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You can share an Outlook folder with another person when your mailbox is hosted on a supported Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft 365 work-or-school service. In new Outlook or Outlook on the web, right-click the folder, choose Sharing and permissions, add the person, and assign only the access they need. Personal Outlook.com and Hotmail accounts generally do not support sharing arbitrary email folders in the same way; calendar sharing is a separate, broader feature. Microsoft’s folder-sharing instructions cover the supported Outlook clients.
Before you share: check the account, folder, and access needed
Confirm the mailbox supports folder sharing
Folder sharing is principally an Exchange feature, including qualifying Microsoft 365 work-or-school accounts, Exchange Online, and supported on-premises Exchange mailboxes. The sharing controls and available options can depend on the account, Outlook client, and organization policy. If you use a personal Outlook.com or Hotmail mailbox, do not assume you can share an Inbox or custom mail folder; Microsoft documents broader personal-account support for calendar sharing, not ordinary arbitrary mail-folder sharing. See Microsoft’s overview of shared mailboxes, folders, and calendars.
Choose the specific folder
You can share a mail folder such as the Inbox or a custom folder, and Exchange folder-sharing workflows can also apply to supported calendars, contacts, tasks, or notes. Sharing an entire mailbox is a broader grant: it may expose unrelated mail and other mailbox data. If you only need someone to work with one folder, grant access to that folder rather than using a broader mailbox arrangement.
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Keep private material out of shared folders
Anyone with permission to read a folder may be able to see its contents, including items you regard as private. Do not rely on a private-item flag as a substitute for separating sensitive material from a shared folder. Microsoft’s Outlook for Mac sharing guidance also cautions that shared folders can expose private items through other software.
Choose the right permission level
Use the least powerful permission that lets the other person do the job. The choices available can vary by folder type and client; Microsoft’s permission guidance describes these common levels:
| Permission | What the recipient can generally do | Useful for |
|---|---|---|
| Reviewer | Read items; cannot change them. | Read-only monitoring or review. |
| Contributor | Create items, but normally cannot read existing folder contents. | A drop-off folder where the recipient submits new items. |
| Author | Read and create items; modify or delete items they created. | Adding and maintaining the recipient’s own items. |
| Editor | Read, create, modify, and delete all items. | Collaborative processing of a shared work folder. |
| Publishing Author | Author permissions, plus ability to create subfolders. | When the recipient also needs to organize work into subfolders. |
| Publishing Editor | Editor permissions, plus ability to create subfolders. | When the recipient needs full item editing and subfolder creation. |
| Owner | Full control, including changing permissions. | Only when the recipient must manage access for others. |
| Custom | Individually selected rights. | When a standard level grants too much or too little. |
| None | No usable access. | Removing or withholding access. |
For most cases, choose Reviewer for reading, Contributor for create-only submissions, or Editor when the person must process and change everyone’s items. Do not choose Owner as a shortcut: it also lets the person alter permissions.
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Share a folder in new Outlook for Windows
- In the folder pane, find the folder you want to share.
- Right-click it and select Sharing and permissions.
- Select the Add or plus control, enter the person’s name or email address, and select Add.
- Select that person in the permissions list, open Permission level, and choose the appropriate level, such as Reviewer, Contributor, or Editor. Choose Custom only if you need to set individual rights.
- Confirm the permission change with OK.
Microsoft’s current workflow is documented at Share and access another person’s mailbox or folder in Outlook. Labels can vary as Outlook changes; if these controls are absent, check the account and troubleshooting section below.
Share a folder in Outlook on the web
- Open Outlook on the web and locate the folder in the folder pane.
- Right-click the folder and select Sharing and permissions.
- Select the add or plus control, enter the other user’s name or email address, and select Add.
- Select the person in the permissions list and choose the required permission level.
- Confirm with OK or the control shown to save the change.
New Outlook and Outlook on the web send an email notification when a folder is shared, according to Microsoft’s sharing instructions. Ask the recipient to check that message, but they may still need to add the folder to their own view.
Share a folder in classic Outlook for Windows
- In the Folder Pane, right-click the folder and choose Properties.
- Open the Permissions tab and select Add.
- Find the person in the Global Address List, select their name, and choose Add.
- Select the person in the permissions list and choose a permission level. If needed, adjust individual read, write, delete, and other rights.
- Select OK to save.
For a custom subfolder, the recipient may also need Folder visible on the parent folders so Outlook can display the path. This is navigation permission, not permission to read those parent folders. If the folder does not appear immediately, Microsoft notes that recently granted access in classic Outlook can take several hours to show in the recipient’s folder list. See Microsoft’s classic Outlook instructions.
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Share and open a folder in Outlook for Mac
Microsoft’s Outlook for Mac folder-sharing and delegation guidance requires an Exchange account. The controls differ from Windows, and supported folder types and options depend on the Outlook version and account configuration. See folder sharing and delegation options for Outlook for Mac.
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For a shared primary folder, the recipient can try:
- Select File, then Open, then Other User’s Folder.
- Select Find User and search for the person who shared access.
- Select that account and the folder type, then select OK.
