By default, members of a Microsoft 365 group or distribution list reply from their own address. Give them Send As or Send on Behalf permission and they can send email from the group's address instead, so customers see "Sales" rather than a personal name. This guide shows an admin how to set it up in the Exchange admin centre, and how members then send as the group in Outlook.
Send As or Send on Behalf?
| Permission | What the recipient sees | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Send As | Sales <sales@yourbusiness.co.uk>: it looks as if the group sent it | Customer-facing addresses where you don't want individual names shown |
| Send on Behalf | Jenna Smith on behalf of Sales | When people should see who actually wrote the message |
Before you start
- You need the Global Administrator or Exchange Administrator role.
- The group or distribution list must already exist (see Create a Microsoft 365 group or distribution list), and the people you're giving permission to should be members.
- If several people need to read and reply to the same customer email, a shared mailbox is usually simpler, because members get Send As automatically. See Groups vs distribution lists vs shared mailboxes.
Give a member Send As or Send on Behalf permission
- Open the Exchange admin centre. Go to admin.exchange.microsoft.com and sign in with your admin account. You can also get there from the Microsoft 365 admin centre via Show all → Exchange.
- Find the group. Select Recipients → Groups. Choose the Microsoft 365 tab for a group, or the Distribution list tab for a list, then click the group's name.
- Open the delegates setting. In the details pane, select the Settings tab, then Edit manage delegates.
- Add the person. In Add a delegate, type the person's name or email address and pick them from the list.
- Choose the permission. Set Permission type to Send as or Send on behalf.
- Save. Select Save changes. Allow up to an hour before the person tries to send. Occasionally it takes longer.
To take the permission away, return to Edit manage delegates, remove the person and save.
Send as the group in Outlook
Once the permission is in place, the member picks the group's address in the From field.
New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web
- Start a new message. Select New mail.
- Show the From field. On the Options tab, select Show From.
- Choose the group. Click From, choose Other email address and type the group's address. Outlook remembers it for next time.
Classic Outlook for Windows
- Start a new message. Select New Email.
- Show the From field. On the Options tab, select From.
- Choose the group. Click the From button, choose Other Email Address, type the group's address and select OK.
On Outlook for Mac and mobile the steps are similar: tap or click the From address while writing a message. If the group isn't offered, type its address.
Troubleshooting
"You don't have permission to send on behalf of this user" or a bounce
The permission hasn't taken effect yet or was saved against the wrong group. Wait an hour, check Edit manage delegates again, then ask the user to close and reopen Outlook. In classic Outlook, delete the group's address from the From autocomplete list and type it again in full, because an old cached entry can cause this.
Messages show "on behalf of" even though I chose Send As
Check the person isn't also listed with Send on Behalf, and remember that meeting invites from a Microsoft 365 group always show "on behalf of". For normal email, wait for the change to replicate and try again.
Sent items go into my own Sent Items, not the group's
That's normal for groups. The message is sent correctly; only the copy is stored in the sender's mailbox. If the team needs a shared record of replies, use a shared mailbox instead.
I can't find the group in the Exchange admin centre
Check you're on the right tab (Microsoft 365, Distribution list or Mail-enabled security). Newly created groups can take a few minutes to appear.
Last reviewed: October 2026
