How to enable automatic external forwarding for individual mailboxes in Microsoft365

    Prerequisites

    • Microsoft 365 administrator permissions.

    • Identify the specific user/mailbox you wish to enable external forwarding for.

    Steps

    1. Log in to the Microsoft 365 Defender portal as an administrator. Go to Email & Collaboration → Threat policies → Anti-spam policies


    2. Click “+ Create policy” and select type Outbound (this is to create a new outbound spam policy). 


    3. Give the policy a Name and optionally a Description to identify it (something like “External forwarding for user X”). 

    4. On the Users selection screen, search for and select the user/mailbox that you want to enable forwarding for.

    5. Proceed to the Forwarding rules section of the policy. Under Automatic Forwarding Rules, choose “On – Forwarding is enabled.” 


    6. Review your settings, and then Create the new policy (or Save) to apply it. 

    Aftermath / Troubleshooting

    • Ensure there are no other conflicting policies or rules that block external forwarding (such as transport rules, DLP rules, etc.). 

    • If forwarding still fails, verify the bounce message or error log; often Microsoft 365 will send a bounce saying:

      550 5.7.520 Access denied, Your organization does not allow external forwarding. 

    • Also, if your Microsoft 365 was obtained via a reseller or via GoDaddy, sometimes the settings interfaces or methods differ. GoDaddy has its own instructions for enabling external email forwarding.

    Published