Out of office message examples for 13 occasions
Out of office message examples for vacation, holiday closures, sick and parental leave, conferences, weekends and someone who has left. Each says when you reply and where urgent questions go, and nothing about where you are. Word file, Excel away plan and a filled example.
Made by Anatolii Ulitovskyi 
Fact-checked by RH Fardin Updated 1. Out of office message for vacation
Start hereUse when
- A day off or a vacation of up to three weeks. For a month or more, use tab 4.
- Gmail replies from 12:00 AM on the first day to 11:59 PM on the last day1; Outlook stops at the end time you set2. The last day is the day before you are back.
- Strangers get the external reply too: leave out where you are going, who is at home and your mobile number3.
- Only the internal version names your backup and the handover notes4.
Subject (Gmail)Out of office until return day and date
External messageHello,
Thank you for your email. I am out of the office from first day and back on return day and date. I will reply to your message by reply-by day.
If it is urgent, such as what counts as urgent, please write to shared address or call office phone. It is checked every weekday at time.
Thank you,
your name
company
Internal message (colleagues)Hi all,
I am off from first day to last day. Backup full name covers what they cover and checks shared address every weekday at time. Everything else waits for me. My handover notes are in where.
your name
Short out of office messageOut of office until return day and date. I will reply by reply-by day. Urgent: shared address. your name, company
Reply byPromise a reply 2 business days after you are back: the first day goes to the backlog.
2. Out of office message for holiday closures
Use when
- The whole business closes: Christmas to New Year, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July or a local holiday.
- Tell regular customers the dates two weeks before.
- A clinic, a shop or a trades business also needs an emergency route, such as 911 for a medical emergency.
- Change the website chat, voicemail and opening hours online the same day (tab 8).
SubjectClosed first day to last day, back on return day
Email, whole businessHello,
Thank you for contacting company. We are closed for the holidays from first day to last day and open again on return day and date at opening time. We will answer your message by reply-by day.
Is it urgent, such as what counts as urgent? Write to shared address with URGENT in the subject. It is checked every weekday at time.
Happy holidays,
The company team
Christmas, shortThank you for your email. We are closed for Christmas and back on return day and date. Urgent: shared address. Happy holidays! company
New Year, shortHappy New Year, and thank you for your message. We are closed until return day and date and will reply by reply-by day. company
GreetingNot sure how a customer celebrates? Write 'happy holidays'. Keep one urgent route even when everyone is off.
3. Sick day and medical leave messages: short and private
No detailsUse when
- Sick day: out today, maybe tomorrow. Set it from your phone, or ask the colleague who manages the mailbox.
- Medical leave: give the month you are back only if you are sure, and update it when the date is fixed.
- Never name the illness, the treatment or the hospital. 'On leave' is enough.
Sick dayThank you for your email. I am out of the office today, day, and expect to be back on day. If it cannot wait, please write to shared address. Otherwise I will reply by reply-by day.
your name
Medical leaveHello,
Thank you for your message. I am on leave until month and I am not reading this inbox.
For your area, for example: your account, please contact backup full name at backup work address. This email will not be forwarded, so please send it again to backup first name.
Thank you,
your name
company
Short versionOut of the office today, back day. Urgent: shared address. your name
4. Maternity, paternity and extended leave messages
Use when
- Maternity leave, paternity leave, a sabbatical or any absence of a month or more.
- Name one person per area, with a work address. Ask them first and hand over your notes.
- Say that the inbox is not read and whether messages are forwarded.
Maternity or paternity leaveHello,
Thank you for your email. I am on maternity or paternity leave until month and I am not reading this inbox.
Backup full name is looking after your clients or your area while I am away: backup work address. For anything else, please write to shared address.
This email will not be forwarded, so please send it again to the right address. Thank you for your patience.
your name
company
Extended leave or sabbaticalThank you for your email. I am away from company until month and not reading this inbox. For area 1, please contact backup 1 at address 1; for area 2, backup 2 at address 2. Your email will not be forwarded.
Before you goSet it on your last working day and test it from another address. Write the month, not a day, and update it when the date is fixed.
5. Conference, trade show and busy period messages
Use when
- You still read email, but slowly: a conference, a trade show, client visits, tax season or month-end.
- Give a real reply window, such as 'within 2 business days', not 'limited access to email'.
- Write 'a work event', not the city or hotel: details tell strangers when you are away3.
Conference or trade showHello,
Thank you for your email. I am at a work event, or: the event name until last day and I am reading email once a day. I will reply by reply-by day.
If it cannot wait, please write to shared address or call office phone.
your name
company
Busy periodThank you for your email. Until end date, we are the reason, for example: in the last weeks of tax season, and replies take up to reply window. For urgent topic, please call office phone.
company
Short versionAt a work event until day, reading email once a day. I will reply by reply-by day. your name
Promise the worst dayPromise the reply time you can keep on your busiest day: '2 business days', not 'as soon as possible'.
6. Weekend and after-hours out of office messages
Use when
- A business mailbox that nobody reads at weekends, at night or on a long weekend.
- The Gmail1 and Outlook2 settings take one start and one end, so a weekly reply means switching it each week. Use it for long weekends.
- For every week, put your hours in your signature and on your contact page, and let the website chat answer at night and at weekends.
WeekendThank you for your email. Our office is closed for the weekend, and we will reply on next business day by time. Our hours are days and hours, time zone.
