How to Propose a New Time in Outlook (2026)
Proposing a new time lets you suggest an alternate slot without simply declining. The organizer gets your suggestion and decides whether to reschedule. Note that the option only exists for meetings you didn’t organize, and the organizer must allow it.
1. Propose a New Time (Classic Outlook for Windows)
- Open the meeting invite in your inbox.
- On the response bar, click Propose New Time, then choose Tentative and Propose New Time or Decline and Propose New Time.
- In the scheduling grid, drag the meeting block to a new slot — the free/busy bars show when attendees are available.
- Click Propose Time, then Send.
2. Propose a New Time (New Outlook & Web)
- Open the invite from your inbox or the event on your calendar.
- Click the response menu (next to Accept / Tentative / Decline) and choose Propose new time.
- Pick a new date and time. The scheduling assistant shows attendee availability.
- Add an optional note and click Propose.
If you don’t see the option, the organizer turned off Allow new time proposals for this meeting.
3. Respond to a Proposed Time (Organizer)
When an attendee proposes a new time, you receive a New Time Proposed message.
- Open the proposal message.
- Review the suggested slot against your calendar.
- Click Accept Proposal to reschedule and send the update to everyone, or View All Proposals to compare multiple suggestions.
Accepting sends an updated invite to all attendees automatically.
4. Propose a Time on Outlook Mobile
The mobile apps have limited support — open the invite and tap Propose New Time if it appears. If it’s missing, use Outlook on the web from your phone’s browser instead.
5. Troubleshooting
Propose New Time is greyed out or missing
The organizer disabled time proposals, or you’re the organizer (organizers reschedule directly instead). It’s also unavailable for all-day events.
My proposed time conflicts with attendees
The scheduling grid only shows free/busy for people whose calendars you can see. Use the Scheduling Assistant for full availability before proposing.
The organizer never responded
A proposal is a suggestion, not a change. Follow up directly, or accept tentatively so the meeting stays on your calendar.
Related Outlook guides: How to decline a meeting in Outlook · How to create a calendar event in Outlook · How to share your Outlook calendar · How to set out of office in Outlook · How to color code your Outlook calendar
Ready to automate your busywork?
Carly schedules, researches, and briefs you—so you can focus on what matters.
See what people say
"Before Carly, I relied on a Calendly link, but the whole process felt impersonal and not very professional. Carly changed that by handling all the back-and-forth, so I'm no longer stuck in endless email threads trying to line up schedules.
Now Carly reaches out to candidates, shares my real-time availability, lets them pick a slot, then sends a Zoom link and drops it straight into my calendar. She sends reminders to both of us before each call, which has significantly reduced no-shows and last-minute confusion.
On top of scheduling, Carly acts like a full executive assistant, sending me my schedule the night before so I can prepare for each call. It reminds me of the old x.ai assistant, but Carly is noticeably smarter, faster, and better suited to my healthcare recruitment business."
