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Using Plus Addressing in Microsoft 365

Plus addressing (also known as email aliasing or subaddressing) allows you to create variations of your email address by adding a +tag before the @ symbol. This is a powerful feature for organizing emails, tracking sign-ups, and managing different types of correspondence without creating additional mailboxes.

What is Plus Addressing?

Plus addressing lets you use variations like yourname+tag@example.com that all deliver to yourname@example.com. Any text after the + is ignored for delivery but can be used for filtering and organization.

Prerequisites

  • Microsoft 365 mailbox
  • Access to Exchange Admin Center (for administrators to verify the feature is enabled)

Verify Plus Addressing is Enabled

Plus addressing must be enabled at the organization level. If you're an administrator or need to verify this setting:

  1. Log into the Exchange Admin Center
  2. Navigate to Settings > Mail flow
  3. Verify the checkbox "Disable plus addressing for your organization" is unchecked

If Plus Addressing is Disabled

If the checkbox is enabled (checked), emails sent to plus addresses will bounce. Contact your Exchange administrator to enable this feature for your organization.

How Plus Addressing Works

Plus addressing works automatically once enabled in your organization. No special configuration is needed:

  • Your email: yourname@example.com
  • Plus address: yourname+anything@example.com
  • Result: Both addresses deliver to the same inbox

Examples

yourname+newsletter@example.com
yourname+shopping@example.com
yourname+work-projects@example.com
yourname+service-account@example.com

All of these will deliver to yourname@example.com.

Common Use Cases

Personal Email Organization

Use plus addressing to categorize incoming mail:

  • Newsletters: yourname+newsletters@example.com
  • Online Shopping: yourname+shopping@example.com
  • Social Media: yourname+social@example.com
  • Registrations: yourname+signups@example.com

Service Account Management

Route emails sent to service accounts to your personal inbox:

  1. Go to Microsoft Entra admin center
  2. Navigate to Identity > Users > All users
  3. Select the service account
  4. Click Edit properties
  5. In the Contact information section, set the Email field to: yourname+servicename@example.com
  6. Click Save

This routes all emails sent to that service account directly to your inbox with the tag for easy filtering.

Tracking Email Addresses

Use plus addressing to track where your email address is being used or shared:

  • When signing up for a service: yourname+companyname@example.com
  • If you receive spam, you'll know which service leaked or sold your address

Team Collaboration

Share different variations with team members for specific projects or purposes:

  • yourname+projectA@example.com for Project A communications
  • yourname+support@example.com for customer support inquiries

Testing Plus Addressing

Always test to ensure the feature works in your organization:

  1. Open an external email account (Gmail, personal email, etc.)
  2. Send a test email to: yourname+test@example.com
  3. Check your primary inbox: yourname@example.com
  4. If the email arrives, plus addressing is working!

Verification Complete

Once you receive the test email, you can start using plus addressing for any purpose.

Automated Email Sorting with Outlook Rules

Keep your inbox organized by creating rules to automatically sort emails sent to plus addresses.

Create an Outlook Rule

  1. Open Outlook (desktop or web)
  2. Go to Settings > Mail > Rules
  3. Click Add new rule
  4. Configure the rule:
  5. Condition: "Sent to" contains yourname+tag@example.com
  6. Action: "Move to folder" and select or create a destination folder
  7. Save the rule
  1. Right-click any email sent to your plus address
  2. Select Rules > Create Rule
  3. Check Sent to: yourname+tag@example.com
  4. Click Move to folder and choose destination
  5. Click OK to save
  1. Navigate to Settings (gear icon) > View all Outlook settings
  2. Go to Mail > Rules
  3. Click + Add new rule
  4. Set conditions and actions as described above
  5. Click Save

Rule Examples

Newsletter Filter: - Condition: Sent to yourname+newsletters@example.com - Action: Move to folder Newsletters

Shopping Receipts: - Condition: Sent to yourname+shopping@example.com - Action: Move to folder Shopping and mark as read

Service Account Notifications: - Condition: Sent to yourname+svc_automation@example.com - Action: Move to folder Service Accounts and flag for follow-up

Advanced Filtering

You can combine conditions (AND/OR logic) to create more sophisticated rules, or use "Message header contains" for more precise matching.

Best Practices

Naming Conventions

  • Be descriptive: Use clear tags that indicate the purpose
  • Keep it simple: Shorter tags are easier to remember and type
  • Use hyphens: For multi-word tags like project-alpha or team-updates
  • Be consistent: Establish a pattern and stick to it

Security Considerations

Plus Addressing Limitations

  • Some websites may not accept email addresses with + symbols
  • Plus addresses are not hidden - anyone can remove the +tag to find your base email
  • Don't rely on plus addressing for security or authentication purposes
  • Use it for organization and tracking, not for protecting your identity

Privacy

  • Plus addressing does not hide your primary email address
  • It's easy for someone to identify your base email by removing the +tag
  • For true email privacy, use email aliases or separate mailboxes instead

Troubleshooting

Emails Not Arriving

Problem: Emails sent to plus addresses aren't reaching your inbox.

Solutions: - Verify plus addressing is enabled in Exchange Admin Center - Check your Junk Email or Deleted Items folders - Ensure no mail flow rules are blocking the address - Test with a simple tag (avoid special characters except + and -)

Website Won't Accept Plus Address

Problem: A website rejects your email address with a + symbol.

Solutions: - The website has incorrectly configured email validation - Use an email alias instead (set up in Exchange Online) - Contact the website to report the issue - Use your base email address without the plus tag

Outlook Rules Not Working

Problem: Emails arrive but aren't being sorted by your rule.

Solutions: - Verify the Outlook rule is active and enabled - Check the rule's condition matches the exact address (case-sensitive) - Ensure the rule priority is correct (move it higher if needed) - Test by manually running the rule on existing emails - Check for conflicting rules that might process emails first

Plus Addressing Disabled Organization-Wide

Problem: Plus addressing is disabled by your organization.

Solutions: - Contact your Exchange or Microsoft 365 administrator - Request plus addressing to be enabled for your tenant - Use mail flow rules or email aliases as alternatives - Consider shared mailboxes for service account scenarios

Alternatives to Plus Addressing

If plus addressing doesn't meet your needs or isn't available:

Email Aliases

  • Create additional email addresses that deliver to your mailbox
  • Set up in Exchange Online admin center
  • More widely accepted by websites
  • Better for professional use

Shared Mailboxes

  • Create a separate mailbox that multiple users can access
  • Useful for team accounts or service accounts
  • Requires additional licensing considerations

Mail Flow Rules

  • Create transport rules to route emails based on various conditions
  • More complex but more powerful
  • Set up by Exchange administrators

This guide applies to Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online.