Outlook question on shared mailboxes

Question

Is it possible to create a rule to forward a copy of emails received in a shared inbox to another mailbox account without removing the email in the shared account? TIA

Answer 1

Hi @Mary Pate, 

I hope you're doing well today. 

Based on the information you shared that you would like to know whether it is possible in Classic Outlook to forward a copy of emails received in a shared mailbox to another mailbox while keeping the original emails in the shared mailbox. 

In this case, the behavior depends on how the shared mailbox is accessed, because shared mailboxes that are auto mapped in Classic Outlook do not always provide the full rule management options available for a regular mailbox. For that reason, Microsoft generally recommends using a server based method, such as Outlook on the web or Microsoft 365 shared mailbox forwarding settings, since these options apply more consistently to shared mailboxes.  

With that in mind, please find the most suitable option below based on your situation. 

Option 1: Use Microsoft 365 admin center  

If you do not have admin access, please contact your organization's IT administrator before proceeding. 

• Open the Microsoft 365 admin center and go to Teams & groups > Shared mailboxes. 
• Select the shared mailbox, then open Email forwarding. 
• Enter the destination mailbox address and save the change. 
• This forwards incoming messages to the other mailbox while keeping the original email in the shared mailbox.  

• Reference: Configure email forwarding - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 

Option 2: Use Outlook on the web if you have Full Access to the shared mailbox 

• Sign in to Outlook on the web with your own account. 
• Select your profile picture, choose Open another mailbox, and open the shared mailbox. 
• Go to Settings > Mail > Rules, then create a new rule for all incoming messages. 
• Choose Forward to or Redirect to, then enter the destination mailbox address. 

This is often the most reliable method when managing rules for a shared mailbox.  

• Reference: Use rules to automatically forward messages - Microsoft Support 

Option 3: Use Classic Outlook only if the shared mailbox is added as a full account 

• Add the shared mailbox as an additional full account instead of relying only on auto mapping. 
• After that, open Rules and Alerts for that mailbox and create the forwarding rule there. 
• This method can work, although the web based or admin level options are usually more consistent for shared mailbox scenarios.  
• Reference: Manage email messages by using rules in Outlook | Microsoft Support 

Option 4: Reach out to Microsoft support   

In addition, if the forwarding destination is outside your organization, automatic external forwarding may be blocked by your Microsoft 365 security policy. In that situation, you would need to allow external automatic forwarding in the outbound spam policy before the forwarding can work successfully.      

You can raise a support ticket by visiting: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 

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Answer 2

Yes. A shared mailbox can forward a copy of all messages to another mailbox while still keeping the original in the shared mailbox.

In Microsoft 365, configure this in the admin center rather than with a client-side Outlook rule:

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Teams & groups > Shared mailboxes.
2. Select the shared mailbox.
3. Under Email forwarding, select Edit.
4. Check Forward all emails sent to this mailbox.
5. Enter the destination email address (a user mailbox or distribution list).
6. Select Save.

This forwards messages to the other mailbox and also keeps them in the shared mailbox by design. No additional license is required for the shared mailbox just to forward email.

If forwarding was configured via PowerShell and needs to be removed later, it can be cleared with:

Set-Mailbox <******@domain.com> -ForwardingSmtpAddress $null

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References:

• Configure Microsoft 365 shared mailbox settings
• Investigate shared mailbox activities using audit logs
• Step 4 - Forward a former employee's email to another employee or convert to a shared mailbox
• Use rules to automatically forward messages