How to request delivery or read receipt for a message

If you want to ensure that someone has received your message, you can request a delivery receipt and a read receipt. Thus, when the recipient downloads your message from his or her ISP's e-mail server, you receive an automatic e-mail delivery message. You can also receive a read receipt, which notifies that your message was opened by the recipient.

Both of these receipts are great for ensuring that recipients have actually received and read your message. However, please be aware that the recipient can reconfigure their email client to prevent sending such notifications automatically. Additionally, the recipient will be notified that they are being asked to provide a read receipt and can optionally choose to confirm or ignore the request altogether.

Ask for a delivery and read receipts for a message in Outlook for Windows

On a new, reply, or forward message, to request a receipt, do one of the following:

• If you use the Simplified ribbon (see more about customizing ribbons), on the Options tab, click the appropriate button:
  • Request a Delivery Receipt to track when the email is delivered to the recipient,
  • Request a Read Receipt to track when the recipient opens and reads the email message.

  If you don't see these checkboxes on the ribbon, click the More commands button - three points to the very right of the ribbon buttons.

  After clicking any of these buttons, a checkmark appears before the button name:

  

  Note: You also can set all the message options in the Proprieties dialog box (see more about message options). To open it, click the Tracking dialog box launcher:

  

  Or select Message Options. on the Options tab (see above).

  

  To open the Properties dialog box, on the Options tab, in the Tracking group, click the dialog box launcher:

  

  In the Properties dialog box:

  • To request a delivery receipt, select the Request a delivery receipt for this message checkbox.
  • To request a read receipt, select the Request a read receipt for this message checkbox:

  

  Delivery receipt examples:

  

  

  Note: If you've requested a receipt but don't receive one, it doesn't necessarily mean your message wasn't delivered or read. Some e-mail programs do not send delivery or read receipts.

  Ask for a delivery and read receipts in Outlook for Web

  On a new, reply, or forward message in Outlook for Web, to request a receipt, do one of the following:

  • If you use the Simplified ribbon (see more about customizing ribbons), on the Options tab, select:
    • The Request delivery receipt checkbox to track when the email is delivered to the recipient,
    • The Request read receipt checkbox to track when the recipient opens and reads it.

    If you don't see these checkboxes on the ribbon, click the More commands button - three points to the very right of the ribbon buttons:

    

    

    Receive a message with the requested read receipt in Outlook

    When you open a message that requests a read receipt, by default, for the first time, Outlook displays information about the confirmation that was requested:

    Outlook for Windows opens the warning message " requested a read receipt be sent when message is read. Do you want to send a receipt?":

    

    

    You may ignore this message and not send the requested notice. To confirm sending the read receipt, click the click here link. Outlook displays information "A read receipt has been sent to this sender." above the message:

    

    See also this tip in French: Comment demander un reçu.

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    How to request delivery or read receipt for a message

    If you want to ensure that someone has received your message, you can request a delivery receipt and a read receipt. Thus, when the recipient downloads your message from his or her ISP's e-mail server, you receive an automatic e-mail delivery message. You can also receive a read receipt, which notifies that your message was opened by the recipient.

    

    Work with delivery and read requests in Outlook

    From time to time, when you send an email message, you need to ensure that it was delivered to the recipient. There are third-party services to verify that messages have been received and read, but you can also request two different receipts in Outlook: a delivery receipt and a read receipt.

    

    Work with delivery and read requests in Outlook

    Time to time, when you send an email, you need to be sure that this email has been delivered to the recipient. In Outlook, you can ask for two different receipts: a delivery receipt and a read receipt.