Access denied when setting up forwarding in Office 365

An access denied message when setting up forwarding in Office 365 is a tenant policy, not a Zendesk problem.

An access denied message when setting up forwarding in Office 365 is a tenant policy, not a Zendesk problem.

Symptoms

• Access denied when saving a forwarding rule.
• The rule saves and mail is not forwarded.
• It worked for one mailbox and not another.

Resolution steps

1. External forwarding is blocked

Microsoft blocks automatic forwarding to external addresses by default, as an anti-exfiltration measure. Your tenant administrator can allow it, usually for specific mailboxes rather than everyone.

This is the cause in most cases, and it needs somebody with tenant rights.

2. You lack the rights on that mailbox

Setting forwarding on a shared mailbox needs permissions on it, which are separate from being able to read it.

3. A retention or compliance policy

Some policies prevent forwarding entirely on mailboxes in scope. Then forwarding is not the route, and the Exchange connector is the alternative.

The alternative

The Microsoft Exchange connector pulls mail rather than relying on forwarding, which sidesteps the policy entirely. It needs administrator consent once, and after that there is no forwarding rule to be blocked.

For organisations with strict tenant policies, that is usually the easier path.

See also

• Connecting Microsoft Exchange
• Forwarding email from your own address