Cancel a Scheduled Email in Outlook

To cancel a scheduled email in Outlook, find it in Drafts (new Outlook, Outlook on the web, or supported Mac versions), open it, and choose Cancel send. It returns to a draft instead of going out at the scheduled time; delete the draft if you do not want to send it later. In classic Outlook for Windows, scheduled messages use the Outbox and Delay Delivery, so cancel the message there before its delivery time.

What You’ll Need

Access to the Outlook account and mailbox used to schedule the message. If you have more than one account open, check the correct mailbox.
An internet connection and Outlook on the web, new Outlook, or a supported Outlook app. The exact cancellation method depends on whether the message used Schedule send or classic Outlook’s Delay Delivery.
The scheduled email must not already have been sent. Once it has left your mailbox, cancelling the scheduled send is no longer available.

Step-by-Step

Check which Outlook you used. New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web have a Schedule send option beside the Send button. Outlook for Mac may also offer Schedule Send beside Send, depending on the version and account. Classic Outlook for Windows typically uses a delivery delay configured in the message’s Options tab. This distinction matters because scheduled messages are stored in different places.
Open the mailbox that sent the message. If Outlook has multiple accounts, select the account’s mailbox or folder list before looking for the message. A scheduled message may not appear in the Inbox or Sent Items, because it has not yet been delivered. Do not search only Sent Items and assume it has disappeared.
For new Outlook or Outlook on the web, open Drafts. In the folder pane, select Drafts and look for the scheduled message. Open it and check the recipient, subject, and scheduled time to confirm it is the right email. Scheduled messages generally remain in Drafts until they are sent, and may show an indication that delivery is scheduled.
Choose Cancel send. With the scheduled message open, select Cancel send if that control appears. Outlook should stop the scheduled delivery and return the message to an editable draft. Confirm that it is now an ordinary draft rather than simply closing the window while the scheduled status remains. If you only want to change the time, edit or reschedule the draft using the send-options menu shown for your Outlook version.
Decide whether to keep or discard the draft. To send it later, leave it in Drafts, make any needed edits, and schedule it again when ready. To abandon the email, delete the draft and confirm the deletion if Outlook asks. Cancelling the schedule alone does not necessarily delete the message, so check Drafts if you do not want to retain it.
For Outlook for Mac, check Drafts first. If the version you use has Schedule Send, open the scheduled message in Drafts and use Cancel send when available. The message should return to an unscheduled draft that you can edit or delete. Mac menus can differ between new and legacy Outlook, so if the control is missing, try Outlook on the web with the same mailbox or consult the troubleshooting section below.
For classic Outlook for Windows, open Outbox. Select Outbox in the folder pane and find the message with the delivery delay. If the message is still waiting there, delete it to cancel delivery. Confirm deletion, then check that it is no longer in Outbox. This is the quickest option when you do not need to preserve the message.
To keep a classic Outlook message but remove its delay, open it from Outbox. Double-click the message, then go to Options > Delay Delivery. Clear the Do not deliver before setting and close the dialog. Use Send if you want it sent now, or save and close the message if you intend to keep it unsent. Verify its status in Outbox or Drafts before leaving Outlook. Button names can vary slightly by Outlook build.
Check the final state. In new Outlook or on the web, confirm the email is now an unscheduled draft or has been deleted. In classic Outlook, confirm the delayed message is gone from Outbox if you deleted it. If you removed the delay to send immediately, check Sent Items after Outlook processes it. This verification helps catch a message that was opened but not actually unscheduled.

Common Mistakes

Looking in Sent Items first. A scheduled message has not necessarily been sent, so it may be in Drafts or Outbox instead. Check the folder that matches the scheduling method. Search can help, but include Drafts or Outbox in the search scope if your Outlook version allows it.

Deleting the wrong item. Before cancelling, compare the subject, recipients, and time. A mailbox may contain several messages with similar subjects, and deleting one from Drafts or Outbox can discard the only copy. Open the message and confirm its details before acting.

Assuming Cancel send deletes the email. In versions with Schedule send, cancelling normally stops the timing and returns the message to Drafts. It may still contain its recipients, attachments, and text. Delete the returned draft separately if you want to discard it entirely.

Closing the message without cancelling. Closing a window or navigating away is not a reliable way to stop delivery. Use the explicit Cancel send control, or remove the message from Outbox in classic Outlook. Then check its folder and status.

Trying to cancel after the send time. If Outlook has already sent the message, it is no longer a scheduled draft or waiting item. You may be able to send a correction, and some eligible Microsoft 365 work or school accounts have message recall, but recall is limited and is not a dependable way to retrieve email, especially from external recipients.

