How to Recover Deleted Emails in Outlook: Deleted Items, Folders and Drafts
You deleted an email, or you can’t find one you know you had. Outlook can often bring it back, and the time limits are what matter. Here is where to look, in order, for each version of Outlook.
In short: open Deleted Items first and move the email to another folder. If it isn’t there, use a computer to open Recoverable Items. In new Outlook, Outlook on the web and Outlook.com, select Deleted Items, then Recover next to Recover items deleted from this folder. In classic Outlook, select Deleted Items, then Home > Recover Deleted Items From Server. Outlook.com gives you 30 days in each stage. On a Microsoft 365 work or school account, plan on 14 days for the second stage, then ask your IT admin. If you don’t remember deleting the email, it may only have moved.
First, Check the Deleted Items Folder
Microsoft says Deleted Items is the first place to look. Check Junk Email too, since the steps are the same.
- New Outlook, Outlook on the web and Outlook.com: select Deleted Items and tick the email’s checkbox. On the Home tab, select Move and choose a folder. You can also drag it to a folder.
- Classic Outlook: select Deleted Items, right-click the email, select Move and choose a folder.
- Outlook for iOS and Android, or a mobile browser (Outlook.com): go to Deleted Items, select the email and choose Move to folder > Inbox from its menu.
In a long list, search. New Outlook includes deleted mail only if Include deleted items is ticked under Settings > General > Search.
Next, Recover Deleted Items from the Recoverable Items Folder
Recoverable Items is a hidden folder. An email goes there when you delete it from Deleted Items, empty Deleted Items, or press Shift+Delete in any other folder. So a “permanent” delete still lands here first.
New Outlook, Outlook on the web and Outlook.com
- Select Deleted Items.
- At the top of the message list, next to Recover items deleted from this folder, select Recover.
- Select the emails and select Restore.
On the web, email returns to its original folder when possible, otherwise to the Inbox. Microsoft’s steps for new Outlook don’t say where it lands, so check the original folder and Deleted Items.
Classic Outlook
- Make sure you are online and connected to the mail server.
- Select Deleted Items in your folder list.
- On the Home tab, select Recover Deleted Items From Server.
- Select the emails, select Restore Selected Items, then OK.
Restored email goes to Deleted Items, so move it on from there. To find one email, sort by Subject, Deleted On or From.
Phones and Macs. Recoverable Items can’t be reached from a mobile browser, and on Outlook.com the iOS and Android apps can’t recover these emails either. Microsoft’s guide has no steps for Outlook for Mac, so on a Mac use Outlook on the web in a browser.
Gmail, Yahoo and other accounts. These have a Trash folder in place of Deleted Items. In classic Outlook, Microsoft says a Trash folder, or no Recover Deleted Items command, means your account doesn’t support this recovery.
How Long Deleted Emails Stay Recoverable
| Where the email is | Outlook.com (personal) | Microsoft 365 work or school |
|---|---|---|
| Deleted Items | 30 days, then deleted automatically | Depends on your organization (see below) |
| Recoverable Items | 30 days after it leaves Deleted Items | 14 days by default; an admin can set up to 30 |
| Junk Email | 30 days in Microsoft’s recovery guide (its storage page says 10), then removed and not recoverable | 30 days under Microsoft’s default policy, which an admin can change |
Microsoft’s pages disagree on work accounts. Its support guide gives 30 days in each stage for “Outlook.com and Outlook on the web”. Its Exchange Online documentation says permanently deleted items are kept 14 days by default, up to 30, and its default retention policy has no tag that empties Deleted Items. On a work or school account, plan on 14 days and ask IT what is set.
Two things can cut the time short:
- Emptying on exit. Outlook can empty Deleted Items when it closes, which starts the recovery clock early. In new Outlook, check View > View Settings > Mail > Message handling. In classic Outlook, check File > Options > Advanced > Outlook Start and Exit. On the web, check Settings > Message handling.
- A full folder (work accounts). Recoverable Items has a size limit, with a warning level of 20 GB by default. Once reached, the oldest email goes first, before its time is up.
How to Recover a Deleted Folder in Outlook
Deleting a folder moves it, with its contents, to Deleted Items. Select the arrow beside Deleted Items to see it. In classic Outlook, drag the folder back to its place in the folder list. Microsoft gives no folder steps for the other versions, so there, move the emails out as in the first section.
