Deleted an email by reflex, then regretted it right away? It happens to everyone. In most cases, you can recover a deleted email in Outlook in just a few clicks, even after it’s left the trash. Here’s how.

1. Check the Deleted Items folder

This is the first thing to try when you need to recover a deleted email. In your folder list, open Deleted Items (or “Trash”). Find the message, right-click it, and choose Move > Other Folder to put it back in your inbox.

2. Use “Recover Deleted Items”

If the message is no longer in Deleted Items, it may still be sitting in the recoverable items folder, which the server keeps for a set period:

1. Select the Deleted Items folder.
2. Click Recover Deleted Items (in the Folder menu on classic Outlook, or at the top of the list in the new Outlook).
3. Check the messages you want to restore, then confirm the recovery.

Restored items land back in the Deleted Items folder, from where you can move them.

3. Keep the retention period in mind

Your administrator sets how long a message stays recoverable, often somewhere between 14 and 30 days. Once that window closes, recovery is no longer guaranteed, so it pays to act quickly.

4. Recovering a deleted folder

Deleted an entire folder? If it’s still in Deleted Items, just drag it back to its place in the folder list to restore it along with all its messages.

Frequently asked questions

Can you recover a permanently deleted email?

As long as the server’s retention period hasn’t run out, the “Recover Deleted Items” option can often bring it back. Beyond that point, only an administrator with backups or retention policies in place may be able to help.

Does this method work on every account?

Recovery through recoverable items mainly applies to Microsoft 365, Exchange, and Outlook.com accounts. IMAP or POP accounts depend on their provider’s own rules.

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