How to Request a Read Receipt in Outlook, and Why You Didn’t Get One
You sent an important email and want to know if it was opened. Outlook can ask the recipient for a read receipt, but where the option sits depends on your Outlook and your account. Even when you ask, a receipt may never come back, and that alone doesn’t tell you the email went unread.
In short: in new Outlook and Outlook on the web, open the Options tab while writing the message and tick Request a Read Receipt (or Request a Delivery Receipt) under Tracking. In classic Outlook, use the same boxes on the Options tab for one email, or File > Options > Mail > Tracking for every email. On a Mac, use Receipts > Read Receipt. Receipts don’t work for IMAP or POP accounts such as Gmail, and personal Outlook.com accounts can’t request them on the web.
Read Receipt vs. Delivery Receipt
Microsoft’s article on read receipts and delivery notifications separates the two:
- Delivery receipt: confirms the message reached the recipient’s mailbox. It doesn’t say anyone looked at it.
- Read receipt: confirms the recipient opened the message. The recipient can decline to send it, and there is no way to force one.
You can request either one, or both, on the same email.
Read Receipts in Each Outlook
| Outlook | Request for one email | Request for every email | Choose how you answer requests |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Outlook for Windows | Yes | Not described by Microsoft | Yes |
| Classic Outlook for Windows | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook on the web (work or school) | Yes | Not described by Microsoft | Yes |
| Outlook.com (personal) | No, see below | No | Yes |
| Outlook for Mac | Yes, work or school (Exchange) account only | Not described by Microsoft | Not described by Microsoft |
| Outlook for iPhone and Android | Yes, per a 2025 Microsoft notice (Receipts in the compose toolbar) | Not described by Microsoft | Yes, per the same notice |
Whatever Outlook you use, Microsoft says receipts aren’t available for IMAP or POP accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo! or iCloud.
How to Request a Read Receipt in New Outlook and Outlook on the Web
- Start writing a message.
- Select the Options tab.
- Under Tracking, tick Request a Read Receipt, Request a Delivery Receipt, or both. If you don’t see them, select More Options.
- Write the message and send it.
If you can’t find the Options tab, Microsoft’s screen reader guide goes through More compose actions, then Show message options. If your organization runs its own Exchange Server (2016 or 2019), Microsoft’s older Outlook on the web article gives a different path: select Message, then More options, then Request a read receipt.
Microsoft documents no setting in new Outlook or on the web that adds a receipt request to every email. You tick the box on each message.
How to Request a Read Receipt in Classic Outlook
For one email:
- In a new email, go to the Options tab.
- In the Tracking group, tick Request a Delivery Receipt or Request a Read Receipt.
- Write the message and select Send.
If you’re replying in the Reading pane, select the Message tab, open Message options from the Tags group, and tick the receipt under Voting and Tracking options.
For every email you send, following Microsoft’s page on how Outlook processes read receipts:
- Select File > Options > Mail.
- Scroll to the Tracking section.
- Tick Read receipt confirming the recipient viewed the message, Delivery receipt confirming the message was delivered to the recipient’s email server, or both.
- Select OK.
Microsoft suggests tracking only important messages. People who get a receipt request now and then are more likely to send one than people asked on every email.
How to Request a Read Receipt in Outlook.com
Microsoft’s Outlook.com article says you can’t request a read receipt in Outlook.com on the web, but you can for an Outlook.com message sent from Outlook for Windows. The main receipts article adds that on Outlook.com accounts the feature needs a Microsoft 365 subscription, and Outlook for Mac doesn’t offer receipts for Outlook.com accounts. So on the web, expect no receipt option. On Windows, look for it on the Options tab, and if it isn’t there, your account doesn’t have it.
How to Request a Read Receipt in Outlook for Mac
Microsoft’s Mac article limits receipts to Microsoft 365 work or school accounts and Exchange accounts managed by your organization.
- Compose your message.
- Select Receipts > Read Receipt or Receipts > Delivery Receipt. If Receipts is missing, add it by customizing your toolbar.
- Send the message.
In legacy Outlook for Mac, the path is Options > Request Receipts > Request a Read Receipt (or Request a Delivery Receipt). Microsoft said support for legacy Outlook for Mac would end in October 2026.
