# Change Username or Email Address

## Change a user's email address

You must be a [user administrator](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/add-users/about-admin-roles?view=o365-worldwide#commonly-used-microsoft-365-admin-center-roles\&preserve-view=true).

1. <mark style="color:green;">In the admin center, go to the</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Users**</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">></mark> [<mark style="color:green;">Active users</mark>](https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=834822) <mark style="color:green;">page.</mark>
2. <mark style="color:green;">Select the user's name, and then on the</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Account**</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">tab select</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Manage username and email**</mark><mark style="color:green;">.</mark>
3. <mark style="color:green;">In the first box, type the first part of the new email address. If you added your own domain to Microsoft 365, choose the domain for the new email alias by using the drop-down list.</mark> [<mark style="color:green;">Learn how to add a domain</mark>](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/setup/add-domain?view=o365-worldwide)<mark style="color:green;">.</mark>
4. <mark style="color:green;">Select</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Done**</mark><mark style="color:green;">.</mark>\\

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## Set the primary email address

You must be an [Exchange administrator](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/add-users/about-exchange-online-admin-role?view=o365-worldwide).

1. <mark style="color:green;">In the admin center, go to the</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Users**</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">></mark> [<mark style="color:green;">Active users</mark>](https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=834822) <mark style="color:green;">page.</mark>
2. <mark style="color:green;">Select the user's name, and then on the</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Account**</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">tab select</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Manage email aliases**</mark><mark style="color:green;">.</mark>
3. <mark style="color:green;">If you're adding a new email address, under</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Aliases**</mark><mark style="color:green;">, in the blank box, type the first part of the new email address. If you added your own domain to Microsoft 365, choose the domain for the new email alias by using the drop-down list and select</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Add**</mark><mark style="color:green;">.</mark>
4. <mark style="color:green;">Under</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Aliases**</mark><mark style="color:green;">, select the ellipses (...) next to the desired alias and then select</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Change to primary email**</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">for the email address that you want to set as the primary email address for that person.</mark>
5. <mark style="color:green;">Select</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Save changes**</mark><mark style="color:green;">, then</mark> <mark style="color:green;"></mark><mark style="color:green;">**Close**</mark><mark style="color:green;">.</mark>

{% hint style="success" %}
**Give the person the following information:**

* <mark style="color:orange;">This change could take a while.</mark>
* <mark style="color:orange;">Their new username. They need it to sign in to Microsoft 365.</mark>
* <mark style="color:orange;">If they're using Skype for Business Online, they must reschedule any Skype for Business Online meetings that they organized, and tell their external contacts to update their contact information.</mark>
* <mark style="color:orange;">If they're using OneDrive, the URL to this location has changed. If they have OneNote notebooks in their OneDrive, they might need to close and reopen them in OneNote. If they have shared files from their OneDrive, the links to the files might not work and the user can reshare.</mark>
* <mark style="color:orange;">If their password changed too, they're prompted to enter the new password on their mobile device, or it won't sync.</mark>
  {% endhint %}

A person's previous primary email address is retained as an extra email address. **We strongly recommend that you don't remove the old email address.**

Some people might continue to send email to the person's old email address and deleting it might result in NDR failures. Microsoft automatically routes it to the new one. Also, don't reuse old SMTP email addresses and apply them to new accounts. This can also cause NDR failures or delivery to an unintended mailbox.

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## REFERENCES

* <https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/add-users/change-a-user-name-and-email-address?view=o365-worldwide>
