How to remove signature in Outlook: stop it auto-adding, delete it, and clear one that returns

How to remove signature in Outlook depends on which Outlook you use, and on whether you want to stop it being added or delete it for good. In classic Outlook for Windows, open Signature, then Signatures, and set New messages and Replies/forwards to (none). In new Outlook and Outlook on the web, leave the checkboxes under the signature blank. These steps follow Microsoft’s signature guide and its screen reader signature page, read in October 2026.

One warning first. The main guide never uses the words delete or remove. Where Microsoft’s pages are silent on a version, this article says so.

How to remove signature in Outlook before deleting anything

The mildest approach is to stop Outlook adding the signature automatically. The signature stays in your list for the day you want it back.

Classic Outlook for Windows.

1. Open a new email message.
2. On the Message menu, select Signature, then Signatures.
3. In the E-mail account drop-down, choose the account.
4. Under Choose default signature, set New messages to (none). Microsoft says this adds no signature to new messages, and does not by itself add one to messages you reply to or forward.
5. Set Replies/forwards to (none) too, then choose OK.

New Outlook and Outlook on the web. Select Settings, then Accounts, then Signatures. Pick the account if you have more than one. Microsoft says the checkboxes at the bottom decide whether the signature is applied to new messages and to replies and forwards, or you can leave them blank and add the signature you want when composing a message. So untick both and select Save.

Outlook for Mac. On the Outlook menu, select Settings, then Signatures under Mail. Under Choose which signature appears, select the account and look at For new messages and For replies or forwards. Microsoft says you set defaults separately for each account. The Mac page we read does not say how to switch a default off, but the Mac screen reader steps mention pop-up menus whose current value is read as “None”, which is where to look.

How to remove signature in Outlook for good

Deleting is a different job, and Microsoft’s pages treat it unevenly.

Outlook	Does Microsoft describe deleting?	What it says
Classic for Windows	Yes, on the screen reader page	In the Signatures and Stationery dialog box, choose the signature in Select signature to edit, delete it, and confirm in the window that opens
Outlook for Mac	Yes, on the Mac screen reader page	In the Signatures dialog, select the signature, then the Delete selected signatures button, and confirm
New Outlook and the web	Not on the pages we read	The pages cover adding, editing and the checkboxes only
Outlook for Android and iOS	Not as deletion	Clear the text in the Signature window to have no signature

For new Outlook and the web, open Settings, Accounts, Signatures, and look beside each signature for a delete control. The pages above name only Edit signature, so we cannot give you a label to look for. Tell your team the same, rather than pretending to know the button.

Copy the text somewhere before deleting if there is any chance you want it later, because none of these pages describes undoing a deletion.

How to remove signature in Outlook from one email only

When a quick two-line reply looks silly with a full block under it, you do not need to touch any settings. Microsoft’s pages describe adding a signature by hand, with Signature on the Message tab, but not taking one out of a draft. The signature is text in the message body, so selecting it and deleting it is ordinary editing, not a Microsoft instruction. If the signature should never appear on replies, set Replies/forwards to (none) as above, and the problem goes away without editing each message.

How to remove signature in Outlook on Android and iPhone

Microsoft’s page for Outlook for Android and iOS says: open Settings, tap Signature under Mail, then enter your signature or use Per Account Signature. Its screen reader page adds that if you don’t want any signature at the end of your email messages, you simply delete the signature text in the Signature window.

It also says that, by default, the message “Get Outlook for iOS” or “Get Outlook for Android” appears at the end of your emails as your signature. So the choice on a phone is not between a signature and nothing. It is between the default line, your own text, or an emptied box, so look at a sent message to see which you really have. Outlook signature on Android and on iPhone cover the setup side.

Why a removed signature keeps coming back

After you work out how to remove signature in Outlook on one device, it can still turn up elsewhere. A signature can hide in five places, and each is cleared separately.

1. The classic list on that computer. Microsoft says signatures in classic Outlook are stored locally on the device where they were created.
2. Your mailbox. Microsoft’s roaming signatures page says that in Outlook for Windows, signatures are stored in the user’s mailbox for Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com accounts and become available on all devices where the account is configured. It also says that when the feature arrives, Outlook copies the signatures you had set as defaults for New messages or Replies/forwards to that account’s mailbox. Other local signatures stay on the device under Signatures on this device. The feature needs Outlook build 2303 or higher.
3. New Outlook and Outlook on the web. Microsoft says that if you have a Microsoft account and use Outlook and Outlook on the web, you create a signature in both. It follows that you clear it in both.
4. The phone. See the section above.
5. The message itself. A closing block you paste by hand, or a quoted reply from someone else, is not a signature setting at all.

Microsoft’s pages do not say whether new Outlook imports signatures from the classic version, or what happens to a roamed signature when you delete the local copy. So after a switch, check Settings, Accounts, Signatures in new Outlook and the equivalent list on the web instead of assuming. The recovery steps in signature missing in new Outlook work in the other direction but visit the same lists.

What to keep once the long signature is gone

Removing the long block for replies usually works best when you keep a short one. A compact layout with a name, a role and a number is plenty for the second message in a thread:

Example only. The company and person are made up. A short layout like this suits replies when the full signature is set to (none).

If you want to edit a signature rather than remove it, changing a signature in Outlook covers all the versions. For several signatures chosen by situation, see multiple signatures in Outlook.

How to remove signature in Outlook across a company

When branding changes, every employee has to clear the old signature in the right place, and they will not all be using the same Outlook. Nothing on the pages above lets an administrator remove personal signatures from every mailbox, so a clear set of steps helps most. emailfooter is a free WordPress plugin that keeps the current design in one place and gives each person numbered steps for their mail app. It does not push or remove signatures in mailboxes, and it is English-only for now. Your announcement can then say how to remove signature in Outlook in a few lines per version.

Frequently asked questions

How to remove signature in Outlook from new emails?

In classic Outlook, set New messages to (none) under Choose default signature. In new Outlook and the web, untick the new messages box and select Save.

How do I delete an Outlook signature completely?

Microsoft’s screen reader pages describe deleting in classic Outlook for Windows and in Outlook for Mac. The pages we read give no delete step for new Outlook or the web.

How to remove signature in Outlook on my phone?

Open Settings, tap Signature under Mail, and delete the text. Microsoft notes the app shows a default “Get Outlook” line until you write your own.

Why does my Outlook signature keep coming back?

It may exist in more than one place: classic Outlook, your mailbox, Outlook on the web and the phone app.