How to Recall an Email in Outlook

Outlook can recall some emails after they have been sent, but only with supported Microsoft 365 work or school accounts. Normally, the sender and recipient need to be in the same organisation. Personal Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live and MSN accounts cannot recall an email after it has been sent.

A recalled message is not guaranteed to disappear. Outlook will send you a report showing whether the recall worked.

How to Recall an Email in New Outlook

In new Outlook for Windows:

1. Open Sent Items.
2. Double-click the email you want to recall so it opens in a separate window.
3. Select Recall Message on the ribbon.
4. Select OK to confirm the recall.
5. Check your inbox for the Message Recall Report.

The report will tell you whether the recall succeeded, is still pending or failed.

The same basic process is available in Outlook on the web for eligible Microsoft 365 work or school accounts. Outlook on the web is the browser version provided to people using an organisation’s Microsoft 365 account. It is different from the personal Outlook.com email service.

Recall normally works when:

• You are using an eligible Microsoft 365 work or school account.
• The recipient is also using an eligible Microsoft 365 account within the supported organisation.
• Your organisation has Message Recall enabled.

Recall will not normally work when:

• You are using a personal Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live or MSN account.
• The message was sent to a personal or otherwise unsupported external email address, such as Gmail.
• Your organisation has disabled Message Recall.

Microsoft’s current cloud-based recall system can also recall messages that have already been read, although an organisation can disable this. This means opening the email does not always prevent a recall from working.

As of August 2026, Microsoft is also preparing an admin-controlled feature that can allow recalls between approved Microsoft 365 organisations. It does not provide a general way to recall messages sent to any external email address.

How to recall an email in classic Outlook

Classic Outlook uses different controls.

1. Open Sent Items.
2. Double-click the email so it opens in its own window.
3. If you use the Classic Ribbon, select Message > Actions > Recall This Message.
4. If you use the Simplified Ribbon, select Message > More commands (…) > Actions > Recall This Message.
5. Choose Delete unread copies of this message or Delete unread copies and replace with a new message.
6. Select OK.

If you choose to replace the email, edit the replacement message and send it.

The classic Outlook window still refers to deleting “unread copies”. Microsoft’s current cloud-based recall system may also recall a message that has been read, depending on the organisation’s settings.

Can you recall an email in Outlook.com?

No. A personal Outlook.com account cannot recall an email once the message has actually been sent. The same applies to personal Hotmail, Live and MSN accounts.

Outlook.com instead has an Undo Send feature. Undo Send is different from Recall because it briefly delays sending the email rather than retrieving it after delivery.

To turn it on:

1. Open Settings > Mail > Compose and reply.
2. Find Undo send.
3. Choose a delay of 5 or 10 seconds.
4. Select Save.

When you send an email, an Undo option will appear for the length of the delay you selected. Select it before the time runs out to stop the message from being sent.

Once that delay has ended and the message has been sent, Outlook.com cannot retrieve it.

How do you know if the recall worked?

After requesting a recall, Outlook sends you a Message Recall Report.

Open the report and follow its link to see the result for the message. The recall may be shown as Succeeded, Pending or Failed. Some pending recalls may continue to be retried before Outlook gives a final result.

If the report says the recall failed, the original message has not been successfully removed from that recipient’s mailbox. If necessary, you can send a corrected follow-up message.

Why can’t I recall an email in Outlook?

The most common reasons are:

• You are using a personal Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live or MSN account.
• The recipient is outside the Microsoft 365 environment where Recall is supported.
• Your organisation has disabled Message Recall.
• Your organisation does not allow already-read messages to be recalled.
• The message is too old under your organisation’s recall settings.
• You are using an Outlook version that does not support the current recall feature.

Outlook for Mac supports Message Recall from version 16.94 onwards. Open the message from Sent, select Recall Message, confirm the request and then check the Message Recall Report.

Current versions of Outlook for iPhone, iPad and Android also support Recall for eligible Microsoft 365 work or school accounts. Open the message in Sent, select the three-dot menu and choose Recall.