How to delay delivery of an email in Outlook on Mac: Schedule send, Undo Send

Outlook for Mac does not hold back every outgoing email for you. You delay one message at a time, and you set the delay when you write it. Microsoft calls the feature Schedule send. Older versions of Outlook for Mac call it Send Later, so you may see either name in menus, guides, and forum posts. The message waits in your Drafts folder until the time you pick, then goes out on its own.

Check your account and Outlook version first

Schedule send depends on your account type. Microsoft says the feature needs a Microsoft 365 subscription or Outlook 2019 or 2021 for Mac, plus an Exchange account, such as Outlook.com on Microsoft 365. It does not work with IMAP or POP accounts, including Gmail, Yahoo, and iCloud. If you are not sure which type you have, check the account settings before you hunt for the option.

Microsoft's support page is not fully consistent about versions. Its Applies To list names Outlook for Microsoft 365 for Mac, Outlook 2024, and Outlook 2021 for Mac. The prose also mentions Outlook 2019 for Mac, which the list leaves out. To see your version, click Outlook in the menu bar, then About Outlook. Write the number down before you look for a menu item that may not exist on your copy.

• A Microsoft 365 subscription, or a supported Outlook for Mac version such as 2021 or 2024.
• An Exchange account, such as Outlook.com on Microsoft 365.
• At least one recipient in the To line. Microsoft's steps start there.

Schedule one email to send later

Start with a normal message. Add a recipient in the To line and write what you need to say. Then click the small arrow beside Send, not the Send button itself. Pick Schedule send, enter the date and time, and click OK. Outlook saves the message to Drafts with the send time set, and it stays there until that moment.

A worked example: a Monday morning status report

Say it is 4:45 PM on Friday. You want a client to get a status report at 8:30 AM on Monday. Write the email, add the client in the To line, and attach the report. Click the arrow beside Send, choose Schedule send, set Monday at 8:30 AM, and click OK. The message now sits in Drafts. Open Drafts on Friday evening to confirm it is there.

Two things trip people up in this kind of example. First, the time you set is the time on your Mac, so check the time zone if the client works in another city. Second, Microsoft's Mac page does not describe editing a scheduled message, so reread the email before you set the time, not after.

Test it before you trust it

Schedule send is easy to trust and easy to get wrong the first time. Send yourself a test message scheduled two or three minutes ahead. Watch whether it lands in your inbox at the right time. Microsoft's Mac page says a scheduled message sends even if Outlook is not open on the computer. Some guides say Outlook has to stay open. The page does not say what happens if the Mac is asleep or powered off, so test the setup you actually use.

Cancel, reschedule, or send a held message now

Open the message in Drafts. Click Cancel Send, then click Yes. The message stays open, so you can send it now or set a new time. Microsoft's Mac page does not describe editing a scheduled message in place, so the safe move is to cancel, edit, and schedule again.

A newer change covers a different case. Outlook for Mac version 16.111, released July 14, 2026, lets you edit a message held in the Outbox. You open the queued message, change it, and send it again. That helps when a message is already waiting in Outbox, not when it sits in Drafts.

Delay every email a few seconds with Undo Send

Undo Send is a different tool. It does not schedule anything. It holds every message you send for a short delay, and an Undo prompt appears at the bottom of Outlook each time you send. Click Undo during that delay and the message stops. To set it, click Outlook in the menu bar, then Settings, then Composing. Use the arrows next to the delay setting. Allowed values are 5, 10, 15, and up to 120 seconds.

The maximum matters. Microsoft raised the Undo Send ceiling to 120 seconds in Outlook for Mac 16.96, dated April 15, 2025, to match Windows Outlook. Undo Send only applies to Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com accounts, so check your account type first. Treat it as a safety net for typos and wrong attachments, not as a plan to hold mail for hours.

Why Outlook on Mac has no all-mail delay rule

Windows users can create a rule that defers delivery of every message, up to 120 minutes. Microsoft documents that path for Classic Outlook on Windows only. Its Mac Schedule send page says systematic delay rules are not available on Mac, but you can still delay individual messages.

People keep asking for a Mac version. Microsoft Q&A threads from 2022 and 2025 ask for a delay of one or two minutes on all mail. The accepted answer in the 2022 thread says Mac cannot create such a rule. A moderator in a 2022 thread on Outlook 16.64 said Mac has no official option and suggested Help > Contact Support. These are community answers, not statements from Microsoft staff, so treat them as the best available guidance.

Schedule send in Outlook on the web

If you use Outlook in a browser, the steps look similar. While you compose, select the dropdown next to Send, choose Schedule send, then pick a preset or a custom time and select Send. The message stays in the Draft folder until delivery time. To send it early, go to Drafts, open the message, select the Edit (pencil) icon, and select Send Now.

The web path is documented more clearly than the Mac path. If the Mac app is missing a control that the web version shows, check your Outlook version first, then try the same account on the web.

Mistakes people make with delayed email

• Using a Gmail, Yahoo, or iCloud account and expecting Schedule send to appear.
• Clicking the Send button instead of the arrow beside it, so the message goes out right away.
• Expecting Undo Send to hold mail for minutes. It stops at 120 seconds.
• Assuming a scheduled message is in Outbox. It waits in Drafts until the time you set.
• Searching for a Mac keyboard shortcut. Microsoft does not document one for Schedule send.
• Setting a time without checking the time zone on your Mac first.

Version notes and what changed recently

Microsoft's Office for Mac release notes show the changes that matter here. Version 16.94, dated February 11, 2025, added Message Recall, which lets you retract a message you sent. Version 16.96, dated April 15, 2025, raised the Undo Send maximum to 120 seconds. Version 16.111, dated July 14, 2026, added editing of messages in the Outbox.

The newest entry on that page, when checked, was 16.114.3, dated October 27, 2026. Check your own version under Outlook > About Outlook before you follow a step that depends on it. If your number is lower than the newest, run Help > Check for Updates first.

When a scheduled email never leaves Outbox

A 2024 Microsoft Q&A thread describes scheduled emails that stayed in Outbox and never sent on Outlook for Mac 16.66.2 with macOS 10.15.7. The suggested fixes were community answers, and the thread has no confirmed resolution. Start with an update, then restart Outlook, then open Outbox, select the message, and click Send/Receive. Keep a copy of the message text before you try anything drastic.

What to do when Schedule send does not work for your team

If the option is missing and your version is current, the account type is often the cause. Ask your IT team which account your Mac uses. If it is a shared or company Exchange account, IT can confirm what Outlook can do on it. For the all-mail delay request, the Q&A answers point to Help > Contact Support. Use that route for policy questions, not for a setting that Outlook does not have.