How to add a signature in Outlook
Outlook has three current versions with slightly different menus: Outlook on the web, the new Outlook for Windows, and classic Outlook. All three support pasted HTML signatures with images, colors and links. Find your version below.
Step by step
- Outlook on the web (outlook.com / Microsoft 365). Click the gear icon in the top right, then go to Mail, then "Compose and reply". Under Email signature, click "New signature", name it, paste or type your signature, and choose your defaults for new messages and replies. Click Save.
- New Outlook for Windows. Click Settings (gear icon), then Accounts, then Signatures. Click "New signature", name it, add your content, set the defaults for new messages and replies, and click Save.
- Classic Outlook for Windows. Go to File, then Options, then Mail, and click the "Signatures" button. Click New, name the signature, paste your content into the editor, choose the default signature for new messages and replies, and click OK.
- Outlook for Mac. Go to Outlook, then Settings, then Signatures. Click the plus button, name the signature, paste your content, then set the default signatures for new messages and replies.
- Paste a designed HTML signature. Build your signature in the free signature generator, click its copy button, and paste into any of the editors above with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V. The formatting, images and links carry over because the signature is table-based HTML, the format Outlook renders most reliably.
Common problems
Signature looks different in Outlook than elsewhere: Outlook renders email with Microsoft Word's engine, which ignores modern CSS. Signatures built from tables with inline styles, like everything the generator exports, render correctly; signatures built with divs and CSS positioning often break.
Fonts change when sending: stick to web-safe fonts (Arial, Georgia, Times, Verdana). Custom fonts fall back unpredictably in Outlook.
Two signatures appearing: if your company adds a server-side signature via Microsoft 365, disable your local one or ask IT which one should win.
Create a professional signature free in a couple of minutes: pick a layout from our signature examples or start in the signature generator, then come back to these steps to install it in Outlook.
Open the free signature generator →Related guides
How to add a signature in Gmail • How to add a signature in Apple Mail