This article explains how to undelete a message in Outlook, whether you just deleted it or time has passed. This information applies to Outlook for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2019, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013, Outlook 2010, and Outlook Online.

What to Know

  • Quick undelete: Press Ctrl+Z immediately after you delete an email to retrieve it.Restore previously deleted emails: Open the Deleted Items folder. Then, right-click the message you want to restore and select Move > Inbox.

Undelete a Message Quickly in Outlook

If you accidentally delete a message in Outlook Email and immediately realize you need that email, it isn’t too late. It’s easy to recover an Outlook message you just deleted. It works the same as undoing an action in Word and other programs.

  • If you didn’t take any other action after deleting an email, press the Ctrl+Z keyboard combination to return the deleted email to the Inbox.
  • Here’s another quick way to undo an action. Go to the Outlook Quick Access Toolbar and select Undo.
  • If you took other steps in Outlook after deleting the email, press Ctrl+Z multiple times to undo a series of actions in the reverse order that you performed them.

Undelete Older Deleted Messages

Deleted Outlook emails are located in the Deleted Items folder in Outlook and Outlook Online. If you mistakenly trash a message and don’t recover it right away, you can still move it from the Deleted Items folder to any other folder to restore it.

If you didn’t take any other action after deleting an email, press the Ctrl+Z keyboard combination to return the deleted email to the Inbox.

Here’s another quick way to undo an action. Go to the Outlook Quick Access Toolbar and select Undo.

If you took other steps in Outlook after deleting the email, press Ctrl+Z multiple times to undo a series of actions in the reverse order that you performed them.

  • Open the Deleted Items folder.
  • Right-click the message you want to restore.
  • Select Move > Inbox. The message is restored to the Inbox.

If some time has passed, you might still be able to recover a deleted Outlook email, but the process is more involved. Emails deleted from the Deleted Items folder or Recoverable Items and IMAP emails marked for deletion are more challenging to recover. If you make regular backups on your computer, a backup may be the quickest path to recovery.

Exchange and Microsoft 365 Outlook accounts move deleted email to Recoverable Items.

Open the Deleted Items folder.

Right-click the message you want to restore.

Select Move > Inbox. The message is restored to the Inbox.

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