TL;DR: Here’s how to delegate calendar access in Outlook: open Calendar, select Share Calendar on the Home tab, add the person and choose Delegate (new Outlook and Outlook on the web), or go to File > Account Settings > Delegate Access in classic Outlook. On a Mac, use Tools > Accounts > Delegates & Sharing. Delegation only works with a work or school Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online account, and only with people inside your organization.
If an assistant or colleague handles your meetings, delegate rights save a lot of back-and-forth. This guide shows how to delegate calendar access in Outlook on every version Microsoft documents as of October 2026, plus permission levels, meeting invites and removing access.
Sharing a calendar vs. delegate access
Microsoft treats these as two different things. Sharing lets someone see (or edit) your calendar. Delegating goes further. According to Microsoft’s calendar delegation guide, editors can view and change your calendar, while delegates can also schedule and respond to meetings on your behalf.
- Editors can be assigned to any of your calendars.
- Delegates can only be assigned to your primary calendar (named “Calendar”).
- Neither can be given to people outside your organization.
If you only want someone to look, not touch, Microsoft has a separate guide to sharing an Outlook calendar as view-only. It’s similar to what we covered in how to delegate a Gmail account.
Outlook calendar permission levels explained
New Outlook and Outlook on the web use plain-English labels in the Share Calendar dropdown. Classic Outlook and Outlook for Mac use the older Exchange role names. Here’s how they line up, based on Microsoft’s support pages:
| Permission | Where you’ll see it | What the person can do |
|---|---|---|
| Can view when I’m busy | New Outlook, web | See your free/busy times only |
| Can view titles and locations | New Outlook, web | See times, titles and locations |
| Can view all details | New Outlook, web | See everything except private item details; no changes |
| Can edit | New Outlook, web, Outlook.com | View and change your calendar |
| Delegate | New Outlook, web | Edit, plus receive and respond to meeting requests for you |
| Reviewer | Classic Outlook, Mac | Read items |
| Author | Classic Outlook, Mac | Read and create items, change or delete only their own |
| Editor | Classic Outlook, Mac | Everything an Author can do, plus change and delete your items |
The Reviewer, Author and Editor definitions come from Microsoft’s About delegates page. People outside your organization are limited to the three “Can view” options.
How to delegate calendar access in new Outlook for Windows
- Select Calendar in the navigation pane.
- On the Home tab, select Share Calendar.
- On the Sharing and permissions page, type the person’s name or email address. You add one person at a time.
- Open the dropdown next to their name and choose Delegate.
- Optionally tick Let delegate view private events and Let delegate manage categories.
- Select Share. The person gets an email; when they select Accept, your calendar is added to their calendar list.
If these steps don’t match your screen, Microsoft says you may still be on classic Outlook.
How to delegate in Outlook on the web
The steps are the same: select Calendar, then Home > Share Calendar, add the person, choose Delegate, tick Let delegate view private events if needed, and select Share.
How to add a delegate in classic Outlook for Windows
- Select File, then Account Settings > Delegate Access.
- Select Add. If Add is missing, Microsoft says Outlook may not have an active connection to Exchange; check the status bar.
- Search for the person (they must be in your organization’s Global Address List), select Add, then OK.
- In Delegate Permissions, keep the defaults or set custom levels. By default, the delegate gets Editor on your Calendar folder.
- Optionally tick Automatically send a message to delegate summarizing these permissions and Delegate can see my private items.
- Select OK.
Be careful with the private items box. Microsoft warns it applies to all Exchange folders, including Mail, Contacts and Tasks, not just the calendar. Delegates here also get Send on Behalf permissions automatically. If your copy of Office isn’t set up yet, see our guide to getting Microsoft Office legitimately.
How to add a delegate in Outlook for Mac
Microsoft’s Outlook for Mac delegate guide says both you and the delegate need a Microsoft Exchange account.
- On the Tools menu, click Accounts.
- Click your account and select Delegates & Sharing.
- Under Delegates who can act on my behalf, click Add.
- Type the person’s name, click it in the results, then click Add.
- In the Permissions box, set a level for each item type, such as Calendar.
The delegate may need to add your mailbox to their Open these additional mailboxes list before they can see your items.
Where meeting invites and responses go
In new Outlook and Outlook on the web, once someone is a delegate, an extra setting appears under Delegates: Send invitations and responses to. You set it per delegate:
- Delegate only: requests and responses go only to your delegates.
- Delegate and send me a copy: you both get them, but only the delegate sees accept/decline buttons. You can still respond by opening the calendar item.
- Both my delegate and me: either of you can respond.
In classic Outlook, tick Delegate receives copies of meeting-related messages sent to me. Microsoft says the delegate needs Editor permission on your Calendar folder for this to work. If you want to tidy up who’s copied on meeting emails, our explainer on what CC means in email helps.
How to remove delegate access
New Outlook and Outlook on the web
Go to Calendar > Home > Share Calendar and select Remove next to the person. Microsoft says the calendar disappears from the list of anyone inside your organization.
Classic Outlook
Go to File > Account Settings > Delegate Access, select the delegate and choose Remove. To change rather than revoke, choose Permissions instead.
Outlook for Mac
Go to Tools > Accounts > Delegates & Sharing, click the delegate and click Delete. Setting their level to None keeps them on the list so you can restore access later.
Common problems and fixes
- No Delegate option at all: Microsoft says delegate access only works with a work or school account in Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online. Its Outlook.com instructions only offer Can edit, so a personal account can share but not delegate.
- Can’t add an outside contact: edit and delegate access are limited to people in your organization. External people can only get view options.
- External sharing is blocked: your admin controls this. Microsoft’s admin documentation shows external calendar sharing is switched on under Settings > Org Settings > Services > Calendar in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- Delegate needs Send As: Microsoft says Send As permission can only be set by your organization’s admin.
FAQ
Will a delegate see my private appointments?
Not by default. They only see the time of private items unless you tick Let delegate view private events (or Delegate can see my private items in classic Outlook).
The bottom line
For most people on Microsoft 365, the quickest route is Calendar > Share Calendar > Delegate in new Outlook or on the web, then picking where meeting invites go. Use classic Outlook’s Delegate Access or the Mac’s Delegates & Sharing if you’re on those apps. Pick the lowest permission that does the job. For the people side of handing work off, see how to delegate tasks effectively.
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