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How to set up a rule in Outlook to sort emails into a folder

Outlook can move emails from a specific sender — or matching a subject or keyword — into a folder automatically, using a feature called rules. This guide covers Outlook on the web (outlook.com and Outlook for Microsoft 365 accessed through a browser). The desktop Outlook app has the same feature under a different menu.

What you'll need: An Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 email account. A desktop or laptop browser — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.

Open Outlook in your browser

Go to outlook.com and sign in if you aren't already.

Open Settings

Click the gear icon (⚙️) in the top-right corner, then click View all Outlook settings at the bottom of the panel that opens.

Go to Mail, then Rules

In the Settings window, click Mail in the left-hand list, then click Rules.

Start a new rule

Click Add new rule. Give the rule a name that reminds you what it does — for example:

Move newsletters to folder

Set what the rule matches

Under Add a condition, choose what the rule should look for. Common options:

From — emails from a specific sender:

[email protected]

Subject includes — emails with specific words in the subject line:

Invoice

You can add more than one condition with Add another condition. By default, Outlook matches emails that meet all of them.

Choose the folder to move messages to

Under Add an action, select Move to, then either pick an existing folder from the list or click Create new folder to make one now. Give it a name — for example:

Newsletters

Save the rule

Click Save. The rule appears in your Rules list and starts working on new emails straight away.

Apply the rule to emails already in your inbox (optional)

A new rule only affects emails that arrive from this point onward — it won't touch anything already sitting in your inbox. To sort existing emails as well, find the rule in the Rules list, click the options icon next to it, and choose Run now.

Variations

Match an entire domain

In the From condition, enter just the domain name to catch all emails from that organisation:

@amazon.co.uk

This matches any sender ending in that domain — useful for retailers or mailing lists that send from several different addresses.

Match any of several conditions, not all of them

By default, a rule with more than one condition only fires when every condition matches. If you want it to fire when any one of them matches instead, look for the "all" / "any" option near the top of the conditions list and switch it.

Setting up rules in the Outlook desktop app

The Windows and Mac desktop versions of Outlook have their own Rules Wizard, reached from File menu › Manage Rules & Alerts, with a different layout to the web version. This guide covers Outlook on the web only.

Troubleshooting

The rule isn't moving emails to the folder

Check whether an earlier rule in your list is set to stop processing more rules once it matches an email — if so, it can prevent rules further down the list from ever running. Rules are applied in the order they appear in the Rules list, top to bottom.

I can't find the folder in the sidebar

Check whether the folder was created as a sub-folder of another one rather than at the top level — it may be nested under a folder you need to expand. You can also drag any folder in the list to reorder it.

I want to edit or delete the rule later

Go to Settings › Mail › Rules. Click a rule in the list to edit its conditions and actions, or use the delete icon next to it to remove it entirely.

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