How to change your Outlook signature

The menus differ between the versions of Outlook, so here are the steps for each, plus how to pick which emails get a signature.

Which Outlook do you have?

Microsoft makes several versions of Outlook, and each puts signatures in a different place:

• New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web (including Outlook.com) share the same Settings screen.
• Classic Outlook for Windows is the older desktop app with the File menu.
• Outlook for Mac has its own steps. See how to set your Outlook signature on a Mac.

Microsoft's tip: if the new Outlook steps don't work, you're probably still on classic Outlook, so follow those steps instead.

New Outlook and Outlook on the web

To change a signature:

1. Select Settings.
2. Select Accounts > Signatures. If you have more than one account in new Outlook, choose the account first.
3. Select the Edit signature button next to the signature you want to change.
4. Make your changes, then select Save.

To create a new one, select Add signature on the same screen, give it a name, type or paste it into the box, and select Save.

The checkboxes at the bottom choose whether Outlook adds the signature to new messages and to replies and forwards. Leave them blank if you'd rather add it by hand when you write.

If you use both new Outlook and Outlook on the web with a Microsoft account, Microsoft notes that you need to create the signature in both.

Classic Outlook for Windows

To change a signature:

1. Select File > Options > Mail > Signatures.
2. Select the signature, then edit it in the Edit signature box.
3. Select Save, then OK.

To create one, open a new email and select Signature > Signatures on the Message menu. Choose the email account, select New, name the signature and type it under Edit signature.

Under Choose default signature, pick a signature for New messages and another (or the same one) for Replies/forwards. Choose (none) to stop Outlook adding one. Classic Outlook doesn't add a new signature to the email you had open while creating it; it starts with your next email.

Where Outlook keeps your signatures

In new Outlook and on the web, your signatures live under Settings > Accounts > Signatures. In classic Outlook, Microsoft says signatures are stored on the device where you created them, so they may not be there when you use Outlook on another computer. Make a copy of the signature you like before you switch computers, or recreate it there.

Adding a signature by hand

If you didn't set a default, put your cursor in the email and select Signature on the Message tab, then pick one. In new Outlook it's in the Insert group of the Message tab.

Make a new signature to paste in

Outlook's editor is fine for a line of text. For a tidy layout with a coloured rule and linked contact details, fill in the generator below, press Copy signature and paste it into the signature box. It's a simple table with inline styles, which is the kind of formatting Outlook keeps.

If your company adds a signature to every email for you, that's usually set by an admin in Microsoft 365, not in your Outlook settings. Microsoft calls these organisation-wide signatures disclaimers, and an admin adds them with a mail flow rule. Ask your admin before you add your own as well, so your emails don't end up with two.

For the same steps with pictures, see adding a logo or image to your Outlook signature. If it vanished, see why your Outlook signature disappeared.