Schedule an Email in Outlook on Mac: Step-by-Step

To schedule an email in Outlook on a Mac, compose your message, open the menu beside the Send button, choose Schedule send, and select a delivery time. The message stays unsent until that time, giving you a way to write now and deliver it during business hours or at a time that suits the recipient. The exact label and availability can vary by Outlook version and account type.

What You’ll Need

Outlook for Mac: Use an up-to-date version of Outlook, either the new Outlook experience or a supported classic version. If the schedule option is missing, check for updates or try Outlook on the web.
A connected email account: Your account must be signed in and able to send mail. Scheduling options may differ for Microsoft 365, Exchange, Outlook.com, Gmail, and other connected accounts.
The recipient and message details: Have the correct email address, subject, and any attachments ready. You can normally revise or cancel a scheduled message before it is sent.
A delivery time in mind: Outlook uses the date and time shown in its scheduling controls. Check your Mac’s time zone if you are planning delivery for someone in another region.

Step-by-Step

Open Outlook and start a new message. Launch Outlook on your Mac and select New Email or New Message, depending on the version. You can also reply to an existing email if you want the scheduled message to remain in that conversation. Confirm that the From account is the one you intend to use, especially if Outlook has more than one account connected.
Fill in the message before scheduling it. Enter the recipient in the To field, add any people to Cc or Bcc, and write a clear subject. Compose the body and attach any necessary files. Check the recipient address carefully: a scheduled email is still a real email, and choosing a later delivery time does not provide a chance to correct it after it has been sent.
Open the menu beside Send. In the message window, find the Send button. Select the small arrow or drop-down control next to it; do not click the main Send button, which sends the message immediately. Depending on your Outlook build, the control may be displayed as a small chevron. If you do not see it, widen the compose window or look for additional send options in the message toolbar.
Choose Schedule send. Select Schedule send from the menu. Outlook may show a few suggested delivery times, such as later today or the next morning, as well as an option to choose a custom time. The wording and available suggestions can change with your account, app version, and local time. Select a suggested time only after checking that its date and time match your intention.
Set a custom date and time when needed. Choose the custom scheduling option if the suggested choices do not fit. Use the date and time controls to set the intended delivery moment, then review the displayed date and time before confirming. For example, if you are writing on Friday afternoon and want the email delivered Monday morning, select Monday’s date rather than assuming that a next-day suggestion will skip the weekend.
Confirm the schedule. Select the confirmation button in the scheduling dialog, such as Schedule or Send, depending on the version. Outlook should close the compose window or show a confirmation that the message is scheduled. If you return to the message instead, check whether the dialog is still open and confirm the schedule; do not assume that opening the menu alone has queued the email.
Check the scheduled message if you need reassurance. Look in Drafts or in the scheduled-message location available in your version of Outlook. Folder names and organization vary, so use the Outlook search box to find the subject if necessary. Open the message only to review its status; if you edit it, follow the prompt to save or reschedule it. A message that has not yet been sent should remain available for changes or cancellation in supported versions.

Once the scheduled time arrives, Outlook attempts to send the message using the selected account. Delivery is not the same as arrival in the recipient’s inbox: their mail service may take time to process it, or it may place the message in a spam or junk folder. If the timing is important, schedule with a margin rather than choosing the final minute.

Common Mistakes

Clicking Send instead of its arrow. The main Send button sends immediately. Use the nearby drop-down first, then select the scheduling option.
Choosing the wrong date or time. Suggested times are convenient, but they can be easy to misread, particularly near midnight or on a weekend. Read the full date as well as the time in the final confirmation.
Assuming the recipient’s time zone is used. Scheduling controls generally reflect the time zone configured for your Mac or Outlook environment, not necessarily the recipient’s. If you are scheduling across regions, convert the desired delivery time and verify the setting before confirming.
Leaving out an attachment or sending the wrong draft. Scheduling can make a message feel finished even when it is not. Check the To, Cc, subject, message body, and attachment list before you confirm.
Thinking a scheduled message has already been delivered. A queued message is still waiting to be sent. If you need to correct it, find it before the scheduled time and edit or cancel it rather than sending a second message without checking its status.
Expecting every account to behave identically. Outlook’s features can differ between app versions and account providers. A missing option may be a compatibility or version issue, rather than a problem with the message itself.

