Managing Access to an Office 365 Shared Mailbox

As the administrator of an Office 365 shared mailbox, you have the ability to allow other individuals to receive and respond to email messages and meeting requests sent to that mailbox. You determine the level of access these individuals have. You can grant them permission to read items in the mailbox or to read, create, change, and delete items.

NOTE: The instructions below refer to a Windows 10 installation of Outlook.

Granting Access to a Shared Mailbox

Open Outlook.
In the Navigation Pane, locate the shared mailbox and right-click on the root mailbox name.
- Note: You must select the root level of the mailbox, not a sub-folder such as Inbox.
Select Data File Properties….
Select the Permissions tab.
Select Add.
Enter the name of the person whom you want to have access and then select their name in the search results list.
Select Add, and then select OK.
In the Permissions tab, select the individual you have just added.
Use the Permissions Level: drop down to select the level of access they should have.
Select OK.

Granting Access to Shared Mailbox Folders

Open Outlook.
In the Navigation Pane, locate the shared mailbox and expand it using the arrow to the left of its name.
Right-click on Inbox and select Properties….
Select the Permissions tab.
Select Add.
Enter the name of the person whom you want to have access and then select their name in the search results list.
Select Add, and then select OK.
In the Permissions tab, select the individual you have just added.
Use the Permissions Level: drop down to select the level of access they should have.
Select OK.
Repeat steps 3 - 10 on any other mail folder the individual may need access to. We recommend granting access to Drafts and Sent Items at a minimum.

Modifying Access to a Shared Mailbox Folder

Open Outlook.
In the Navigation Pane, locate the shared mailbox and expand it using the arrow to the left of its name.
Right-click on Inbox and select Properties….
Select the Permissions tab.
Select the individual you wish to modify.
Use the Permissions Level: drop down to select the level of access they should have.
Select OK.
Repeat steps 3 - 7 on any other mail folder the individual may have access to.

Removing Access to a Shared Mailbox

Open Outlook.
In the Navigation Pane, locate the shared mailbox and right-click on the root mailbox name.
- Note: You must select the root level of the mailbox, not a sub-folder such as Inbox.
Select Data File Properties….
Select the Permissions tab.
Select the individual you wish to remove.
Select Remove.
Select OK.
In the Navigation Pane, locate the shared mailbox and expand it using the arrow to the left of its name.
Right-click on Inbox and select Properties….
Select the Permissions tab.
Select the individual you wish to remove.
Select Remove.
Select OK.
Repeat steps 9 - 13 on any other mail folder the individual may have access to.

Outlook Permission Levels Defined

With this permission level	Users can
Owner	Create, read, modify, and delete all items and files, and create subfolders. As the folder owner, you can change the permission levels that other people have for the folder. (Does not apply to delegates.)
Publishing Editor	Create, read, modify, and delete all items and files, and create subfolders. (Does not apply to delegates.)
Editor	Create, read, modify, and delete all items and files.
Publishing Author	Create and read items and files, create subfolders, and modify and delete items and files that you create. (Does not apply to delegates.)
Author	Create and read items and files, and modify and delete items and files that you create.
Contributor	Create items and files only. The contents of the folder do not appear. (Does not apply to delegates.)
Reviewer	Read items and files only.
Custom	Perform activities defined by the folder owner. (Does not apply to delegates.)
None	You have no permission. You cannot open the folder.