Outlook signature not showing? Causes and fixes for each version

Outlook signature not showing is usually a settings problem, not a broken program. Typically one of five things is true: no default is set for that account, the message is plain text, you set the signature up in a different Outlook, the email you are looking at was the first one after setup, or you are looking at a reply. The fixes below come from Microsoft’s help pages for Windows and the web, Outlook on the web and message format, read in October 2026. If your Outlook signature not showing matches none of these, the symptom table below will still narrow it down.

Diagnose by symptom

Start with what you see, then jump to the matching fix. Every row is a different reason for Outlook signature not showing, and the cause is almost always visible in where the signature fails to appear.

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
New emails have no signature, from the first one	No default set, or the default is (none)	Set the default for the right account
Signature on new emails, but not on replies	Only one of the two default settings was set	Set the replies and forwards option as well
Only the first email after setup is bare	Classic Outlook does not add it to the message you opened	Insert it by hand once; later ones are automatic
Signature appears in the app but not in the browser	The two are separate products	Create it in both
Text shows but the formatting or logo is gone	Message is plain text	Switch the message to HTML
Signature vanished after moving to a new computer	Classic signatures are kept on the device	Rebuild or copy it across
Logo arrives as a separate attachment	Image inserted in a way that makes it an attachment	Reinsert it with the Image button

The rest of this guide explains each row, starting with the commonest case of Outlook signature not showing at all.

Outlook signature not showing on new emails

Classic Outlook for Windows. Open a new email, select Signature and then Signatures on the Message menu. Under E-mail account, pick the account you send from. Then look at Choose default signature. If New messages says (none), nothing is added to new emails. Choose your signature from the list and select OK.

New Outlook and Outlook on the web. Select Settings, then Accounts, then Signatures. Under the signature, check the box for new messages. If both boxes are blank, Microsoft’s page says you add the signature yourself while you write.

Outlook for Mac. On the Outlook menu, select Settings, then Signatures under Mail. Under Choose which signature appears, select the account and set For new messages. Microsoft says you must set this separately for each account. On the legacy version the same settings are under Email.

Outlook signature not showing on replies and forwards

This one catches people out because the settings for new messages and for replies and forwards are separate in every version.

• Classic Outlook: the Replies/forwards drop-down. Microsoft’s page says the default is (none), and that choosing (none) for new messages does not add anything to replies.
• New Outlook and the web: the checkbox for replies and forwards.
• Outlook for Mac: For replies or forwards.

If this is your problem, our longer guide to signatures on replies and forwards goes into more detail.

When only the first email goes out bare: Outlook signature not showing

Microsoft’s page states that classic Outlook does not add a newly created signature to the message that was open when you created it, even if you set it for all new messages. This is not a fault. Select Signature on the Message tab, pick it, and every later message includes it.

After a move or update: Outlook signature disappeared

Two statements on Microsoft’s page matter here.

First, signatures in classic Outlook “are stored locally on the device where they were created”. Move to a new laptop, reinstall Windows or sign in on a second PC, and the signature stays behind. Microsoft’s suggestion is to manage the signature through your Microsoft account where available. See moving a signature to a new computer for the practical side.

Second, Microsoft says that if you have a Microsoft account and use Outlook and Outlook on the web, you create a signature in both. A signature that exists in the app can be absent from the browser, and the reverse. If you switched from classic to new Outlook, assume the list needs checking. The page does not say that new Outlook imports classic signatures, so look at the list in new Outlook rather than hoping.

Plain text: Outlook signature not showing because of the format

If you see an Outlook signature not showing its logo or styling, check the format before anything else. Microsoft’s message format page says that plain text does not support bold or italic text, coloured fonts or other formatting, and that it does not show pictures inside the message, though you can attach them. A signature with a logo cannot survive a plain-text email.

How to check and fix it:

• Classic Outlook, one message: in the message window, choose Format Text, then HTML.
• Classic Outlook, default: File, Options, Mail. Under Compose messages, set Compose messages in this format to HTML, then OK.
• New Outlook, one message: the page describes selecting Pop Out if you are in the reading pane, then Options, then Switch to plain text to go from HTML to plain. If you already see that option, you are in HTML.
• New Outlook, default: Settings, Mail, Compose and reply, then Message format.

The classic page adds a trap. If you have chosen to read all email in plain text, your replies are also sent in plain text, though you can change the format on individual messages. Someone who reads in plain text can therefore send every reply without signature formatting.

The logo shows as an attachment, or not at all

A logo is the most common reason people report an Outlook signature not showing correctly. If the text appears but a logo does not, the cause is the picture, not the signature. Microsoft says that Vector Markup Language (VML) tags in a signature can make some elements show up as attachments instead of inline images, and recommends inserting pictures with the Image button in the Signatures window. The wider topic has its own guides: images not displaying in Outlook, and the general version that covers every mail app.

What a healthy setup looks like

Once the cause of your Outlook signature not showing is fixed, each account has a named signature, a default for new messages, a default for replies, and a test email proving it. Here is a clean example drawn by emailfooter, to compare against what you see:

Aligned layout. The company and person are made up.

A team that shares one design, and does not want each member to repeat the diagnosis alone, can use emailfooter: the company sets the layout, and each person gets numbered steps for their own Outlook, including the default settings that cause most of the misses above. That removes the guesswork the next time an Outlook signature not showing turns up in your inbox. It does not push signatures into mailboxes, and it is English-only for now.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my Outlook signature not showing on new emails?

Usually no default is set for the account you send from. In classic Outlook, check Choose default signature; in new Outlook and the web, check the box for new messages.

Why is my Outlook signature not showing in replies?

Replies have their own setting. Set Replies/forwards in classic Outlook, or tick the replies and forwards box in new Outlook and the web.

Why did my Outlook signature disappear?

Microsoft says classic signatures are stored on the device where you created them, and that you need a signature in each of Outlook and Outlook on the web. A new computer or a different Outlook starts without it.

Why does my Outlook signature not show on my phone?

The mobile app has its own signature setting, separate from the desktop. See our guides for iPhone and Android.

Can plain text cause an Outlook signature to go missing?

It can remove the formatting and pictures. Plain text does not show pictures inside the message, so switch the message to HTML.