How to add or change your email signature in Outlook

First, work out which Outlook you're using

Microsoft makes several versions of Outlook, and each one keeps its signature settings in a slightly different place. A signature you set up in one version often won't appear in the others, so you may need to repeat these steps on each device you use.

• Outlook on the web runs in your browser. You sign in with your work or school account.
• New Outlook for Windows looks almost the same as Outlook on the web and has a New Outlook switch at the top of the window.
• Classic Outlook for Windows is the long-standing desktop app, with File, Home, Send / Receive and View tabs along the top.
• Outlook for Mac is the Microsoft 365 app for macOS.
• Outlook for iPhone and Android are the phone apps.

Outlook on the web

Signatures you create in Outlook on the web are saved with your mailbox, so they're there whenever you sign in from a browser.

1. 1Select Settings (the gear icon) in the top-right corner.
2. 2Go to Account, then Signatures. In some versions you'll find it under Mail, then Compose and reply.
3. 3Select New signature and give it a name, such as Work.
4. 4Type your signature in the editor, or paste in one you've copied from a signature generator.
5. 5Under Select default signatures, choose the signature for new messages and the one for replies and forwards.
6. 6Select Save.

To add a signature to a single email by hand, open a new message, select the Insert tab, then Signature, and pick the one you want.

New Outlook for Windows

The new Outlook shares its settings with Outlook on the web, so the steps are nearly identical.

1. 1Select Settings (the gear icon) at the top of the window.
2. 2Choose Accounts, then Signatures.
3. 3If you have more than one email account, pick the account you want to set up.
4. 4Select New signature, give it a name, then type or paste your signature.
5. 5Choose your defaults for new messages and for replies and forwards.
6. 6Select Save.

Because the new Outlook stores signatures with your Microsoft 365 mailbox, a signature you've already made in Outlook on the web may be waiting for you.

Classic Outlook for Windows

Classic Outlook has its own signature editor, tucked away in the options.

1. 1Select File, then Options, then Mail.
2. 2Select Signatures.
3. 3On the Email Signature tab, select New, type a name and select OK.
4. 4Type your signature in the Edit signature box, or paste one in. The toolbar above it handles fonts, colours, links and pictures.
5. 5Under Choose default signature, pick the email account, then the signature for New messages and for Replies/forwards.
6. 6Select OK to save.

You can also get there from an open email. Select Signature on the ribbon, then Signatures.

Outlook for Mac

1. 1Open Outlook and choose Outlook, then Settings from the menu bar. On older versions this is called Preferences.
2. 2Under Email, select Signatures.
3. 3Select the + button to add a signature, give it a name, then type or paste it in.
4. 4Under Choose default signature, pick the account, then the signature for new messages and for replies and forwards.
5. 5Save your signature and close the window.

If you use more than one Mac, check each one. Signatures don't always follow you between computers.

Outlook for iPhone and Android

The phone apps keep a signature of their own, which starts out as Get Outlook for iOS or Get Outlook for Android. Most people forget to change it.

1. 1Tap your account icon in the top-left corner, then the Settings gear.
2. 2Scroll to Mail and tap Signature.
3. 3Type your signature. If you have several accounts, you can switch on Per Account Signature and set one for each.
4. 4Go back to save it.

Keep the mobile signature short and plain: your name, job title, company and one phone number. Images and complex layouts often don't carry over to the phone apps, so a designed desktop signature is rarely worth forcing in.

When your signature doesn't look right

Most signature problems in Outlook come down to a handful of causes.

• Two signatures on one email. You probably have a default set in more than one place, or a signature add-in is adding one as well. Clear the defaults in Outlook's own settings.
• Pictures missing for the person you emailed. Many email apps block images until the reader allows them. Host images on a secure web address and give each one alt text, so the signature still makes sense without them. Our guide to signature size and images goes into more detail.
• Spacing or fonts change after you send. Signatures made with modern web layout often break in classic Outlook. Table-based HTML with inline styles holds up much better.
• No signature on replies. Check you've chosen a default for replies and forwards as well as for new messages.
• An old signature on your phone. The mobile apps don't pick up your desktop signature. Update it in the app itself.

Why central management beats doing it by hand

Setting up your own signature takes a few minutes. Keeping 50 people's signatures correct across three or four versions of Outlook is a different job. Someone changes role and forgets to update their job title. A new starter copies an old signature with last year's logo. A campaign banner stays up for months after the event.

Central signature management moves the job from every inbox to one place. With Signed, you design the signature once, people's details come from Microsoft 365, and an Outlook add-in adds the right signature as they write. It works in Outlook on the web, the new Outlook for Windows, classic Outlook for Windows (version 2304 or later) and Outlook for Mac.

• Everyone gets the same design, filled in with their own details.
• When someone's job title changes in Microsoft 365, their signature follows.
• Rules give each department or email domain its own signature.
• Campaign banners start and stop on the dates you set.

If you'd rather keep doing it by hand for now, our free email signature generator builds a clean, table-based signature you can paste into any of the versions above.