Add and Use a Shared Mailbox in Outlook

Open a shared mailbox so a team can read and answer mail from one common address, and learn how to send as that address.

Why it may not appear yet: Your Microsoft 365 admin has to create the shared mailbox and add you as a member first. After that, classic Outlook usually adds it automatically — but if it lags, you can add it by hand.

Step 1: Let it appear automatically

Once your admin adds you, close and reopen Outlook. The shared mailbox should show up on its own in the Folder pane, below your own mailbox. Its calendar appears in your Calendars list and its contacts under My Contacts. If it’s there, you’re done.

Step 2: Add it manually if it doesn’t show

If it hasn’t appeared after a few minutes:

1. Go to File → Account Settings → Account Settings.
2. On the Email tab, highlight your account and click Change.
3. Select More Settings → Advanced → Add.
4. Type the shared mailbox address (for example, info@contoso.com) and select OK.
5. Click OK → Next → Finish → Close. The mailbox now appears in your Folder pane.

Step 3: Send mail from the shared address

1. Select New Email.
2. If you don’t see a From field, turn it on: Options → From.
3. Click From and choose the shared mailbox address.
4. Write your message and select Send. Recipients see the shared address as the sender, and a copy lands in the shared mailbox’s Sent Items.

The shared address stays in your From dropdown for next time.

FAQ

The shared mailbox still won’t show after Step 2. Confirm with your admin that you’re actually a member and that the mailbox finished provisioning — permission changes can take a while to reach Outlook.

Where do my sent and deleted shared-mailbox items go? Sent mail you send “from” the shared address is stored in the shared mailbox, so the whole team can see the thread.

Can the team share its calendar and contacts too? Yes — the shared calendar shows in your Calendars list and the contact list under My Contacts, and any member can add or edit items.

Sources: Microsoft Support — Open and use a shared mailbox in Outlook