11 Out of Office Message Examples to Copy [and How to Set Them Up]

It’s worth those two minutes. In NumberBarn’s June 2026 survey of 1,134 employed Americans, 62% checked or responded to work emails, calls or messages on their most recent vacation. A clear auto-reply that names a backup gives people somewhere else to go while you’re away.

We’ve put together copy-ready out of office message examples for every kind of absence, from a one-day sick note to months of parental leave. Pick one, fill the brackets, then turn it on with the steps for each version of Outlook and for Gmail.

And there’s one part an auto-reply can’t touch. It answers email, but your calendar and booking link keep taking meetings, and that’s how you come back to a fully booked Monday. We’ll show you how to block those too.

The short answer: a good out of office message says you’re away, gives the date you’re back, tells people whether you’ll check email, names who to contact for anything urgent, and thanks the sender. Keep it to three or four sentences, and leave out where you’re going and your personal phone number.

Already know what to say? Skip to the Outlook and Gmail steps.

Key takeaways

• An out of office message needs five parts: a greeting, your dates away, your email plans, an urgent contact and a sign-off with your name.
• Leave out your destination, your personal phone number and health details. An auto-reply reaches everyone who emails you, including people you’ve never met.
• Outlook calls the feature Automatic Replies, and Gmail calls it Vacation responder. Both let you set an end date, so the reply switches off on its own.
• An auto-reply doesn’t stop meetings. Cal.com’s Out of office entry blocks new bookings on your booking links for the dates you’re gone, and on Cal.com’s Teams plan it can send bookers to a teammate instead.

What should an out of office message include?

A good out of office message has five parts, in this order: a greeting, your dates away, your email plans, an urgent contact and a sign-off with your name. The middle three do the real work. They answer what the sender would otherwise email again to ask: when you’re back, whether you’ll see their message, and who can help now. Here’s how the five parts look in our standard template.

Element	Why it’s there	Example line
A thank-you or greeting	Sets the tone before the bad news	“Thanks for your email.”
When you’re away and when you’re back	The sender plans around your return date	“I’m out of the office until Monday, [date].”
Whether you’ll check email	Sets the right expectation for a reply	“I won’t be checking email while I’m away.”
Who to contact for anything urgent	Keeps work moving without you	“For anything urgent, contact [name] at [email].”
A sign-off with your name	Shows a person set it, not a system	“Best, [Name]”

The same five lines work in Outlook, Gmail or any other inbox. Gmail’s Vacation responder also asks for a subject line. “Out of office until [return date]” gives people the key fact before they open it.

Keep it to three or four sentences. Senders skim auto-replies, and a short one is quicker to write when you’re about to leave.

Ask your colleague before you name them as your backup. They’ll field the urgent requests, so they should hear it from you first.

Write the external version first. It’s the one clients and partners see, so get that right, then trim it down for colleagues.

What are some good out of office message examples?

The best out of office message is the one that fits your situation. Pick the matching template below, fill in the brackets, and use the shorter internal version for colleagues. Each one already has all five parts.

Your situation	Template to use
Any absence, any sender	Standard
A day or less	Short
Client-facing role	Professional, for clients
Annual leave	Vacation
Away but checking email sometimes	Work travel or a conference
Unplanned, same day	Sick day
Public holiday or office closure	Holiday
Bereavement or a family emergency	Personal leave
Weeks or months away	Parental leave
People will want a meeting when you’re back	With your booking link
Colleagues and relaxed brands	Lighthearted

Standard out of office message

This is the default, and it fits almost any absence, at work or on a personal email account. On a personal account, swap the work contact for someone you trust and keep the rest.

Subject: Out of office until [return date]

Hi, and thanks for your email. I’m out of the office from [start date] until [return date] and won’t be checking email while I’m away. For anything urgent, contact [name] at [email]. I’ll reply once I’m back.

Best,
[Name]

Internal version:

Thanks for the note! I’m out until [return date] and properly offline, so [name] has my back for anything urgent.
[Name]

Short out of office message

Three short sentences, and you’re covered. This simple out of office message suits a day or less, like a half day or an offsite.

Subject: Out today, back [return date]

Thanks for your email! I’m offline today and back on [return date]. Need something sooner? [Name] at [email] has the keys.

Best,
[Name]

Internal version:

Out today, back [return date]. [Name] has the keys until then.
[Name]

Professional out of office message for clients

Client-facing roles call for a formal register. Use full sentences, skip the contractions, and name your backup with their role, so the client knows the person can actually help.

Subject: Out of office from [start date] to [return date]

Hello,
Thank you for your email. I am out of the office from [start date] until [return date] and will not be checking email during that time. For urgent matters, contact [name], [role], at [email]. I will respond to your message when I return.

