How To Change the ‘Reply To’ Address for Email Messages in Outlook

Jamie Read more October 2, 2021

If you’re going on vacation or will be out of reach for a while, changing the reply address for an email can be a useful way to keep in touch. The process is simple once you know how but this being Microsoft, it isn’t as straightforward as it could be.

How To Change the ‘Reply To’ Address for Email Messages in Outlook

For example, if you’re sending an email from work but won’t have access to work email but you will be able to access your personal email, you can send an email from work and have the recipient reply to your home. It is one of the many reasons you may need to change a reply to address for email messages in Outlook 2016.

If you need to change the ‘Reply To’ address for email messages in Outlook, this tutorial is for you.

Change the Reply to Address in Outlook 2016

If you or your organization uses Microsoft Exchange servers, users cannot permanently change their reply to address in Outlook. You can modify reply to addresses for individual mails, but not set it permanently. You will have to contact your IT team if you use Exchange.

Typically you would change the reply to address for an individual email or a couple of emails and that would be it. However, if you want to permanently add or change the reply to address you can do that too, except if you use Exchange as already mentioned.

Change the Reply to Address for Each Email

If you only need to change the address for one or two emails, you can make the change in each individual mail.

Open a new email in Outlook.
Select Options > Direct Replies To in the ribbon.
Check the box next to Have replies sent to if it isn’t already checked and hit Select Names.
Select an email address from the list or use a ; and type the email address into the box. If using multiple email addresses, separate with a ‘;’.
Make sure all addresses are listed in the box next to Reply To at the bottom of the window. Hit Reply To if they don’t to add them.
Select OK and Close to go back to the email.
The Direct Replies To box should remain gray if it is set up correctly.
Complete and send the email as normal.

You can use this method as many times as you like and add as many reply to addresses as you like. Normal usability rules apply though, try not to include every person you know and create endless email chains. Nobody likes those.

Change the Reply to Address Permanently in Outlook 2016

If you want to permanently have all email replies delivered to a different inbox, you can do that too. The upside is that once set, you don’t need to specify addresses every time you send a mail. The downside is that you can only include a single email address rather than multiple addresses.

To permanently change the reply address, you need to delve into Outlook account settings.

Open Outlook and select File.
Select Account Settings and Account Settings.
Select the Email tab and the email address you want to modify.
Select Change from the options and the More Settings button on the right.
Add the email address in the box next to Reply Email and select OK.
Select Next and close the Test window.
Select Finish and close the Email Account screen.

Now when you send emails, any replies will be permanently directed to the address you specified in step 5.

Set an Out of Office Reply in Outlook 2016

If you would rather go on vacation without worrying about email or work, it might just be easier to set up an out of office reply. This is a canned response to anyone who emails you telling them you’re not there and will be back on a certain date. In work or at school, this is a courtesy that should be used anytime you’re not around to answer emails.

Open Outlook and select File.
Select Automatic Replies underneath Account Settings.
Now, select Send automatic replies , set the start/end date and time, create an email or use an organizational template, and then select OK.

Now all you have to do is remember to turn it off once you’re back. It might be useful to create a calendar entry reminding you to do that on your return. If you’re anything like me, you will forget and it will be a colleague reminding you, or worse, your boss yelling at you to turn it off!

Using Outlook

It’s fairly easy to change your Reply to address in Outlook. Whether you’re going out of town or you just want to setup a generic email response, you now know how to adjust those settings.

Were you successful in changing you Reply to address? Share your experiences below.