To change your email signature in Outlook, open signature settings — Settings ⚙ > Accounts > Signatures in New Outlook and the web, or File > Options > Mail > Signatures in Classic Outlook — select the signature you want to edit, change its content, and save. The exact menu path differs across versions, and New Outlook stores signatures in the cloud rather than on your PC, which trips up a lot of people migrating from Classic.

Here’s how to edit, replace, and set a default signature in every version of Outlook in 2026.

---

1. New Outlook for Windows & Outlook on the Web

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web (outlook.office.com) share the same codebase, so signatures work identically in both.

Edit an existing signature

1. Click the Settings gear ⚙ in the top-right corner.
2. Go to Accounts > Signatures (in the web you may land directly on Mail > Compose and reply, which holds the same controls).
3. In the Signature section, pick the signature you want to change from the list at the top.
4. Click into the edit box and change the text, formatting, links, or images.
5. Click Save.

Tip: New Outlook supports multiple named signatures. If you only ever had one, it may be named something generic like “My signature.” Rename it with the pencil icon so you can tell them apart later.

Set the default signature for new mail vs replies

Below the editor, two dropdowns control when each signature is used:

• For new messages — the signature inserted when you compose a brand-new email.
• For replies/forwards — the signature inserted when you reply or forward. Many people leave this blank or use a shorter signature here.

Pick a different signature for each if you want a full signature on new mail and a one-line version on replies.

Per-account signatures

If you have more than one account connected, use the account selector at the top of the Signatures pane to choose which mailbox the default applies to. Each account can have its own default signature for new messages and replies.

---

2. Classic Outlook for Windows

Classic Outlook keeps signatures under the old Options dialog, and stores them as local files on your PC.

Edit an existing signature

1. Click File > Options.
2. In the Outlook Options window, click Mail in the left pane.
3. Click the Signatures… button.
4. In the Signatures and Stationery dialog, select the signature you want to change under Select signature to edit.
5. Edit the content in the Edit signature box — change text, fonts, colors, add a hyperlink (the globe icon) or an image (the picture icon).
6. Click OK.

Set the default signature

In the same dialog, the Choose default signature panel on the top-right controls the defaults:

1. Pick the E-mail account the defaults apply to.
2. Set New messages to the signature you want on fresh emails.
3. Set Replies/forwards to the signature (or (none)) for replies.

Click OK to save. Open a new message to confirm the change.

Tip: You can also reach signature settings while composing. In a new message, click the Insert tab, click Signature, then Signatures… — same dialog, fewer clicks.

---

3. Outlook for Mac

The Mac app has its own signature manager that syncs your signatures to your account.

1. Click Outlook > Settings in the menu bar.
2. Click Signatures.
3. Select the signature you want to change in the left list — its content loads on the right.
4. Edit the text, formatting, links, or images.
5. Use Choose Signature > New messages and Replies/forwards at the bottom (per account) to set defaults.
6. Close the window — changes save automatically.

If you use the new Mac design, signature settings live in the same Outlook > Settings > Signatures location.

---

4. Outlook Mobile (iOS & Android)

The Outlook mobile app has one signature per account and it’s plain text by default.

1. Open the app and tap your profile icon (top-left).
2. Tap the Settings gear at the bottom.
3. Tap Signature.
4. Replace the text (the default is “Get Outlook for iOS/Android”). If you have multiple accounts, toggle Per Account Signature to give each its own.
5. Tap the back arrow or checkmark to save.

Mobile signatures don’t support rich formatting, images, or separate reply signatures — for anything more than a couple of lines of text, edit on desktop or the web instead.

---

Where Are Outlook Signatures Stored?

This is the biggest source of confusion when moving from Classic to New Outlook:

• Classic Outlook for Windows stores signatures as local files on your PC. Open File Explorer and paste this into the address bar:

  %appdata%\Microsoft\Signatures

  You’ll see a .htm, .rtf, and .txt file for each signature, plus a folder of any embedded images. You can back these up, copy them to another PC, or edit the .htm directly.

