Outlook signature on replies and forwards: set it once, use it everywhere

Outlook keeps the setting for an Outlook signature on replies and forwards apart from the one for new messages. In classic Outlook it is the Replies/forwards drop-down, and in new Outlook and Outlook on the web it is a checkbox. These steps follow Microsoft’s help pages for Outlook and Outlook on the web, read in October 2026.

Outlook signature on replies and forwards: where each version keeps it

The wording differs by version, so here is the path for each, taken from Microsoft’s pages.

	Classic Outlook	New Outlook	Outlook on the web
Open the signatures	Open a new email, then Message, Signature, Signatures	Settings, Accounts, Signatures	Settings, Accounts, Signatures
How you choose	Two drop-downs: New messages and Replies/forwards	Checkboxes for new messages and for replies and forwards	Checkboxes for new messages and for replies and forwards
Default if you do nothing	(none) in each drop-down	Page says leave them blank to add by hand	Page says leave them blank to add by hand
Finish with	OK	Save	Save
Add by hand on a reply	Message tab, Signature	Insert tab, Signature	Message tab, Signature icon

If you are not sure which of the three you have, Microsoft’s page points out that the new Outlook steps will not work if you are not yet on new Outlook for Windows. Our guides to the classic and new versions help you tell which is which.

Set an Outlook signature on replies and forwards in classic Outlook

1. Open a new email.
2. From the Message menu choose Signature, then Signatures.
3. Under E-mail account, select the account you are setting up. Each account has its own defaults.
4. Under Choose default signature, use the New messages drop-down for new emails.
5. Use the Replies/forwards drop-down for replies and forwards.
6. Select OK.

Notice that Replies/forwards is a separate drop-down with its own default of (none). People often set the first one, press OK, and think the job is done. Replies then go out blank, because nothing told Outlook otherwise.

One classic quirk is worth knowing before you test. Microsoft notes that classic Outlook does not add a newly created signature to the message you had open when you made it. Open a fresh message to test, or insert it by hand once.

Set an Outlook signature on replies and forwards in new Outlook and on the web

1. Select Settings, then Accounts, then Signatures.
2. Pick the signature you want to change, or select Add signature.
3. Tick the checkbox for replies and forwards. Tick the one for new messages too if you want both.
4. Select Save.

Both pages describe these as checkboxes that choose whether to apply the signature to new messages and to replies and forwards. Leave them blank and you add the signature yourself while writing.

A shorter Outlook signature on replies and forwards

A long thread is where a full Outlook signature on replies and forwards does the most harm. Each reply carries the quoted message below it, and a full block of logo, address and legal line stacked on every message makes the thread hard to scan. A two-line version avoids that.

Here is the full signature, drawn by emailfooter, for new messages:

Executive layout for new messages. The firm and person are made up.

And here is the sort of text a reply could carry instead, one item per line: Leila Haddad, Associate Solicitor, Brightwater Legal, +44 20 7946 0551. That is enough for a recipient to know who is writing and how to ring.

How to set it up depends on the version.

• Classic Outlook: create a second signature called “Short reply” under Signatures, put the full one in New messages and the short one in Replies/forwards. This is exactly what the two drop-downs are for.
• New Outlook and web: create the second signature too. Microsoft’s pages describe the checkboxes but do not say whether you can tick new messages on one signature and replies on another at the same time. Try it, send a reply to yourself, and see which one arrives. If it does not work, tick only new messages on the full signature, leave the short one unticked, and add it by hand from the Signature control when you reply.

Our guide to using several signatures in Outlook covers naming and switching between them in more detail.

What the Microsoft pages do not say

Three things people ask about are not on the pages we read, so we cannot answer them with a menu name.

• Where the signature sits in a reply. Neither page says whether it lands above or below the quoted text. Look at a test reply. If you manage that setting in other mail apps, note that Apple Mail has its own checkbox for it, described in our Apple Mail guide.
• Whether forwards and replies can have different signatures. The classic drop-down groups them together as Replies/forwards, and the web and new Outlook checkbox does the same.
• How a thread looks to people on other mail apps. That depends on their app, not on yours.

Check the format of the reply

A designed signature needs an HTML message. Microsoft’s message format page describes plain text as having no bold, colour or pictures shown inside the message. For a reply, it says to select Reply, Reply All or Forward, select Pop Out if you are in the reading pane, and then change the format. In classic Outlook that is Format Text, then HTML. In new Outlook the page describes Options, then Switch to plain text, which tells you the message is HTML if you see that option.

A reply to a plain text email can come back plain too, so a missing logo on a reply does not always mean the signature setting is wrong.

Troubleshooting an Outlook signature on replies and forwards

This list is for replies and forwards specifically. The general version is in Outlook signature not showing.

1. The full signature appears on a reply you wanted short. Check Replies/forwards for the right account. In classic Outlook each account is separate.
2. Two signatures on one reply. You may have ticked the box and also inserted one by hand. Delete the extra one.
3. Replies work on the computer, not on your phone. The mobile app is its own setting. See Outlook signature on iPhone.
4. A second mailbox behaves differently. Its checkboxes or drop-downs were never set.
5. Only the first test is blank. In classic Outlook, test from a fresh message.

One design for everyone

If a whole office has to follow the same Outlook signature on replies and forwards rule, the instructions can drift from desk to desk. emailfooter gives each employee numbered steps for their own Outlook, including the default settings above, while the company controls the layout. It does not set the defaults for them, and it is English-only for now.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make my Outlook signature appear on replies and forwards?

In classic Outlook, choose a signature in the Replies/forwards drop-down. In new Outlook and on the web, tick the replies and forwards box and select Save.

Can I use a different Outlook signature on replies and forwards?

In classic Outlook, yes: the two drop-downs take different signatures. For new Outlook and the web, Microsoft’s pages do not say, so test it.

Why is my Outlook signature on replies and forwards missing when new emails have one?

The two settings are separate, and replies default to (none) in classic Outlook.

Can I add the signature to a reply by hand?

Yes. In classic Outlook use Signature on the Message tab; in new Outlook, Signature in the Insert group; on the web, the Signature icon.