Distribution list updates

Question

I have 2 email distribution list I use frequently. Ive had my IT update, but it never works out. I need this updated often as staff come and go. Are there directions to do this?

Answer 1

Hi @Hite, Annmarie, 

Good day, and thank you for reaching out. I appreciate you sharing the details of your situation. 

Before we proceed, please note that this is a user-to-user community forum. As a moderator, I don’t have access to your Microsoft 365 tenant, your account, or your device to make changes directly. However, I’ll do my best to support you by sharing the appropriate resources and directing you to the right support channels. 

If these are Distribution List in Microsoft 365 / Exchange Online, you can only self-manage the group membership if your IT administrator has assigned you as an owner of those groups.

For your reference: Distribution groups - Microsoft Support 

If your organization allows this, I would recommend reaching out to your IT team and asking them to assign you as an owner of the two distribution list you use frequently.  

• Once you are added as an owner, the groups should appear under the “Groups I own” section in the Groups portal, where you can update members as needed. 
• 

For your IT administrator, the general steps to assign an owner are: 

1. Sign in to the Exchange admin center.  
2. Go to Recipients > Groups and select the relevant Distribution List.  
3. Open the group details, then go to the Members section > View all and manage owners.  
4. Choose Add owners, then add the appropriate user as an owner of the group.  
5. 
6. Save the changes and allow some time for the update to sync, if needed. 

After you have been assigned as an owner, you should be able to sign in to the Groups portal and manage the group from the “Groups I own” tab.  

I hope this information is helpful. Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to share them in the comment below. I'm very happy to help.  

Thank you again for your understanding and cooperation.

Wishing you all the best. 

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. 

Note: Follow the steps in our documentation to enable email notifications if you want to receive email notifications related to this topic.  

Answer 2

To keep distribution lists up to date, use the Microsoft 365 admin center (for true distribution groups) or Outlook contact groups (if they are personal lists). For business mailboxes, distribution groups are usually managed in the admin center.

To update a Microsoft 365 distribution group in the admin center:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
2. In the left navigation, select … Show all > Teams and groups > Active teams and groups.
3. Select the Distribution list tab.
4. Select the distribution group that needs changes, then choose Manage or Edit.
5. Use the Members section to add or remove staff as they join or leave:
   • Add new staff by selecting Add members, choosing the users, and saving.
   • Remove staff by selecting existing members and removing them.
6. Save changes. Allow up to about 60 minutes for changes to fully apply.

If external people need to send to the list, ensure the setting Allow people outside of my organization to send email to this Distribution group is enabled when editing the group’s settings.

If the lists are actually Microsoft 365 Groups or personal Outlook contact groups rather than distribution groups, confirm the type in the admin center first; sometimes a Microsoft 365 group is created instead of a distribution group.

If IT previously managed these lists, request admin access or ask IT to follow the steps above so that the lists can be updated whenever staff changes occur.

---

References:

• Create distribution groups in the Microsoft 365 admin center
• Distribution group issues
• Manage distribution groups