Kind regards,
[Name]

Internal version:

Thanks for your message. I’m away until [return date] with no email, and [name] is covering anything urgent.
[Name]

Side by side, you can see how much the colleague version drops: the formal greeting, the backup’s role and the promise to reply.

Vacation out of office message

Give your return date and stop there. A destination tells strangers nothing useful, and the date is all a sender needs to plan around.

Subject: On vacation until [return date]

Hi, thanks for your email! I’m on vacation until [return date], and I’ve left my laptop at home on purpose. If it can’t wait, [name] is your person at [email]. Otherwise, I’ll reply once I’m back, rested and ready.

Best,
[Name]

Internal version:

On vacation until [return date] and properly offline. Anything urgent goes to [name].
[Name]

Out of office message for work travel or a conference

You’ll probably check email between sessions or flights, so this version promises slower replies instead of silence. Keep the trip details out of it.

Subject: Traveling until [return date], replies may be slow

Thanks for your email. I’m traveling for work until [return date] and catching up on email between sessions and flights, so replies may be slower than usual. For anything urgent, [name] can help at [email].

Best,
[Name]

Internal version:

On the road until [return date] and answering in airport-lounge bursts. For anything urgent, ping [name].
[Name]

Sick day out of office message

Sick days arrive without notice, so keep this one short and private. Say you’re out, give a likely return day and name a backup. Nobody needs a diagnosis.

Subject: Out of office today

Thanks for your email. I’m out of the office today and not checking email. I expect to be back on [return date]. For anything urgent, contact [name] at [email].

Best,
[Name]

Internal version:

Thanks for your message. I’m out today and offline, so [name] has anything urgent.
[Name]

Holiday out of office message

This one works for any public holiday or office closure. Swap in the date and the holiday, and it’s ready to send. If you’re planning around several closures, our holiday scheduling tips cover how to set up your calendar ahead of time.

Subject: Office closed for [holiday]

Thanks for your email, and happy [holiday]! Our office is closed on [date], and we’re back on [return date]. We won’t be checking email in between, but for anything urgent, [name] can help at [email].

Best,
[Name]

Personal leave out of office message

Use this one for bereavement, a family emergency or anything else you’d rather not explain. “Personal leave” is enough, and it’s fine if you don’t know your return date yet.

Subject: Out of office

Thank you for your email. I’m on personal leave and not checking email. I expect to be back around [return date]. For anything that can’t wait, contact [name] at [email].

Best,
[Name]

Parental leave out of office message

Weeks or months away change what a sender needs to know. Say who owns your work, and say plainly that your email won’t be forwarded.

Subject: On parental leave until [return date]

Hello, and thanks for your email. I’m on parental leave from [start date] until [return date]. I’m not checking email, and messages won’t be forwarded. For anything urgent, contact [name] at [email], who is covering [projects or clients] while I’m away.

Best,
[Name]

Internal version:

Thanks for your message! I’m on parental leave until [return date] and learning a brand-new schedule. [Name] owns my projects in the meantime.
[Name]

Out of office message that includes your booking link

People who email you while you’re gone often want a meeting. Give them a way to book one for after you’re back. If your booking link is on Cal.com, add an Out of office entry for those dates first, and the link only offers times from the day you’re back.

Subject: Out until [return date], book time for when I’m back

Thanks for your email! I’m out of the office until [return date] and won’t be checking email while I’m away. Want to talk when I’m back? Pick a time that suits you here: [booking link]. For anything urgent, contact [name] at [email].

Best,
[Name]

Wondering whether a link comes across as pushy? We wrote up the etiquette in Is It Rude to Send Your Calendar Link? Once those meetings are booked, our guide on how to write a meeting invitation email helps people show up prepared.

Want your booking link to go quiet while you’re away? Create your free Cal.com booking link and block your days off before you leave.

Lighthearted out of office message

A fun out of office message works when your readers already know you, which usually means teammates and relaxed brands. Save the jokes for people who’ll get them. Skip humor with clients, and leave it out of sick and personal leave entirely.

Subject: Out of office (and offline on purpose)

Thanks for your email! I’m out of the office until [return date], somewhere with very bad Wi-Fi, which is exactly the plan. Your message will be read by a well-rested version of me when I’m back. For anything urgent, [name] is in charge at [email], and they’re great.

Best,
[Name]

What should you leave out of an out of office message?

Leave out anything that tells a stranger where you are or how to reach you personally. An auto-reply goes to everyone who emails you, including people you’ve never met. Write it as if anyone could read it, because anyone can.