Microsoft says a permanently deleted folder can’t be recovered, but its emails can. On a work account, pressing Shift+Delete on a folder you created, or deleting one inside Deleted Items, removes the folder itself. Its contents move to Recoverable Items, for up to 14 days by default. Restore the emails, create the folder again and move them in.
How to Recover a Deleted Draft in Outlook
Microsoft’s recovery guide doesn’t mention drafts, and its page on drafts says how to delete one but not where it goes. Its Exchange documentation describes a delete as moving an item from any folder to Deleted Items. So look for a deleted draft as you would any email: Deleted Items, then Recoverable Items.
Microsoft doesn’t say where a draft goes after you select Discard on the web, so check both places, but it may not be there. Its pages describe no way to recover a draft that was never saved.
What an IT Admin Can Do on a Work Account
Admins can search for and recover email that you purged from Recover Deleted Items, or that a retention policy removed, as long as single item recovery is on (the default) and the retention period hasn’t ended. You can’t reach that email yourself.
- Where they do it: in the Exchange admin center, Recipients > Mailboxes, the mailbox, then Others > Recover deleted items, or in PowerShell with Get-RecoverableItems and Restore-RecoverableItems.
- What to tell them: your mailbox, the sender or recipient, words from the message and the date range.
- What to ask: whether your mailbox is on Litigation Hold or In-Place Hold. A hold stops the automatic purge while it is on.
When an Email Really Is Gone
- Outlook.com, not in the Recover view. Microsoft says it has probably been permanently removed, and its pages list no further step for a personal account. Anything you remove from Recoverable Items is permanently deleted and cannot be restored.
- A child’s account. Email deleted from a child’s account can’t be recovered.
- A closed Outlook.com mailbox. If you don’t sign in at least once in a year, Microsoft closes the mailbox and all its email is deleted.
- A work account past the retention period, with no hold. Microsoft’s support guide says an admin may still be able to help. Its Exchange documentation is firmer: when the period expires, the item is removed. Ask, but don’t count on it.
The sender or another recipient may still have a copy to forward.
Deleted or Moved? How to Tell
If you don’t remember deleting the email, it may only have moved. Search for the sender or a word from the subject in all folders (Outlook.com does this by default), then check these:
- Archive. The Archive button moves email to the Archive folder without deleting it. In classic Outlook, pressing Backspace does the same.
- The Other tab. With Focused Inbox on, the email may be on the Other tab of your inbox.
- A rule. An Inbox rule or Sweep rule may be moving it to another folder.
- Sweep. Sweep can also delete mail by itself: everything from a sender (including what they send later, if you chose that), all but their latest email, or anything older than 10 days. See Archive, Sweep and Clean Up explained.
For every other cause, see where disappearing Outlook emails usually go.
Microsoft advises against using Deleted Items or Junk Email to store messages, so move mail you want to keep into a folder. If filing is what gets skipped, Folder Suggest, an Outlook add-in with a free plan, suggests a folder for each email.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I recover deleted emails in Outlook?
Open Deleted Items and move the email to another folder. If it isn’t there, use a computer: in new Outlook, Outlook on the web and Outlook.com, select Recover next to Recover items deleted from this folder; in classic Outlook, select Home > Recover Deleted Items From Server.
How long can I recover deleted items in Outlook?
On Outlook.com, email stays in Deleted Items for 30 days and can be recovered for 30 days after it leaves. On a Microsoft 365 work or school account, it stays recoverable for 14 days by default, and an admin can raise that to 30.
Can I recover a deleted folder in Outlook?
Yes, while it is still inside Deleted Items. A permanently deleted folder can’t be recovered, but its emails can be restored from Recoverable Items within the time limit.
Can I recover a deleted draft in Outlook?
Microsoft’s recovery guide doesn’t mention drafts. Look in Deleted Items, then Recoverable Items, as for any email. Microsoft’s pages describe no way to recover a draft that was never saved.
Why don’t I see Recover Deleted Items in Outlook?
In classic Outlook, Microsoft says a Trash folder in place of Deleted Items, or a missing command, means your account doesn’t support this recovery. Recoverable Items also can’t be reached from a mobile browser.
Can my IT admin recover an email I permanently deleted?
Yes, if single item recovery is on, which is the default, and the retention period hasn’t ended. Microsoft says admins can recover email a user purged, or a policy removed, within that period. Ask soon, and give them the sender, words from the message and the date.