Create a shared mailbox in Microsoft 365 (sales@, info@)

A shared mailbox gives a team one address, such as sales@ or info@, that several staff can read and reply from. It needs no licence of its own up to 50 GB. You create it in the Microsoft 365 admin centre under Teams & groups > Shared mailboxes.

Create the shared mailbox

You need an admin role that can manage Exchange, such as Exchange Administrator or Global Administrator.

1. Sign in to admin.microsoft.com.
2. Go to Teams & groups > Shared mailboxes. If you cannot see Teams & groups, select Show all first.
3. Select Add a shared mailbox.
4. Type a name, such as Sales. The email address fills in from the name; change it if you want a different one.
5. Select Save changes.

It can take a few minutes before you can add members.

Add the staff who use it

Everyone you add gets Full Access: they can open the mailbox, read, reply, move and delete messages.

1. Under Next steps, select Add members to this mailbox. (Later, open the shared mailbox from the list to get back here.)
2. Select Add members, tick the people, then select Add.
3. Close the panel.

Members see the mailbox in classic Outlook for Windows after they close and reopen Outlook. In new Outlook, the web and on phones they add it themselves. See open a shared mailbox.

Let staff send as the shared address

Full Access alone does not let a member send emails from sales@. Give Send As so their replies show the shared address, or Send on Behalf so they show “Aina on behalf of Sales”.

1. Open the Exchange admin centre and go to Recipients > Mailboxes.
2. Select the shared mailbox, then Manage mailbox delegation.
3. Next to Send as or Send on behalf, select Edit, then Add the members, and Save.

If sending fails with a permission message straight after you set this up, wait about an hour and try again.

Good to know

These points come up often with small teams:

• Keep sign-in blocked. Microsoft blocks sign-in to a new shared mailbox by default. Staff open it through their own account, so there is no separate password to share.
• 25 people at most. Microsoft suggests no more than 25 members, or Outlook can struggle.
• Only staff can be members. People outside the company, such as a personal Gmail, cannot be added.
• Members can delete any message. There is no way to stop one member deleting what another needs.

When someone leaves, you can also turn their mailbox into a shared mailbox so the team keeps their emails. See when a staff member leaves.

Still stuck

WhatsApp our support team at +60 16-916 3324.

Common issues

Does a shared mailbox need its own licence?

No, not up to 50 GB. Each member needs their own licensed mailbox, but the shared mailbox itself is free. It needs a licence only for more space or archiving.

I added a member but the shared mailbox does not show in their Outlook.

Ask them to close Outlook completely and open it again. Changes can take up to an hour to reach Outlook. If you gave access through a security group rather than to each person, Outlook does not add it automatically.

Can a staff member send from the shared address?

Yes, once you give them Send As permission. Being a member gives Full Access (read and reply). Send As lets their emails show the shared address as the sender.

Related articles

• Open a shared mailbox (sales@, info@) in Outlook
• Add an email alias to a Microsoft 365 user
• Add a new staff member to Microsoft 365
• What to do with a Microsoft 365 account when staff leave