Leave out	Why	Write instead
Where you’re going	Tells strangers your home or office is empty	“I’m out of the office”
Your personal phone number	Goes to everyone who emails you	A colleague’s work email
Health or family details	Private, and not the sender’s business	“I’m out of the office” or “I’m on personal leave”
A colleague’s name they haven’t agreed to	They get your inbox’s urgent requests	Ask first, then name them
“I’ll reply to every email when I’m back”	A promise you won’t keep after a week away	“I’ll reply once I’m back”

The last row is a promise worth skipping. After a week away, you’ll sort the urgent emails first and some will wait, so promise less.

Here’s the difference in a real reply.

Outlook also lets you set a separate, shorter reply for people outside your organization, which shares even less. Clients get what they need, and strangers get nothing they can use.

How do you set up an out of office message in Outlook and Gmail?

To turn on an out of office message, open Automatic Replies in Outlook or the Vacation responder in Gmail, set your dates, paste your message and save. In Outlook, the steps depend on your version: new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, or classic Outlook. Pick the one that matches your screen. The steps below come from Microsoft Support’s automatic replies guide.

On a Mac or a phone, Outlook’s menus are different. Microsoft covers those in separate guides for Outlook for Mac and for Outlook on Android and iOS.

New Outlook for Windows

To set an out of office message in the new Outlook for Windows:

1. On the View tab, select View settings
2. Select Accounts > Automatic Replies
3. Turn the Automatic replies toggle on
4. Select Send replies only during a time period, and enter start and end times
5. Type your message, then select Save

Outlook on the web and Outlook.com

The browser version has one detail to watch: if you skip the time period, the reply never stops on its own.

1. At the top of the page, select Settings > Account > Automatic replies
2. Turn the Automatic replies toggle on
3. Select Send replies only during a time period, and enter a start and end time
4. Type your message, then select Save

Classic Outlook for Windows

If the new Outlook steps don’t match your screen, you’re probably on classic Outlook, where it all starts from the File menu.

1. Select File > Automatic Replies
2. Select Send automatic replies
3. Optional: select Only send during this time range and choose the dates (Microsoft’s classic Outlook steps)
4. Type your message, then select OK

Set an end date here too. Otherwise, you’ll have to switch the replies off yourself when you’re back.

Should you send a different reply outside your organization?

Often, yes. With a work or school account, classic Outlook gives you an Inside My Organization tab and an Outside My Organization tab, so colleagues get the short note and clients get the polished one. New Outlook and Outlook on the web have a Send replies outside your organization option instead.

Microsoft suggests limiting outside replies to your contacts. Without that limit, newsletters, ads and junk mail get your reply too. You’ll find it as Send replies only to contacts in new Outlook and on the web, and My contacts only in classic Outlook.

Outlook sends your reply once to each person who emails you while you’re away. Use the professional template for clients in the outside tab and its internal version in the inside one.

Why can’t you find Automatic Replies in Outlook?

If Outlook has no setting for your out of office message, it’s usually the account type. Microsoft says, “Automatic replies are not supported for Gmail, Yahoo, or other POP or IMAP accounts.” Those accounts won’t show the feature, even in an up-to-date version of Outlook.

In classic Outlook, if there’s no Automatic Replies button after you select File, Microsoft’s fallback is a rule that sends the reply for you. It only works if you leave Outlook running on your computer while you’re away.

Gmail

Gmail’s out of office is the Vacation responder, the same feature under a different name. To set it up on a computer (Gmail Help):

1. Open Gmail, and at the top right select Settings > See all settings
2. On the General tab, go to the Vacation responder section
3. Select Vacation responder on
4. Fill in the date range, subject and message
5. Optional: to reply to your contacts only, check the box under the message
6. At the bottom of the page, select Save Changes

Three things to know before you leave:

• The reply switches on at 12:00 AM on your start date and off at 11:59 PM on your end date, unless you end it earlier.
• Gmail usually sends the reply only the first time someone writes to you. They’ll get it again if they email after four days and the reply is still on, or if you edit the reply.
• Anything that lands in your spam folder, or goes to a mailing list you subscribe to, won’t get the reply.

How do you stop people booking meetings while you’re out of office?

An auto-reply only answers email. Your calendar and booking link keep taking meetings unless you block them too: a prospect who never saw your auto-reply can still book the Tuesday you’re on a beach. Give them five more minutes before you log off. There are four things to sort out, starting with your calendar.

Block your calendar

In Google Calendar, select Create > Out of office, choose your dates and edit your decline message. Google says your calendar then declines all meetings when you’re not available (Google Calendar Help). To decline meetings already on your calendar as well, choose New and existing meetings. Google describes the feature for work and school accounts, so check that the option shows up in yours.

