Recall or replace an email message that you sent - Microsoft Support 


To recall and replace a message

  1. In the folder pane on the left of the Outlook window, choose the Sent Items folder.

  2. Open the message that you want to recall. You must double-click to open the message. Selecting the message so it appears in the reading pane won't allow you to recall the message.

  3. If you have the Classic Ribbon, from the Message tab, select Actions > Recall This Message.

    Recall a messageIf you have the Simplified Ribbon, select the Message tab and then select More commands (...). Point to Actions and select Recall This Message.
    Select Recall this message

    Notes: 

    • If you don’t see the Recall This Message command, you probably don’t have an Exchange account or the feature isn’t available within your organization.

    • You can't recall a message that's protected by Azure Information Protection.

    • You can't recall a message in Outlook on the web.

  4. Select Delete unread copies of this message or Delete unread copies and replace with a new message, and then select OK.

    Recall this message box

  5. If you’re sending a replacement message, compose the message, and then select Send.

To check on the recall

After submitting a recall request, usually less than 30 seconds later, you will get an email notification with the subject "Message Recall Report for message [original message subject]".  

outlook to check on a message screenshot one

Select the View Message Recall Report link to view the report in your browser. If you’re prompted, log in with your mailbox credentials to view the report.

outlook to check on a message screenshot two

Recall actions are usually quick, regardless of how many recipients are involved. But if the recall request can’t be executed right away for some reason (e.g., the recipient’s mailbox is temporarily unavailable) we'll continue to retry for up to 24 hours before marking the recall as failed.

Status updates are usually pretty quick as well but can sometimes take up to five minutes for a message with up to a few hundred recipients. For a large number of recipients (tens of thousands) the recall itself is still fast, but it can take up to thirty minutes to retrieve the recall status for all recipients.