still has access days after removal	Cached Outlook profile	Have them close Outlook completely and reopen it. If your mailbox still appears in their folder list, they remove it under More Settings > Advanced > Open these additional mailboxes.

Related Articles

• How to Manage Calendar Sharing Permissions in Outlook
• How to Share Your Calendar with Someone Outside Your Organization
• Understanding Mailbox Access Types in Microsoft 365
• How to Add a Shared Mailbox in Outlook
• How to Set Up an Out-of-Office Reply in Outlook
• How to Set Up an Email Autoresponder for a Shared Mailbox
• Understanding Outlook Versions — Classic vs. New vs. Web

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