Using Microsoft Teams? Scheduling an out of office status there also syncs with automatic replies in your Outlook calendar. Teams requires a message to do it, so write one (Microsoft Support).

Block your booking link

A calendar entry doesn’t always reach a booking page. In Cal.com, an Out of office entry “immediately blocks new bookings for that date range” on your booking links (Cal.com help). To add one:

1. Go to Settings and, under Personal settings, select Out of office
2. On the My OOO tab, select Add
3. Pick your dates and a reason, such as vacation, sick leave or travel
4. Optional: add a note, and tick Show note on public booking page if you want bookers to see it
5. Select Create

Out of office sits under Personal settings in Cal.com.

Here’s a filled-in entry for a four-day work trip. The public note does the same job as an email auto-reply: it says when you’re back and who can help in the meantime.

A Cal.com out of office entry with a public note and a teammate to send bookers to.

Once you select Create, the entry shows on your My OOO tab.

The saved entry on the My OOO tab in Cal.com.

Whichever reason you pick, its emoji shows on your booking page during your time off, so bookers can see why the days are closed.

Our Out of office page has the full rundown, and our guide to date overrides vs out of office settings explains when to use which.

Take time off without the surprise meetings: get your free Cal.com booking link.

Send bookers to a teammate

On Cal.com’s Teams plan, turn on Provide a link to a team member when OOO in the same out of office window, then pick someone under Select team member. Bookers land on that person’s booking page instead of an “unavailable” message. It’s the booking-link version of naming a backup in your email, and a lead who wanted a call this week still gets one.

If you manage a team, you can also add entries for your teammates from the Team OOO tab, so coverage for everyone’s time off sits in one place. Our out of office scheduling guide covers the setup in more detail.

Running a team that needs cover while people are out? Book a demo to see how forwarding and team out of office work for your setup.

Check what’s already booked

An Out of office entry stops new bookings, but existing bookings aren’t cancelled automatically. Look through the dates you’ll be away and reschedule anything still on them before you go.

On Cal.com Organizations, admins can turn on Email members about booking conflicts with out of office under Settings → Organization → General. They choose who gets the email under Notify, and it lists the member’s accepted bookings that overlap the time off.

The booking conflict email setting for Cal.com Organizations, under Settings → Organization → General.

One last time-saver: public holidays don’t need an entry each. In Cal.com, the Holidays tab next to your out of office entries can block public holidays for your country, with a switch for any you don’t observe. You could take bookings on Veterans Day, for example, and still keep Thanksgiving closed. On Organizations, admins can also add a company holiday calendar that blocks every member.

US public holidays on the Holidays tab, in Settings → Out of office.

Before you log off

Now you’re ready to get out the door. Here’s the checklist:

• Pick the template that fits your absence and fill in the brackets, so it covers the five parts: a greeting, your dates, your email plans, an urgent contact and a sign-off with your name.
• Turn it on with Automatic Replies in Outlook or the Vacation responder in Gmail, and set an end date.
• Block your calendar and your booking link as well as your inbox, and check what’s already booked.

Take time off without missed bookings: create your free Cal.com booking link, add an Out of office entry before you leave, and your link only offers times from the day you’re back.

Managing time off across a whole organization? Book a demo to see how Cal.com handles it.

When you’re back, our guide on how to write a reminder email helps you pick up the loose threads with follow-ups that get a reply. Until then, close the laptop and enjoy the break.

Frequently asked questions

How do I set an out of office message in Microsoft Teams?

To set a Teams out of office message, select your profile picture, choose Set status message > Schedule out of office, turn on Turn on automatic replies, write your message and select Save. Teams requires the message before it can set your status and sync it with your Outlook calendar.

How do I set out of office without an automatic reply?

Block the dates on your calendar instead. To decline meetings, add an Out of office entry in Google Calendar. To stop new bookings on your booking link, add an Out of office entry in Cal.com.

How do I say “out of office” in a text message?

Keep it to one line: “I’m away until [date] and slow to reply. For anything urgent, contact [name].” For an out of office text message on an iPhone, use the auto-reply that comes with the Driving Focus. Go to Settings > Focus > Driving > Auto-Reply. If Driving isn’t listed, tap + and add it. Choose who gets the reply, from Recents, Favourites or All Contacts, and type your own text under Auto-Reply Message.

The reply only goes out while Driving Focus is on, and that Focus also silences your notifications. People who get the auto-reply can still notify you by sending “urgent” as a second message.

What is another way to say “out of office”?

“Away from the office”, “on leave”, “on vacation” and “away until [date]” all work. “Out of the office” is a safe pick for a professional reply.

Is it correct to say “out of office”?

Yes. Both “out of office” and “out of the office” are correct, and OOO is the common abbreviation in calendars and chat.