Read Receipts in the Outlook App for iPhone and Android
Microsoft’s support articles on receipts cover Windows, the web and Mac, not the phone apps. Microsoft first announced delivery and read receipts in Outlook for Android and iOS on its Microsoft 365 Insider blog. Microsoft’s message center notice MC1018341, published in February 2025, then said the feature would roll out to Outlook for iOS and Android from mid-March to mid-April 2025, with a Receipts option in the compose toolbar for choosing a delivery receipt, a read receipt or both. The notice was written for Microsoft 365 administrators and doesn’t say whether personal accounts get the option.
If you don’t see Receipts when writing an email on your phone, update the app, or send the email from Outlook on a computer or on the web.
How to Turn Off Read Receipts, or Choose How You Answer Them
This setting decides what happens when someone asks you for a read receipt.
- New Outlook, Outlook on the web and Outlook.com: go to Settings > Mail > Message handling. Under Read receipts, choose Ask me before sending a response, Always send a response or Never send a response, then select Save.
- Classic Outlook: go to File > Options > Mail, then Tracking. Choose Always send a read receipt, Never send a read receipt or Ask each time whether to send a read receipt.
- Phone apps: Microsoft’s notice MC1018341 says the app prompts you when someone requests a read receipt and lets you set a preference for future requests.
- Mac: Microsoft’s Mac article doesn’t describe this setting.
Choose Never if you don’t want senders to know when you open their mail. Choose Ask to decide each time.
Why You Didn’t Get a Read Receipt
A missing receipt has several possible causes, and most of them say nothing about whether the email was read. Work through these:
- The recipient declined. If their Outlook asks before sending, they can say no. If it’s set to never send, you get nothing and they see no prompt. You can’t check this from your side.
- Their email app or server doesn’t send receipts. Microsoft says some email programs don’t support read receipts, and that not all email servers and apps do. When you write to someone on another email service, whether a receipt comes back depends on their service and app, not on your Outlook.
- Your request was never sent. Receipts aren’t available for IMAP or POP accounts (Gmail, Yahoo!, iCloud), and a free Outlook.com account can’t request them on the web. Open the message in Sent Items and check which account sent it.
- You ticked the delivery receipt, not the read receipt. A delivery receipt only confirms arrival. Check the boxes on your next email.
- They haven’t opened it yet. A read receipt confirms the email was opened, so nothing comes back until it is.
- You’re looking in the wrong place. In classic Outlook, receipts can be recorded on the sent message. See the next section.
If the answer matters, ask the recipient to reply. A reply is the only confirmation you control.
Where to See Read Receipts in Classic Outlook
Receipts come back to you as messages. Classic Outlook can also collect them on the original email:
- Open the sent message, usually in Sent Items.
- On the Message tab, in the Show group, select Tracking.
Tracking doesn’t appear until at least one receipt has arrived. The option Automatically update original sent item with receipt information, under File > Options > Mail > Tracking, is what records them on the sent item.
Microsoft’s pages describe no tracking view for new Outlook, the web or Mac, so look for the receipt messages in your inbox there.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I request a read receipt in Outlook?
In new Outlook or Outlook on the web, while writing the email, select the Options tab and tick Request a Read Receipt under Tracking. In classic Outlook, use the same box on the Options tab, or File > Options > Mail > Tracking for every email. On a Mac, select Receipts > Read Receipt. In the iPhone and Android apps, Microsoft’s 2025 notice MC1018341 describes a Receipts option in the compose toolbar.
Can I see if someone read my email without a read receipt?
Not with any Outlook feature Microsoft documents. A delivery receipt shows only that the email arrived. If you need to know, ask the recipient to reply.
Why is the read receipt option missing in Outlook?
Microsoft says receipts aren’t available for IMAP or POP accounts such as Gmail, Yahoo! or iCloud. Personal Outlook.com accounts can’t request them on the web, and Outlook for Mac offers them only with a work or school or Exchange account. On a Mac, the Receipts button may also need to be added to the toolbar.
Does no read receipt mean the email wasn’t read?
No. The recipient can decline to send one, their email app may not support receipts, or they may not have opened it yet. A missing receipt doesn’t tell you which.
How do I stop Outlook from sending read receipts?
In new Outlook, Outlook on the web and Outlook.com, go to Settings > Mail > Message handling and choose Never send a response under Read receipts. In classic Outlook, go to File > Options > Mail > Tracking and choose Never send a read receipt.
Can I request read receipts for all emails in Outlook?
In classic Outlook, yes: File > Options > Mail, then tick the read receipt box under Tracking. Microsoft documents no such setting for new Outlook, Outlook on the web or Mac, so you request a receipt on each email there.