---
title: "Forward email to Outpost"
description: "Forward a copy of your support mail to an Outpost forwarding address, from Exchange, Gmail, Proton Mail, or any host that can forward."
url: "https://support.outpostplatform.com/service-desk/forward-email/"
product: "depot"
type: "how-to"
status: "draft"
ai_summary: "Forward mail to Outpost gives each mailbox an address at outpostrmm.com. Exchange: use a mail flow rule redirect, which the outbound anti-spam forwarding block does not cover; mailbox forwarding and inbox rules bounce with 550 5.7.520 unless the Defender outbound policy allows it. Gmail: the confirmation code shows in the wizard. Replies go out through Settings > Email. No Remote Outpost."
availability:
  plans: ["enterprise", "msp"]
  permission: "mailbox:manage"
  preview: false
source: "https://gitlab.com/outpostplatform/docs/-/edit/main/src/content/docs/service-desk/forward-email.md"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

# Forward email to Outpost

Forward a copy of your support mail to Outpost when you cannot, or do not
want to, give Outpost access to the mailbox itself. Outpost gives the mailbox
its own forwarding address, and your mail host sends a copy of every message
there. Nothing signs in to your mailbox. For how email becomes tickets, see
[Email to ticket](/service-desk/mailboxes/).

Forwarding fits any host that can forward mail, and it is the fallback when
the other methods are not possible. It has these limits:

- Replies go out through your outgoing email provider in **Settings** >
  **Email**, with the support address as Reply-To, not from the mailbox
  itself. See [Configure outgoing email](/depot/email/#send-ticket-mail-from-your-own-domain).
- Forwarding can break SPF for the original sender. Mail that still passes
  DMARC through its DKIM signature is verified as usual. Mail that does not
  opens an unverified ticket. See
  [Sender verification](/service-desk/mailboxes/#sender-verification).
- A message larger than 25 MB is not accepted at the forwarding address.
- Forwarding is not available on [Remote Outpost](/remote-outpost/).

Forwarded mail is received for Outpost by Cloudflare Email Routing. Outpost
keeps it encrypted until your Outpost collects it, for up to 7 days, and
deletes it once collected.

## Before you begin

- You need `mailbox:manage` in the console.
- You need admin access to the mail host, to set up forwarding.
- A forwarding mailbox stays a forwarding mailbox. To change it to another
  method later, delete it and add the mailbox again.

## Get the forwarding address

1. In the console, go to **Settings** > **Mailboxes** and select **Add
   mailbox**.
2. In **Support address**, enter the address and select **Continue**.
3. Choose **Forward mail to Outpost** and select **Continue**.
4. The wizard shows **Forward a copy of every message to:** and the
   forwarding address, which ends in `@outpostrmm.com`. Select the
   copy button.
5. Set up forwarding at your mail host, as described below, then select **I
   set up forwarding, test it**.

## Forward from Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online

Use a mail flow rule that redirects. A redirect delivers the original message
with its original sender, and Microsoft 365's block on automatic forwarding to
outside addresses does not apply to it. An Outlook inbox rule that forwards sends a new
message from your support mailbox instead, and Outpost ignores mail from its
own mailboxes, so nothing would become a ticket.

1. Open the [Exchange admin center](https://admin.exchange.microsoft.com/#/transportrules),
   then **Mail flow** > **Rules**.
2. Add a rule that applies to messages sent to the support address.
3. Set the action to **Redirect the message to** the forwarding address.
4. Save the rule.

You can instead set forwarding on the mailbox itself, keeping a copy in the
mailbox, but then you also need to allow external forwarding, as below.

### Allow forwarding to an outside address

Microsoft 365 blocks automatic forwarding to outside addresses by default.
The block covers inbox rules and forwarding set on the mailbox, not mail flow
rule redirects. Blocked mail is not delivered to
Outpost, and the non-delivery report shows:

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

To allow it for the support mailbox:

1. Open the [Microsoft Defender portal](https://security.microsoft.com/antispam),
   then **Email & collaboration** > **Policies & rules** > **Threat
   policies** > **Anti-spam**.
2. Create an outbound policy, or edit one, that applies to the support
   mailbox.
3. Set **Automatic forwarding rules** to **On - Forwarding is enabled**.
4. Save the policy.

A policy that applies only to the support mailbox keeps forwarding blocked for
everyone else. A mail flow rule redirect needs none of this.

## Forward from Gmail or Google Workspace

**For a Google Workspace domain**, a routing rule is simpler, because it needs
no confirmation. In the Google Admin console, open **Apps** > **Google
Workspace** > **Gmail** > **Routing**, and add a rule that also delivers mail
for the support address to the forwarding address.

**For a single Gmail mailbox**, Gmail sends a confirmation code to a new
forwarding address before it forwards anything. Outpost catches that message
and shows the code in the wizard, and never turns it into a ticket.

1. In Gmail, open **Settings** > **See all settings** > **Forwarding and
   POP/IMAP**, select **Add a forwarding address**, and enter the forwarding
   address.
2. In the wizard, select **Check for the Gmail code**. When the message has
   arrived, the wizard shows **Gmail sent a confirmation code** and the code.
3. Paste the code into Gmail's **Forwarding and POP/IMAP** settings and select
   **Verify**. You can instead select **Or confirm with Gmail's link** in the
   wizard.
4. In Gmail, choose **Forward a copy of incoming mail to** the forwarding
   address and keep Gmail's copy in the inbox. Save the changes.

## Proton Mail and other hosts {#proton-mail-and-other-hosts}

Paid Proton Mail plans can forward mail to an outside address. Set up
forwarding to the forwarding address in Proton's settings. Proton Mail has no
direct IMAP, so forwarding is usually simpler than running Proton Mail Bridge.

For any other host, set it to forward a copy of every message to the
forwarding address and keep a copy in the original mailbox. Prefer a
redirect, or a server-side forward that keeps the original sender, over a
forward made by a mail app's rule.

## Verify

The test sends a message to your support address, not to the forwarding
address, so it travels through your forwarding rule. **Send a test message**
and **Receive the test message** both pass when forwarding works. The test
message is never turned into a ticket.

Outpost repeats this check once a day, so a forwarding rule that someone
removes, or a policy that starts blocking it, shows on the mailbox's health.
See [Troubleshoot a support mailbox](/service-desk/mailbox-health/).

## If something goes wrong

| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **The test message has not arrived.**, and the sender gets `550 5.7.520` | Microsoft 365 blocks external forwarding from mailbox forwarding or an inbox rule. | Use a mail flow rule redirect, or allow forwarding in the outbound anti-spam policy, as above. |
| Mail is forwarded but no tickets appear | The forward is made by a mail app's inbox rule, which sends a new message from your support mailbox. Outpost ignores mail from its own mailboxes. | Use a mail flow rule that redirects, or server-side forwarding that keeps the original sender. |
| Gmail does not forward | The forwarding address is not confirmed. | Select **Check for the Gmail code** and verify the code in Gmail. |

## Next steps

- [Configure outgoing email](/depot/email/), so replies go out from your own
  domain
- [Email threading](/service-desk/email-threading/)
- [Suspended mail](/service-desk/suspended-mail/)