Tips

Schedule with a margin rather than choosing a delivery time just seconds away. That gives you a chance to catch a wrong recipient, attachment, or date. If a message is important, reopen the scheduled item after setting it and check the displayed time zone and delivery date. Outlook may show times according to your mailbox or device settings, so be particularly careful when scheduling across regions.

For a message you may need to revise, keep the draft and cancel only the schedule. For a message you are certain you no longer need, delete it after cancelling and verify that it is gone. If the email contains sensitive information, also check Deleted Items and empty it only if appropriate for your organization’s retention rules; deleting a message from Drafts does not guarantee permanent removal from a managed mailbox.

Classic Outlook’s Delay Delivery is not the same feature as Schedule send. With classic Outlook, the message can remain in Outbox, and Outlook may need to be open and connected for delivery to occur as expected, depending on the account and configuration. If your organization requires Outlook to stay online, do not close it before the scheduled time. New Outlook and web-based scheduling work differently, so use the instructions for the exact app you used.

Troubleshooting

The scheduled message is not in Drafts. Check Outbox, especially if you used classic Outlook for Windows or selected a delivery delay from the Options tab. Also check the mailbox belonging to the sending account, not just the account currently selected for reading mail. If you still cannot find it, search by a distinctive subject or recipient and include all mail folders in the search.

There is no Cancel send button. Make sure the email is still scheduled and open the message itself rather than selecting it in the folder list. The app may be an older version, the account may not support Schedule send, or the message may already have been sent. For a classic Outlook delay, use Outbox and the Delay Delivery settings instead. If the button remains absent, try Outlook on the web with the same account and check whether the message appears in Drafts.

The message is stuck in Outbox. In classic Outlook, a disconnected app, offline mode, or a large attachment can keep an item waiting. If you want to cancel, try deleting it from Outbox. If it will not delete, check Send/Receive > Work Offline; if Work Offline is enabled, switch back online, then try again. You can also close and reopen Outlook after confirming that it is not actively sending. Avoid repeatedly pressing Send, which could create confusion about whether the message was submitted.

The scheduled time has passed but the email remains unsent. Check whether Outlook is offline, whether the message is still in Outbox, and whether the computer or app was closed when classic Outlook needed to process the delay. For new Outlook or the web, refresh the folder and check that the scheduled time and time zone were set correctly. If delivery is no longer wanted, cancel or delete the still-pending message; if it has already moved to Sent Items, it has been sent.

You cancelled it but still see the message. That can be normal: cancellation often converts the scheduled email into a draft rather than erasing it. Open Drafts and either edit and reschedule it or delete it. If it is still marked as scheduled, refresh Outlook, reopen the message, and repeat the explicit cancellation step.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I cancel a scheduled email in Outlook after closing the app?
Usually, yes, if the message is still scheduled. Reopen the same account in Outlook and check Drafts or Outbox according to the method you used. If the delivery time has passed and the message has been sent, cancelling the schedule is no longer possible.

Does cancelling a scheduled email delete it?
Not necessarily. In new Outlook and Outlook on the web, Cancel send normally returns the message to Drafts. Delete that draft separately if you do not want to keep it. In classic Outlook, deleting the delayed message from Outbox removes that pending item.

Can I change the scheduled time instead of cancelling?
Yes, if the message is still pending. Open it from Drafts in versions that use Schedule send, cancel the current schedule if needed, then choose a new time from the Send menu. In classic Outlook, edit the Do not deliver before date and time through Options > Delay Delivery.

Can I cancel an email after it appears in Sent Items?
No. Sent Items means Outlook has sent it from your mailbox. Some work or school Microsoft 365 setups offer recall under limited conditions, but it is not guaranteed and generally cannot retrieve a message from every recipient. A follow-up correction may be the practical option.

Why is a scheduled email in Outbox instead of Drafts?
That commonly indicates classic Outlook for Windows used Delay Delivery. New Outlook and Outlook on the web generally keep Schedule send messages in Drafts. Use the cancellation method for the folder and feature you actually used rather than moving the message between folders.

Can I cancel a scheduled email from my phone?
It depends on the Outlook mobile app version and account. Look in the mailbox’s Drafts for the scheduled item and open it to see whether a cancellation option is available. If it is not, use Outlook on the web or desktop to cancel it, and verify that the message remains unsent.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

More in How-to basics

Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

Spotted an error in this guide? Let us know.