How to Archive Emails in Outlook (and Find Them Again)
Archive moves email out of your inbox without deleting it. Here’s where it goes in Outlook, how to undo it, and what it doesn’t do.
Archive moves an email out of your inbox into the Archive folder. Nothing is deleted: archived email stays searchable and available on your other devices. It’s the tidy alternative to deleting mail you might need again.
Archive in Outlook.com or Outlook on the web
- Select the message.
- Select Archive.
Outlook uses your default Archive folder.
Archive in new Outlook for Windows
- Select the email.
- Select Archive in the toolbar.
- A pop-up confirms it — select Undo there if you didn’t mean to.
Find archived emails
Under Folders, select Archive. Or search: archived email still turns up in search results — the Outlook Search Builder helps you narrow it down.
Move an email back to the inbox
In the Archive folder, select the message, select Move to, and choose the original folder (or type its name).
About the Archive folder
- Outlook.com, Microsoft 365 and Exchange accounts have a default Archive folder that can’t be deleted, and you can’t change its location for Microsoft 365 or Exchange accounts.
- For Microsoft 365 and Exchange, your organisation’s folder policies, such as retention policies, apply to it.
- With a POP or IMAP account, you can create an Archive folder or choose an existing one.
Archive, delete, AutoArchive and Online Archive
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Archive | Moves email to the Archive folder. Doesn’t delete it — and doesn’t reduce your mailbox size. |
| Delete | Moves email to Deleted Items, which Outlook.com empties after 30 days. See recovering deleted email. |
| AutoArchive | Not available in new Outlook for Windows. |
| Online Archive | Available in Microsoft 365 for enterprises, and can reduce mailbox size. |
Other ways to clear your inbox without deleting
Outlook on the web and Outlook.com also offer:
- Move to — file a message in any folder, or create a new one.
- Snooze — hide a message and have it come back at a set time.
- Pin — keep a message at the top of the list.
- Categories — tag messages without moving them.
Pin, Snooze and Categories sit in the Tags section of the ribbon.
Because archiving doesn’t free space, it won’t fix a full mailbox — Outlook storage full covers what does. To clear out a sender for good, use Sweep or Empty folder. Archiving in Gmail works differently — see Gmail archive.
How this guide was checked · October 2026
Verified against 3 official sources
Every step, setting and limit in this guide was checked against the provider’s own documentation on support.microsoft.com. Anything we couldn’t confirm was left out.
- 01 Microsoft Support: Organize your inbox with Archive, Sweep, and other tools in Outlook on the web support.microsoft.com
- 02 Microsoft Support: Archive in Outlook for Windows support.microsoft.com
- 03 Microsoft Support: Restore deleted email messages in Outlook.com or Outlook on the web support.microsoft.com
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Where do archived emails go in Outlook?
To the Archive folder. Under Folders, select Archive.
Does archiving in Outlook free up space?
No. Microsoft says the Archive button doesn’t reduce mailbox size. Online Archive in Microsoft 365 for enterprises can.
How do I unarchive an email in Outlook?
Open the Archive folder, select the message, select Move to and choose the original folder.
Is AutoArchive available in new Outlook?
No. Microsoft says AutoArchive isn’t available in new Outlook for Windows.
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