Tips

Use scheduling to match the recipient’s working hours, not just your own. If you finish a message late at night, setting it for the next business morning can make it easier to notice. For a customer, colleague, or group in another time zone, check their local working hours and avoid assuming that a morning slot in your location is also morning for them.

Leave a small buffer before a deadline. A scheduled time is when Outlook tries to send, not a guarantee that the recipient’s provider will deliver the email at that exact minute. For time-sensitive communication, schedule earlier, confirm that the message is no longer queued after the send time, and use another agreed channel if the recipient must acknowledge it promptly.

Keep Outlook and macOS up to date, and make sure the intended account is selected before writing. If you use multiple accounts, a quick check of the From field can prevent a work message from being sent from a personal address. When practical, keep Outlook open and connected around the scheduled time, especially if you use an older Outlook build or a non-Microsoft mail account. Sending behavior can vary by version and account setup.

For a recurring announcement, do not assume one scheduled message will repeat automatically. Outlook’s schedule-send feature is for a particular email at a particular time. Prepare and schedule each message separately, and review it each time so dates, links, and attachments are current.

Troubleshooting

Schedule send is missing. First, check that you are in a message compose window and are opening the arrow beside Send rather than the main button. Update Outlook from the Mac App Store or Microsoft AutoUpdate, then reopen the app. If the option is still unavailable, your Outlook version or connected account may not support it. Try signing in to Outlook on the web and check the send menu there, or contact your organization’s Microsoft 365 administrator if it is a managed account.
The scheduled message is not easy to find. Check Drafts and any scheduled or queued folder shown in your Outlook layout. Folder names differ across versions and account types. Search for a distinctive word in the subject, and verify that Outlook is showing the correct account and mailbox. If you cannot find it, check whether it was sent already or whether the schedule confirmation was completed.
The email did not send at the selected time. Open the message’s folder and check for a send error, a delivery failure, or an unsent draft. Confirm that the account is signed in, not disconnected, and able to send a normal test message. If you use an older app build or a provider that relies on Outlook being active, reconnect to the internet and keep Outlook running. Resolve any account password, authentication, or outgoing-server error, then reschedule the message if Outlook does not send it automatically.
The message went at an unexpected time. Check the scheduled date and time shown in the message, then compare the time zone in macOS with the one you intended. On a Mac, open System Settings > General > Date & Time to review the time-zone setting; your macOS version may label the setting slightly differently. Correct the time zone if appropriate and reschedule the message with the intended local time clearly in view.
You need to change or cancel the email. Find the queued message before its delivery time and open it. Use the available edit, cancel, or unschedule action in your Outlook version. If you edit the message, save it and confirm the new delivery time if Outlook asks. If it has already been sent, cancelling the schedule is no longer possible; send a correction or follow-up instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I schedule an email in Outlook on Mac if my Mac is off?

It depends on your Outlook version and account type. Some connected Microsoft accounts can process a scheduled message through the mail service, while older builds or some non-Microsoft account setups may rely on Outlook being open and online. For the safest result, keep the Mac awake, connected to the internet, and Outlook open around the scheduled time unless you have confirmed that your setup sends while the app is closed.

Where are scheduled emails stored in Outlook for Mac?

The location varies by Outlook version and account. Check Drafts first, then look for a scheduled or queued folder if one appears in your mailbox. Searching by the message subject is often the quickest way to locate it. Make sure you are viewing the account from which you scheduled the email.

Can I edit a scheduled email before it is sent?

Usually, yes. Open the scheduled or draft message before its delivery time, make the correction, and save or reschedule it when prompted. The exact controls differ by version. If the email has already been sent, editing the old message will not change the copy the recipient received.

Can I schedule an email to send later today?

Yes, if the schedule menu offers a suitable later-today time or lets you choose a custom time. Check that the selected time is still in the future and that the date has not changed to tomorrow. Confirm the final schedule before closing the compose window.

Can I schedule an email from a shared mailbox?

That depends on how the shared mailbox is configured and which Outlook version your organization uses. Confirm that the shared mailbox is selected as the From account and that you have permission to send from it. If scheduling is unavailable or the message sends from your personal address, ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to check the mailbox permissions and supported setup.

Does Outlook notify me when a scheduled email is sent?

Notifications vary by account, app settings, and version, so do not rely on an alert as proof of delivery. Check the message’s status or Sent Items after the scheduled time. If the message remains queued or an error appears, resolve the account issue and send or reschedule it as needed.

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

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

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