Multiple signatures in Outlook: create several, set defaults per account and switch per message

Multiple signatures in Outlook are saved in one list, and each version of Outlook has its own place to pick which one is added to new messages and which to replies. These steps follow Microsoft’s help pages for Outlook, Outlook on the web and Outlook for Mac, read on 5 October 2026. Where the pages say nothing, so does this article.

Which Outlook are you using?

Microsoft’s page covers new Outlook for Windows, classic Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web and Outlook.com, and sends Mac users to a separate page. The wording differs enough that it pays to check before you follow a step.

	New Outlook	Classic Outlook	Outlook on the web
Start at	Settings, Accounts, Signatures	New email, Message, Signature, Signatures	Settings, Accounts, Signatures
Add another	Add signature	New under Select signature to edit	Add signature
Automatic use	Checkboxes at the bottom	New messages and Replies/forwards drop-downs	Checkboxes at the bottom
Finish with	Save	OK	Save

Microsoft adds a note for new Outlook: if its steps do not work, you may not be on new Outlook for Windows yet, so follow the classic steps instead.

Create multiple signatures in Outlook: new Outlook and the web

These are the seven steps Microsoft lists for new Outlook. Outlook on the web and Outlook.com use the same ones.

1. Select Settings.
2. Select Accounts, then Signatures.
3. If you have more than one account in new Outlook, select the account the signature is for.
4. Select Add signature, then give it a distinct name.
5. Type the signature in the editing box below the name, and format it with the font, colour and styles you want.
6. Use the checkboxes at the bottom to say whether it applies to new messages and to replies and forwards. Or leave them blank and add it while writing.
7. Select Save.

Run steps 4 to 7 again for every extra signature. The word “distinct” matters, because the name is all you will see when you choose between them later.

Create multiple signatures in Outlook: classic Outlook

Classic Outlook keeps its signatures behind the Signatures window, and you reach it from an open email.

1. Open a new email message.
2. On the Message menu, choose Signature, then Signatures.
3. In the E-mail account drop-down, pick the account. Microsoft says you can have different signatures for each account.
4. Under Select signature to edit, choose New, and type a name in the New Signature box.
5. Write it under Edit signature.
6. Repeat from step 4 for each further signature, then set the defaults (next section).
7. Choose OK.

The full walk-through, including images, is in our guide to adding a signature in classic Outlook. The new Outlook equivalent is here.

Choose which of your multiple signatures in Outlook is added automatically

Automatic use is where people get confused, so it helps to see the two designs side by side.

In classic Outlook, Choose default signature has two drop-downs per account. New messages takes one signature or (none). Replies/forwards takes one signature or (none). Microsoft states that choosing (none) for new messages adds nothing to replies or forwards, so the second drop-down is its own decision.

In new Outlook and on the web, the page describes checkboxes that choose whether a signature applies to new messages and to replies and forwards. It does not say what happens if you tick the same box on two different signatures. Try it with a test message instead of guessing. The detail of replies is in Outlook signature on replies and forwards.

One classic quirk catches people who build a set in one sitting. Microsoft says classic Outlook does not add a new signature to the message you opened to create it, even if you chose it as a default. Add it to that message by hand once.

A worked example: three signatures, one person

Microsoft’s summary says you can set up multiple signatures for different purposes, such as internal and external, or personal and business. Here is one way to name a set so the list reads clearly at a glance.

Name in the list	Set as default for	Holds
External	New messages	Name, role, company, direct line, website
Short reply	Replies and forwards	Name, company, direct line
Internal	Nothing (inserted by hand)	Name, team, extension

The drawn example below is how the External signature might look in emailfooter. The company and person are invented.

Example only. The company and person are made up. This is the External signature; Short reply would keep only the first three lines.

Switch signatures while you write

When the default is not the one you want, insert another. Microsoft lists a different route for each version.

• New Outlook: in a new message, select New mail, then in the Insert group on the Message tab select Signature and choose a saved one. Signatures… in the same list lets you create another.
• Classic Outlook: on the Message tab, select Signature, then pick from the fly-out menu. Any signature you have created is available there.
• Outlook on the web and Outlook.com: type your message, then on the Message tab select the Signature icon and choose one if you have several.

The pages do not say whether inserting a second signature replaces the first or adds a second block under it. Send a draft to yourself and look at the bottom. If you see two, delete one by hand.

Multiple signatures in Outlook for Mac

Microsoft’s Mac page uses its own wording. For the current version, select the Outlook menu, then Settings, and under Mail select Signatures. Select the add icon to make a new one, and type its name.

Defaults are set in the same place. Under Choose which signature appears, pick the account, then set For new messages and For replies or forwards. The page says to set the default separately for each account. To put a different signature in a message, click in the body, select Signature on the ribbon and choose from the list. The page notes you may need to select See more items.

The Mac page also describes legacy Outlook for Mac, with different labels, and says support for the legacy version ends in October 2026. Our Outlook for Mac guide covers both.

What Microsoft’s pages leave open

A few answers people search for are not on the pages we read, so we will not invent them.

• A maximum number of signatures. None is stated.
• How to delete one. The pages we read give edit steps (the Edit signature button in new Outlook and on the web, File, Options, Mail, Signatures in classic) and no delete steps. Our guide to removing a signature in Outlook has its own sources.
• Whether a second signature appears on top of the first when you insert it, as above.
• Whether signatures follow you between computers. Microsoft says classic signatures are stored locally on the device where they were created. See moving a signature to a new computer.

When multiple signatures in Outlook show the wrong one

1. Wrong account. In new Outlook and classic Outlook each account has its own settings. Check the account you are sending from.
2. A default is still (none). Open the signature settings and look at both lists.
3. You made it in only one place. Microsoft says that with a Microsoft account, if you use Outlook and Outlook on the web, you need to create a signature in both.
4. The first message is blank. See the classic quirk above.
5. You are on a phone. The mobile apps are separate programs with their own settings. See Outlook signature on iPhone.

Multiple signatures in Outlook for a whole office

Each person keeps their own list, so a company ends up with as many versions of “External” as it has staff. emailfooter is a free WordPress plugin where the company sets one design and each employee adds their own details, then follows numbered steps for their Outlook. Nothing is installed into anyone’s mailbox for them, so each person still pastes their own, and the tool is English-only for now. If one person plays several parts, a signature for each role goes further. Handled this way, multiple signatures in Outlook stay a personal choice inside a shared design, and the Gmail version of the same job is in multiple signatures in Gmail.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add multiple signatures in Outlook?

In new Outlook or on the web, select Settings, Accounts, Signatures, then Add signature for each one and Save. In classic Outlook, use New in the Signatures window.

Can I choose a different signature for each message in Outlook?

Yes. Insert one by hand with the Signature control: in the Insert group of the Message tab in new Outlook, on the Message tab in classic Outlook, or with the Signature icon on the web.

Can I have a different signature for each email account in Outlook?

Yes. Microsoft says you can have different signatures for each email account, and the Mac page says to set the default for each account separately.

How many multiple signatures in Outlook can I save?

Microsoft’s pages do not state a limit.