• New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web store signatures in the cloud (roamed with your Microsoft 365 account). There is no local Signatures folder for New Outlook. That’s why a signature you created in Classic doesn’t automatically appear in New Outlook — they live in different places. You’ll need to recreate it (copy-paste the content over) the first time.

• Outlook for Mac roams signatures with your account too, so they follow you when you sign in on another Mac.

Tip: Migrating from Classic to New Outlook? Open your old signature in Classic, copy everything from the Edit signature box, then paste it into the New Outlook editor under Settings ⚙ > Accounts > Signatures. Images usually need to be re-inserted.

---

Quick Reference

Task	New Outlook / Web	Classic Outlook (Windows)	Outlook for Mac	Mobile
Settings path	Settings ⚙ > Accounts > Signatures	File > Options > Mail > Signatures	Outlook > Settings > Signatures	Profile > Settings > Signature
Multiple signatures	Yes	Yes	Yes	One per account
Separate reply signature	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Per-account default	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (toggle)
Rich text / images	Yes	Yes	Yes	No (plain text)
Storage location	Cloud (roamed)	%appdata%\Microsoft\Signatures	Cloud (roamed)	Cloud (roamed)

---

Troubleshooting

Signature won’t change or save in New Outlook

If your edits don’t stick, click Save explicitly — New Outlook does not always auto-save the signature pane. If Save appears greyed out or nothing happens, you may be hitting a sync issue: close and reopen Outlook, then re-apply the change. Because signatures are cloud-roamed, a flaky connection can silently drop the update. Editing the same signature in Outlook on the web (outlook.office.com) is a reliable fallback when the desktop app won’t cooperate.

Old signature still appears on new emails

You changed the content but still see the old version? Two common causes: (1) you edited one saved signature but a different one is set as the default — check the For new messages dropdown and confirm it points to the signature you edited; (2) you have more than one account and edited the wrong account’s signature. Set the correct account in the account selector, then re-check both default dropdowns.

Signature not showing on replies

By default many setups leave the Replies/forwards signature blank. Open signature settings and set the Replies/forwards dropdown (Classic) or For replies/forwards dropdown (New Outlook/Mac) to a signature instead of (none). This is separate from the new-message default — changing one does not change the other.

Signature changed in Classic but not in New Outlook (or vice versa)

They’re stored separately — Classic uses local files, New Outlook uses the cloud. Editing one never updates the other. Update the signature in whichever version you actually send from, or recreate it in both.

Images or logo disappeared after editing

If a logo vanished or shows as a broken-image box, the image link broke. Re-insert the image using the picture icon in the editor rather than pasting it, and avoid referencing images stored only on your local drive. See how to add an image to your Outlook signature for the reliable method.

Formatting looks wrong on the recipient’s end

If fonts or spacing render differently for recipients, your message format may be set to plain text. Compose in HTML format (Classic: Options tab > Format Text > HTML) so the signature’s styling is preserved.

---

Let an Assistant Handle the Email Itself

Updating a signature is a two-minute job — the real time sink is everything that comes after you hit send: scheduling the meeting, logging the contact in your CRM, and chasing the follow-up. Carly is an AI assistant that works over email — CC it on a thread and it schedules across Outlook, Google, and iCloud calendars, drafts the invites, and handles reschedules. It connects to 200+ apps, so the post-email busywork happens without a second prompt. Carly’s AI agent starts at $35/month.

More on Outlook: How to add a signature in Outlook · How to add an image to your signature in Outlook · How to create an email template in Outlook · How to create rules in Outlook · How to schedule an email in Outlook · How to set out of office in Outlook

Related Articles

Guides

How to Add Emojis in Outlook (Email Body & Subject Line)

Jun 25, 2026

Guides

How to Use Conditional Formatting in Outlook (2026 Guide)

Jun 25, 2026

Guides

How to Use Outlook Search Operators (Advanced Search Guide)

Jun 25, 2026