How to Add a Signature in Outlook

Every outgoing message ends with a name and title typed by hand. Outlook can append that block on its own, but writing a signature and choosing where it gets used are two separate steps; a saved signature does nothing until it is assigned as a default.

Open the signature settings

Click the gear icon for Settings, then Accounts, then Signatures. With more than one account connected, pick the account at the top of the panel first, because signatures are stored per account.

Create and name a signature

Click New signature and give it a short name such as Full or Short. The name is internal and never appears in the message.

Write the signature

Type the content in the editor and format it with the toolbar underneath: font, size, links, and an image if needed. Keep it to a few lines; long signatures make reply chains hard to read.

Set the defaults

Under Select default signatures, choose which signature applies to For new messages and which applies to For replies and forwards. Set either to (none) to leave that case blank.

Save

Click Save. The signature is stored on the account, so it follows the mailbox to Outlook on the web and any other device signed in to it.

Insert one on a single message

While composing, open the three-dot menu in the compose window, choose Insert signature, and pick the one to use. This overrides the default for that message only.

In classic Outlook and on Mac. Classic Outlook for Windows keeps signatures under File, Options, Mail, Signatures, and those are stored locally rather than on the server, so they do not follow the account to another machine. Outlook for Mac uses Outlook, Settings, Signatures.

Images and multiple signatures. More than one signature per account is allowed, which is useful for an internal short version and a full external one. An image in a signature is sent as an embedded picture, and many mail clients block images by default, so a logo can show as a blank box. Anything that must be read, such as a phone number or a disclaimer, belongs in text rather than inside the image.