How To Apply Sensitivity Labels to Your Emails in Outlook

The article explains how to apply sensitivity labels in new Outlook, classic Outlook, and Outlook on the web by selecting the Sensitivity button on the Message tab and choosing the appropriate label. For guidance on how to select the proper label please view the "Understanding PWCS Sensitivity Labels" article.

Apply a sensitivity label in new Outlook

1. When composing an email in new Outlook, select Sensitivity ​​​​​​​on the Message tab in the Tags group.

2. Choose the sensitivity label that applies to your email.

   

   To remove an existing sensitivity label, unselect it from the Sensitivity menu.
   You won't be able to remove a label if your organization requires labels on all email messages.

Note: Information Rights Management (IRM) protection can't be applied to a message that's already signed or encrypted using S/MIME. To apply IRM protection, S/MIME signature and encryption must be removed from the message. The same applies for IRM-protected messages; users can't sign or encrypt them by using S/MIME. For more information about S/MIME see, Encrypt emails with S/MIME or Microsoft 365 Message Encryption in Outlook.

How sensitivity labels appear to others in new Outlook

When viewing a message, the sensitivity label appears on a line above the message.

Apply a sensitivity label in classic Outlook

1. When composing an email in classic Outlook, select Sensitivity on the Message tab.

2. Choose the sensitivity label that applies to your email.

   

   To remove an existing sensitivity label, unselect it from the Sensitivity menu. You won't be able to remove a label if your organization requires labels on all email messages.

How sensitivity labels appear to others in classic Outlook

If a label was selected, you'll see it at the end of the end of the Subject line when creating a message.

When viewing a message, the sensitivity label appears under the address block.

Apply a sensitivity label in Outlook on the web

1. When composing an email in Outlook on the web, select Sensitivity ​​​​​​​on the Message tab in the Tags group.

2. Choose the sensitivity label that applies to your email.

   

   To remove an existing sensitivity label, unselect it from the Sensitivity menu.
   You won't be able to remove a label if your organization requires labels on all email messages.

Note: Information Rights Management (IRM) protection can't be applied to a message that's already signed or encrypted using S/MIME. To apply IRM protection, S/MIME signature and encryption must be removed from the message. The same applies for IRM-protected messages; users can't sign or encrypt them by using S/MIME. For more information about S/MIME see, Encrypt emails with S/MIME or Microsoft 365 Message Encryption in Outlook.

How sensitivity labels appear to others in Outlook on the web

When reading messages, the sensitivity label appears on a line above the message.

Content originally from Apply sensitivity labels to email messages in Outlook