How to schedule an Outlook email to send later: where it waits decides if it goes
How to schedule an Outlook email, in each version of Outlook
To schedule an Outlook email, use the method your version offers: the first group covers new Outlook and the web, the second covers classic Outlook for Windows, and the third covers the Mac and a delay for every message.
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Schedule it in new Outlook or on the web
Pick Schedule send from the Send button
While composing, select the dropdown arrow next to Send and choose Schedule send. Pick one of the suggested times, or choose a custom time, then select Send. The steps are the same in new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web and Outlook.com. The feature is not available for IMAP or POP accounts in new Outlook.
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Find the waiting message in Drafts
After you select Send, the message stays in the Drafts folder until the delivery time. It does not go to Sent Items until it actually sends. Check Drafts if you want to confirm the time you picked.
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Send it now or cancel it from Drafts
Open Drafts, open the scheduled message and select Cancel send. The message becomes an ordinary draft again, so you can edit it, reschedule it, or select Send to send it straight away. On the web you may see the Edit pencil icon instead, then Send Now.
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Delay it in classic Outlook for Windows
Set Do not deliver before in Message Options
While composing, select the Message Options arrow in the Tags group on the ribbon. With the simplified ribbon, go to the Options tab and select More commands instead. Under Delivery options, tick Do not deliver before, choose the date and time, select Close, and then Send when the message is ready.
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Leave Outlook running until it has gone
The message waits in your Outbox, not on the server, so Outlook needs to be online and connected. In Cached Exchange Mode, the message is not delivered unless Outlook is running at the scheduled time. Leave the computer on and Outlook open, or schedule from the web instead.
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Send a delayed message early in classic Outlook
Open the Outbox, then the delayed message. Open Message Options the same way as before, clear Do not deliver before under Delivery options, select Close, then Send. The message goes out immediately.
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Schedule on a Mac, or delay everything
Schedule send in Outlook for Mac
Put at least one recipient on the To line, select the dropdown arrow on Send and choose Schedule send. Enter a date and time and select OK. The message sits in Drafts and is sent even if Outlook is not open on your computer. It needs an Exchange account, such as Outlook.com or Microsoft 365. Older Mac versions call it Send Later.
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Delay every message with a rule in classic Outlook
Go to File, Manage Rules & Alerts, New Rule. Under Start from a Blank Rule, choose Apply rule on messages I send, select Next, and leave the conditions empty to cover everything (confirm with Yes). Tick defer delivery by a number of minutes, click a number of and enter up to 120 minutes. Name the rule, tick Turn on this rule, then Finish. Each sent message then waits in the Outbox for that long.
A common case: you write to a colleague abroad at midnight and want it at the top of their inbox at 9am their time. On the web or in new Outlook, steps 1 and 2 are enough. In classic Outlook, step 4 works only if the laptop is still on and Outlook open at 9am, which is what step 5 is about.
Where the waiting message sits decides whether it depends on your computer, so check Drafts or Outbox before you close the lid.
If it goes wrong
- A message scheduled in classic Outlook went out hours late
Outlook was closed at the scheduled time, so the message stayed in the local Outbox until you opened it again. This is how Cached Exchange Mode works by design. Schedule from Outlook on the web when you will not be at the computer.
- There is no Schedule send option
The account is probably IMAP or POP, such as Gmail added to Outlook. Schedule send is not available for those accounts in new Outlook or Outlook for Mac. In classic Outlook, use Do not deliver before under Message Options instead.
- You cannot find the scheduled message to change it
Look in Drafts in new Outlook, on the web and on the Mac, and in the Outbox in classic Outlook. It moves to Sent Items only once it has actually gone.
Why a scheduled Outlook email sometimes never leaves
The versions differ in where they park the message. New Outlook, Outlook on the web and Outlook for Mac keep a scheduled message in Drafts, a folder in your mailbox. Classic Outlook for Windows keeps it in the Outbox.
Classic Outlook in Cached Exchange Mode works from a local copy of your mailbox, an offline .ost file synchronised with the server. A deferred message goes to the local Outbox, not to the server, so it cannot go out while Outlook is closed. In online mode this does not happen.
Outlook for Mac works the other way: the message is sent even if Outlook is not open. For new Outlook for Windows and the web, neither behaviour is documented.
A message in your local Outbox needs Outlook running at the scheduled time; a message the service holds does not.
What each Outlook scheduling option does
| Option | Where the message waits | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule send, new Outlook | Drafts | Not IMAP or POP |
| Schedule send, Outlook on the web and Outlook.com | Drafts | Not stated |
| Schedule send, Outlook for Mac | Drafts | Exchange account; sends with Outlook closed |
| Do not deliver before, classic Outlook | Outbox | Outlook online and connected |
| Defer delivery rule, classic Outlook | Outbox, up to 120 minutes | Outlook online and connected |
If you have the choice, start with Schedule send on the web for anything timed while you are away from the desk. Use the classic rule when you want a short safety delay on every message.
When the account, not Outlook, is the problem
An IMAP or POP account added to Outlook, such as Gmail, Yahoo or iCloud, cannot use Schedule send in new Outlook or on the Mac. The option is simply missing, which looks like a bug and is not.
A Mac user on an older version sees Send Later rather than Schedule send. The feature exists in Microsoft 365, Outlook 2019 for Mac and Outlook 2021 for Mac, and needs an Exchange account, such as Outlook.com or Microsoft 365, hosted on Microsoft 365 or on Exchange 2016 CU5 and later.
A message you already sent is a different problem. Scheduling cannot help there; the guide to recalling an Outlook message covers what can.
How to tell the scheduled send worked
Check the next morning, or at the time you picked:
- The message has left Drafts or Outbox and appears in Sent Items.
- In classic Outlook, the Outbox is empty after the scheduled time.
- The recipient’s reply, if any, refers to the message you meant to send.
How far ahead you can schedule, and whether a recipient can tell that a message was scheduled, are not documented.
Schedule from the place that stays awake
Scheduling is one click in every version, and the only real difference is where the message waits. If you will not be at the computer, schedule from Outlook on the web or the Mac, not from classic Outlook.
For a small safety margin on everything you send, the classic deferral rule gives you up to two hours to change your mind.
Common questions
- Does a scheduled Outlook email send if my computer is off?
- It depends on the version. Outlook for Mac sends it even when Outlook is not open, but classic Outlook for Windows in Cached Exchange Mode keeps it in the local Outbox and needs to be running at the scheduled time. For new Outlook it is not documented either way.
- Can I schedule an email in the Outlook phone app?
- Not that we know of. There is no documented scheduled sending in the iOS or Android app. Use Outlook on the web in a browser, which has Schedule send under the arrow next to Send.
- How long can I delay every message in classic Outlook?
- Up to 120 minutes. A rule with the action defer delivery by a number of minutes holds each sent message in the Outbox for the time you set.
- How do I unschedule an Outlook email?
- Open it from Drafts and select Cancel send in new Outlook, on the web or on the Mac. In classic Outlook, open it from the Outbox and clear Do not deliver before in Message Options.
Steps performed and confirmed today