How to add a signature in Outlook

Live example

One of ten built-in Looks. Every element is editable in the builder — colors, photo, links, tagline.

Step-by-step

1. 1

   Which Outlook do I have? (10-second check)

   Windows: if the top-right shows a Try the new Outlook toggle, you're on classic Outlook — skip to step 3. If there's no toggle and the ribbon looks thinner, you're on the new Outlook — step 2. Mac: step 4. Browser tab at outlook.com or outlook.office.com: step 5. Phone: step 6. New and classic Outlook do NOT share signatures — if you use both, you'll set the same one twice.
2. 2

   New Outlook for Windows (default in 2026)

   Click Settings (gear, top right) → Accounts → Signatures. Click + New signature, name it, paste, and set it as the default for both new messages and replies / forwards — they're separate dropdowns and Outlook only honours the reply signature if you set it explicitly. On new Outlook the signature roams via your Exchange account, so it appears in Outlook Web and the mobile app within a few minutes.
3. 3

   Classic Outlook for Windows

   Go to File → Options → Mail → Signatures…. Click New, paste your signature, and pick it as the default under "Choose default signature" — one per account. Classic Outlook stores signatures locally in %AppData%\Microsoft\Signatures as .htm files, which is why they don't sync to mobile and why you have to redo them if you reimage your laptop. Back that folder up before a Windows reinstall.
4. 4

   Outlook for Mac

   From the menu bar: Outlook → Settings → Signatures. Click + to add one, paste, and set the default in the Choose default signature panel at the bottom. If the pasted signature loses its layout, you probably pasted into the plain text pane by mistake — switch the account's default format to HTML under Preferences → Composing and try again.
5. 5

   outlook.com / Outlook on the web

   Click the gear → Mail → Compose and reply. Scroll to Email signature, click + New signature, paste, and check both Automatically include my signature on new messages I compose and … on messages I forward or reply to.
6. 6

   Outlook mobile (iOS and Android)

   Tap your account icon (top-left) → gear → the account name → Signature. If you're on new Outlook desktop with an Exchange account, the mobile signature is already there — untick Per-account signature if you want the same one everywhere. If you're on classic Outlook, paste the signature here separately; the mobile app can't reach your local .htm files.
7. 7

   Need a signature to paste? Design one free

   If you don't have HTML on your clipboard yet, open Wren's free builder in another tab, pick a Look, fill in your details and click Copy signature — no signup to design and copy. Then come back to whichever Outlook step above matches your version and paste.
8. 8

   Test it once, everywhere

   Send a test to a Gmail account and to yourself. Check on both desktop and mobile Outlook — the mobile app inherits the desktop signature on new Outlook, but classic Outlook needs a separate one under the app's Settings → Signature. Widen the Gmail window while you're there: Outlook's Word renderer collapses <br> spacing differently from Gmail, and a signature that looks tight in Outlook sometimes shows a stray blank line in Gmail. If it does, recopy from Wren rather than editing the pasted HTML.

Common questions