How to Add an Email Signature in Outlook (2026 Guide)

Outlook is really three different apps wearing one name — classic Outlook for Windows, the new Outlook for Windows, and Outlook on the web — and each one hides its signature settings in a different place. This guide covers all of them, plus Mac and mobile, so you can follow the section that matches what you see on your screen.

Which Outlook are you using?

• Classic Outlook (Windows): the traditional desktop app with a File tab and ribbon menus.
• New Outlook (Windows): the redesigned app that looks and feels like the web version. There's usually a toggle in the top-right corner of classic Outlook to try it.
• Outlook on the web: outlook.com or your company's Microsoft 365 webmail, in a browser.

When in doubt, you're probably on classic Outlook if you installed Office from a download, and new Outlook if it came with Windows.

Classic Outlook for Windows (desktop)

1. Open a new email, go to the Message tab, and select Signature → Signatures. (Alternative path to the same dialog: File → Options → Mail → Signatures.)
2. Click New, give the signature a name, and click OK.
3. Type your signature in the editor box. The toolbar handles fonts, colors, hyperlinks, and images.
4. To install a designed signature: open its preview in a browser, select the whole rendered signature, copy it (Ctrl+C), then paste it (Ctrl+V) into the Outlook signature editor.
5. Under Choose default signature, pick which signature applies to New messages and which to Replies/forwards. Each email account has its own dropdowns, so configure every account you use.
6. Click OK to save.

If no default is assigned, no signature appears automatically — but you can insert one manually while composing via the Signature dropdown on the Message tab.

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web

The steps are nearly identical in both:

1. Click the gear icon (Settings) in the top-right corner.
2. In the settings panel, go to Accounts → Signatures. (On the web, you may need to click View all Outlook settings first, then go to Mail → Compose and reply — Microsoft has used both layouts; the "Compose and reply" / "Signatures" wording varies slightly by version.)
3. Click + New signature (or New signature), give it a name, and type or paste your signature into the editor.
4. Under Select default signatures, choose which signature appears on new messages and on replies/forwards. On the web, the equivalent options read "Automatically include my signature on new messages I compose" and "...on messages I forward or reply to."
5. Click Save.

To paste a designed signature, copy the rendered version from the generator's preview page and paste it into the editor box — formatting carries over.

Outlook for Mac

1. With Outlook open, go to Outlook → Settings (in older versions this is labeled Preferences) in the menu bar. *(Flag: Microsoft renames this menu item between versions — if you don't see "Settings," look for "Preferences.")*
2. Select Signatures.
3. Click + to add a new signature, name it, and build it in the editor.
4. Assign it to your email account and choose it as the default for new messages and replies.

Outlook mobile app (iOS/Android)

1. Open the app and tap your profile icon, then Settings.
2. Select the email account you want to customize.
3. Tap Signature, turn off "Use default signature" if needed, and type your custom text.
4. Back out — changes save automatically.

Mobile signatures are plain text only, so keep them to name, title, and phone.

Troubleshooting

My signature doesn't appear automatically

You haven't set a default. In classic Outlook: File → Options → Mail → Signatures → Choose default signature. In new Outlook/web: Settings → Accounts → Signatures → Select default signatures. Set it per account.

Images look broken or disappear for recipients

In classic Outlook, images pasted into the signature editor are usually embedded — but very large images can get stripped or blocked by the recipient's mail client. Keep images small (under ~200 px wide, under 100 KB) and hosted versions as backup when possible. Linked images may trigger a "download pictures" prompt on the recipient's end; that's normal Outlook behavior, not an error in your signature.

Formatting looks different than what I pasted

Classic Outlook uses Word's rendering engine, which mangles modern CSS. Table-based signature HTML survives it; hand-coded modern layouts often don't. If you built the signature yourself and it breaks, rebuild it with simple tables — or use a generator whose output is tested in Outlook.

What to include

The same rules as anywhere else: name, title, company, phone, one link. In Outlook-heavy corporate environments, keep the design conservative — simple layout, standard fonts, one small logo at most.

Why your signature doesn't sync between devices

A common surprise: the signature you set in Outlook on your work laptop doesn't appear in Outlook on your phone or on the web. That's because classic Outlook stores signatures locally on each computer — they don't roam with your account. The new Outlook and Outlook on the web share settings through your Microsoft account, so those two stay in sync with each other.

Practical rule: set up your signature separately everywhere you compose email — desktop, web, and phone. It takes two minutes per device and saves the "why is my signature missing" mystery.

Skip the manual build

Sigline's free signature generator produces Outlook-safe HTML (13 templates, live preview) that you copy once and paste into any version of Outlook above. The free tier covers everything in this guide; Pro ($39 one-time) adds extras like the animated handwriting GIF and vCard download.