For broader mailbox access, the recipient may need to add the mailbox through delegation or sharing settings, or use File > Open > Shared Mailbox, depending on the Mac Outlook version and account setup. Microsoft’s steps are at Open a shared mail, calendar, or People folder in Outlook for Mac.
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How the recipient opens the shared folder
New Outlook and Outlook on the web
- In the recipient’s folder pane, right-click Shared with me.
- Select Add shared folder or mailbox.
- Enter the owner’s name or email address and select Add.
- Expand the owner’s entry and open the shared folder.
The recipient should use the account to which access was granted. If an invitation or notification did not arrive, the manual add steps above may still expose the folder once permission has been granted. Microsoft documents this flow in its shared folder access instructions.
Classic Outlook for Windows
A newly shared mailbox or folder may appear in the recipient’s folder list automatically, but Microsoft says it can take several hours for recently granted access to appear. If it remains missing, verify the account, permission, and parent-folder visibility before granting broader access.
Folder sharing is not delegation or “Send As”
With ordinary folder sharing, the recipient generally acts as themselves. For example, if they reply to a message, the reply normally comes from their own account. Giving someone Editor access to a folder does not, by itself, authorize them to send mail as you.
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- Delegate access is for someone who must manage mail or calendar activity on the owner’s behalf. Depending on the setup, a delegate can send or respond using “on behalf of” behavior and may manage meeting requests. It is primarily a work-or-school Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online capability. See Microsoft’s delegate guidance.
- Send on behalf makes the sender’s relationship visible to recipients: the message indicates that the delegate sent it on behalf of the owner.
- Send As makes a message appear to come directly from the owner or shared address. This is a separate permission and generally requires administrator involvement; it is not a standard folder permission. See Microsoft’s explanation of shared mailboxes and sending permissions.
Use delegation only when the recipient must act for the owner, not simply because they need to read a folder.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshoot a missing folder or insufficient access
| What happens | Likely reason | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Sharing and permissions is missing | The account may be personal Outlook.com, the folder may belong to a different account or data file, the client may not support the operation, organization policy may block it, or you may lack permission to change it. | Confirm the account is Exchange or qualifying work/school Microsoft 365; try Outlook on the web; ask IT whether sharing is restricted. Microsoft’s sharing guidance covers supported workflows. |
| The recipient cannot see the folder | They have not added it, are signed into a different account, or access has not propagated. | For new Outlook or web, add it under Shared with me. For classic Outlook, allow several hours. Check that the correct folder was shared. |
| A custom subfolder is missing | One or more parent folders may lack Folder visible, or the Mac access route may need broader mailbox visibility. | Review visibility on each parent in the path without granting read access to parent contents. For Mac-specific opening guidance, see Microsoft’s Mac instructions. |
| The recipient sees the folder but not its messages | They may have Contributor or None, or the target folder itself lacks read permission even though its parent is visible. | Check the target folder’s permission. Reviewer is a useful read-only diagnostic; reduce access afterward if needed. |
| The recipient can create items but cannot read existing ones | This is expected behavior for Contributor. | Choose Reviewer, Author, or Editor if they also need to read existing items. |
| The recipient can read but cannot change items | Reviewer, Author, or a custom permission without the necessary write rights may be assigned. | Use Editor for full item changes, or adjust custom write permissions to match the task. |
| Replies come from the recipient, not the owner | Ordinary folder sharing does not grant sending identity. | Configure delegate access for “on behalf of” work, or ask IT about Send As if the message must appear to come directly from the owner. |
When a shared mailbox is a better fit
A shared personal folder is usually for one person granting another person access to selected items. If several colleagues need to manage a durable common address such as support@ or sales@, a Microsoft 365 shared mailbox is often a better model: it gives authorized people access to that mailbox and can support sending from its shared identity when the relevant permissions are configured. It is broader than sharing one folder and may require organizational setup or IT permissions. Microsoft describes the distinction at shared mailboxes, folders, and calendars and explains settings for shared mailboxes in new Outlook.
A Microsoft 365 Group may suit a project that needs group membership, team conversations, and shared files, but it is not a mirror of an existing personal folder. Group files are kept in the group’s library rather than as ordinary contents of one person’s mailbox. See Microsoft’s group file-sharing guidance. For document collaboration rather than email processing, SharePoint or OneDrive may be more appropriate; forwarding is better suited to one-way notifications or temporary visibility, not collaborative access to folder history.
Stop sharing and clean up access
Remove the recipient’s permission
- In new Outlook or Outlook on the web, find the shared folder and right-click it.
- Select Sharing and permissions.
- Select the person whose access you want to remove and use the remove or delete control.
- Review the folder’s parent path. If visibility permissions were added to parent folders for navigation, remove any that are no longer needed.
Removing the target-folder permission may not remove those parent-folder Folder visible entries automatically. Review them separately to revoke access cleanly. Microsoft’s folder-sharing guidance describes removal and visibility permissions.
Remove it from the recipient’s view
The recipient can remove the shared folder from their own folder pane. That only removes their local view; it does not revoke the owner’s underlying permission. The owner must remove the permission as described above to stop access.
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