How to Add a "From" Address in Outlook: Sending Email From Multiple Accounts
If you've ever needed to send an email from a different address than your default — whether that's a work alias, a shared mailbox, or a secondary personal account — Outlook has a built-in way to handle this. The "From" field lets you choose which address appears as the sender before you hit send. Here's how it works, what you need to set it up, and where things can vary depending on your situation.
What the "From" Field Actually Does
By default, Outlook hides the "From" field because most people send from a single account. When you compose a new message, Outlook automatically uses your primary account as the sender.
The "From" field becomes visible — and useful — when:
- You have multiple email accounts added to Outlook
- You have access to a shared mailbox at work
- You've been granted Send As or Send on Behalf permissions by another user
- You're using an email alias tied to your main account
Showing this field doesn't add new sending permissions. It surfaces what's already available to you based on your account setup.
How to Show the "From" Field When Composing an Email
In Outlook for Windows (Microsoft 365 / Outlook 2019/2021)
- Open a New Email window
- Click the Options tab in the ribbon
- Select From — this toggles the "From" field visible in your compose window
- Click the From dropdown that now appears
- Choose the address you want to send from
Once you enable the "From" field in one compose window, it typically stays visible for future messages in that session or permanently, depending on your version.
In Outlook on the Web (OWA)
- Click New Mail to open a compose window
- In the From field area (near the top of the message), click the three-dot menu or look for From directly
- If the field isn't visible, click More options or the expand icon in the compose toolbar
- Select Show From
- Click the From field and choose or type the address you want to use
In Outlook for Mac
- Open a New Message
- Go to Options in the menu bar or toolbar
- Click From to make the field appear
- Use the dropdown to select your sending address
Adding a Second Account So It Appears in the "From" Dropdown
If the address you want to send from doesn't appear in the dropdown, it likely hasn't been added to Outlook yet.
To add a new account in Outlook for Windows:
- Go to File → Account Settings → Account Settings
- Click New under the Email tab
- Enter the email address and follow the prompts to authenticate
- Once added, that account will appear as a "From" option
To add an account in Outlook on the Web:
Web-based OWA is tied to a single Microsoft 365 or Exchange account. You can't add unrelated external accounts the same way the desktop app allows. However, aliases associated with your Microsoft account will appear in the From dropdown automatically.
Sending From a Shared Mailbox or Another Person's Address 📬
This is where permissions matter. In a business environment using Microsoft 365 or Exchange, you can send from a shared mailbox or another user's address — but only if the right permissions have been granted by an IT administrator.
| Permission Type | What It Allows | How It Appears to Recipients |
|---|---|---|
| Send As | Send email that looks like it came directly from that mailbox | Recipient sees only the shared address |
| Send on Behalf | Send email indicating you're acting for someone else | Recipient sees "User A on behalf of User B" |
| Full Access | Open and manage the mailbox | No sending rights by itself |
If you have Send As permission, the shared mailbox address will appear in your "From" dropdown automatically after Outlook syncs — no extra setup required on your end.
If it doesn't appear, your IT admin may need to confirm the permission has been applied and give Exchange time to propagate the change (this can take up to an hour).
Using Email Aliases as a "From" Address
A Microsoft account alias is a different email address that routes to the same inbox. If your Microsoft or Microsoft 365 account has aliases configured, they'll show up in the "From" dropdown without any extra steps.
To check or add aliases:
- Go to account.microsoft.com → Your Info → Manage how you sign in
- Or in Microsoft 365 admin, aliases are managed per-user under Active Users
Aliases are useful for people who want one inbox but multiple public-facing addresses — for example, a personal address and a business address that both land in the same Outlook account. 🔀
Where Individual Setups Start to Differ
How smoothly the "From" field works — and which options appear in it — depends on several converging factors:
- Account type: Microsoft 365, Exchange, IMAP, and POP3 accounts all behave differently in terms of shared mailbox and alias support
- Organizational permissions: In business environments, what you can send "as" or "on behalf of" is controlled by admin settings, not Outlook itself
- Outlook version: The desktop app, OWA, and the mobile app each have slightly different interfaces and capabilities for managing the "From" field
- Whether aliases are configured: If aliases aren't set up at the account level, they won't appear in Outlook regardless of settings
- Cached permissions: Outlook sometimes needs to be restarted or re-synced before newly granted permissions show up in the From dropdown
The steps above cover the most common paths, but which path applies — and whether an IT admin needs to be involved — depends entirely on your account type, your organization's setup, and which version of Outlook you're working with. 🖥️