How to Send an Email on Behalf of Someone: Outlook Delegation Made Simple

Sending emails for others changed my workflow at Microsoft. Delegation in Outlook lets you compose, reply, and manage messages as if you were someone else—without sharing their password.

This isn’t just for assistants. I’ve used it to cover for teammates during vacations, manage shared inboxes, and even handle client communications seamlessly. The setup takes 5 minutes once you have the right permissions.

You’ll need their email address and admin access to their mailbox. No special software, no workarounds—just a few clicks in Outlook’s settings. Works on desktop, web, and mobile.

The recipient sees it came from them, not you. Clean, professional, and foolproof.

What Youll Need

Instructions

Here’s the procedure I follow to set this up quickly and without errors.

Launch Microsoft Outlook on your desktop. I always start by ensuring I’m logged into the correct account—the one that will be sending emails on behalf of another. Click the File tab in the top-left corner, then select Info from the left-hand menu.

Within the Info section, look for Account Settings and click the dropdown arrow. Choose Account Settings again from the menu that appears. This opens a new window where you can manage email accounts, data files, and delegation permissions.

In the Account Settings window, select the email account you want to grant delegation permissions for. Click the Change button above the list of accounts. A new window will appear with various tabs—select More Settings in the bottom-right corner.

Navigate to the Advanced tab in the pop-up window. Here, you’ll see an option labeled Delegates. Click this button to open the Delegates dialog box. This is where you’ll add the person who will send emails on your behalf.

Click Add, then search for the person’s name in your organization’s address book. Select their name and click Add, then OK.

In the Delegates dialog box, you’ll see the name of the person you just added. Below their name, there are permission levels for different Outlook folders: Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes. For sending emails, the critical setting is under Inbox.

Click the dropdown next to Inbox and select Editor (can read, create, and modify items). This permission allows the delegate to compose and send emails on your behalf. Optionally, you can adjust other folder permissions if needed. Click OK to save and close all open windows.

Now, the delegate can open their Outlook and compose a new email. In the From field, they’ll see a dropdown arrow. Clicking this reveals a list of accounts they have permission to send from. They should select your email address from this list.

The email will now appear to come from you, and recipients will see your name in the From field. The delegate can write the email as usual, add attachments, and click Send. The email will be delivered as if it came directly from your account.

To confirm everything is working, ask the delegate to send a test email to you or another trusted recipient. Open the email and check the From field—it should display your name and email address, not the delegate’s.

If the test email fails or the From field doesn’t update, revisit the delegation settings in Account Settings. Ensure the delegate has Editor permissions for the Inbox and that the changes were saved correctly. Restarting Outlook can also resolve temporary glitches.

Tips and Common Mistakes

These practical insights will help you avoid the most common delegation pitfalls in Outlook.

Permission Precision: In Step 3, always select Editor permissions for the Inbox—this is the only setting that allows delegates to actually send emails on your behalf. Anything less, like Reviewer or Author, will prevent the From field from showing your address. I learned this after my first delegate couldn’t send anything.

Account Verification: Before closing all windows in Step 3, double-check that the delegate appears in the list with Editor permissions. It’s easy to click OK too quickly and miss that the permission didn’t save. A quick visual confirmation prevents having to start over.

Test Before Trusting: Step 5’s test email isn’t optional. I’ve seen cases where everything looked correct in settings, but the From field still showed the delegate’s address. Always verify with an actual test email before assuming it’s working.

Restart Routine: If the test email fails as mentioned in Step 5, restart Outlook on both your computer and the delegate’s. This clears temporary permission caches that sometimes prevent the changes from taking effect immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sending an email on behalf of someone in Outlook is simple once you have the right permissions. Delegate access or use shared mailboxes to streamline communication while maintaining professionalism. 💡 Now that you’re equipped, try setting up delegation for your team and experience seamless collaboration!