How to create and access shared mailboxes in Office 365

Prerequisites

• Applies to: Administrator and User
• Difficulty: Easy
• Time Needed: Approximately 15 minutes
• Tools Needed: Administrators need access to the Office 365® Control Panel. Users need access to Outlook® or the Outlook Web Application® (OWA).

For more information about prerequisite terminology, see Cloud Office support terminology.

This article lists steps for creating users, assigning users, and accessing shared mailboxes in Office 365. Shared mailboxes are primarily used for things such as a shared calendar, sending and receiving a common email address such as Sales, or using a common email address as a shared address list.

Create a shared mailbox

Use the following steps to create a shared mailbox:

1. Log in to your Office 365 Control Panel.

2. From the left menu, select Office 365 Admin Center.

3. From the left menu, select Groups, and then Shared Mailboxes.

4. Select Add a Mailbox from the top menu.

5. Fill in the Display Name and Email Address for the shared mailbox.

Assign users to a shared mailbox

Use the following steps to assign access to a shared mailbox:

1. Log in to your Office 365 Control Panel.

2. From the left menu, select Office 365 Admin Center.

3. From the left menu, select Groups, and then Shared Mailboxes.

4. Select the shared mailbox that you want to modify.

5. Select Edit under the Members section of the page.

6. From the top section, select Add Members, and then search for and select the users
   that you want to have access to the mailbox.

7. Confirm the selections you have made, and then click Save.

Access the shared mailbox by using OWA

Users that are listed as members of a shared mailbox can access the shared mailbox by using the OWA.

Use the following steps to access the shared mailbox by using OWA:

1. Log in to the Outlook Web App with your Office 365 credentials.

2. From the top right corner, select the icon with your profile picture or initials.

3. Select Open Another Mailbox. Then search for the shared mailbox from the list, and select Open.