For emergency type, please call emergency number.
company
After hours, shortThanks for writing. We are closed now and reply from time on next business day. company
Website chatFor after-hours chat greetings, use the live chat greeting examples. Never write 'right away' when nobody is working.
7. When someone has left: the resignation auto-reply
Use when
- Someone has resigned or left, and customers still write to their address.
- The company writes this reply, not the person who left, and keeps it on while customers still write.
- Name the new contact with a work address. Never say why the person left or where they went.
Former employee's mailboxHello,
Thank you for your email. Name no longer works at company, and this mailbox is not read.
For their area, for example: your account or open orders, please contact new contact full name at new contact work address or call office phone. Your email has not been forwarded, so please send it again.
Thank you,
company
Short versionName has left company, and this mailbox is not read. Please write to new contact work address instead.
Before they goBefore the last day, ask which customers still write to them, and introduce the new contact by email.
8. Short versions: status, voicemail and website chat
Change every channel the same day as your email, with the same dates. The website chat needs lines for the AI agent's instructions.
Status in a chat appOut of office until return day. Urgent: shared address
Voicemail greetingYou have reached company. We are closed from first day to last day and back on return day at opening time. Please leave your name, number and a short message, and we will call you back by reply-by day. If it is urgent, email shared address.
Lines for the AI agent's instructionsFrom first day to last day, company is closed for occasion. Tell visitors the team is back on return day and replies by reply-by day. Keep answering from the Knowledge Base. Ask for the visitor's name, email and a short description. Urgent means: what counts as urgent. For urgent questions, hand the chat to a person and say backup first name replies by time on the next weekday. Never promise a faster reply or confirm what only a person can confirm.
Saved reply for the backupThanks for your message, first name. Owner first name is away until return day. I am covering area, so I can help with what. Anything else, owner first name will answer by reply-by day.
Remove it tooThe away lines stay in the instructions until someone removes them. Add a task for the day you are back.
For small sales and support teams
Your website keeps answering while you are away.
Email auto-replies live in Gmail or Outlook. On your website, the CRMsoftware.pro AI agent answers from your knowledge base around the clock, says when you are back and takes the visitor's details.
- AI chat 24/7, with your away dates in the bot's Instructions
- Handover to a person: chats wait as Awaiting agent, with an email alert to your backup
- Free for 3 users; human handover from Launch, $19 a month billed yearly
Free plan: 3 users, no credit card.
Filled example
A bookkeeper's year-end vacation, with a backup and a log
Hearthstone Accounting is a fictional two-person bookkeeping and tax firm in Spokane, Washington. Owner Grace Okafor is on vacation from Saturday 19 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027; Felipe Andrade answers urgent client questions every weekday at 10:00. These out of office message examples from tabs 1 and 8 work together.
Away plan: Grace Okafor, year-end 2026
| Away | Sat 19 Dec 2026 to Sun 3 Jan 2027 |
| Back, replies by | Mon 4 Jan, replies by Wed 6 Jan |
| Backup | Felipe Andrade, weekdays at 10:00, not 25 Dec or 1 Jan |
| Urgent means | A tax notice with a deadline, payroll, a bank problem |
| Gmail reply; urgent: urgent@hearthstone.example | |
| Website chat | Away lines in the Instructions; alerts to Felipe |
| Voicemail | 509-555-0142, same dates, recorded Fri 18 Dec |
Away log: what came in
| Received | From and about | Answered |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 21 Dec, email | Marisol Vega: when the 2026 W-2s will be ready | Grace, Tue 5 Jan |
| Tue 22 Dec, chat | Dmitri Volkov: two new hires for the 31 Dec payroll | Felipe, Wed 23 Dec |
| Mon 28 Dec, chat | Owen Pryce: IRS notice, respond by 13 Jan | Felipe, Tue 29 Dec |
| Wed 30 Dec, voicemail | Tamsin Reilly, new client: monthly bookkeeping | Grace, Mon 4 Jan |
| Thu 31 Dec, email | Hector Lin: copy of the 2025 return for a bank loan | Felipe, Mon 4 Jan |
In CRMsoftware.pro on 6 January
| Live Support | 2 chats handed to Felipe, both Completed |
| New lead | Tamsin Reilly, Tamarack Coffee, monthly bookkeeping |
| Task | 'Review IRS notice: Owen Pryce', Grace, Deadline 8 Jan |
| Notification email | Back to Grace, away lines removed, Mon 4 Jan |
Why it matters
What an auto-reply does, and who reads it
An auto-reply is not sent to every email. Gmail sends it from 12:00 AM on the first day to 11:59 PM on the last day, usually only to someone's first message and again after four days; spam and mailing lists get none1. Outlook sends it once to each person who writes while you are away2, in the desktop app and on the web5. One message has to do the whole job.
It also goes to strangers. Microsoft warns that replying to everyone outside your organization also answers newsletters, ads and possibly junk email2. The University of Aberdeen's information security team advises leaving out your whereabouts, colleagues' names and titles, and the footer with phone numbers, because attackers use them to make phishing believable3. Trinity College's IT team recommends separate internal and external replies, the external one general4.
In 2025, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received 24,768 complaints about business email compromise, scams aimed at businesses that pay suppliers by wire transfer, with reported losses of $3.05 billion6. So the external message gives dates, a reply day and an urgent route, and nothing more.
4 days
after this, Gmail can send your reply to the same person again
24,768
business email compromise complaints to the FBI in 2025
5 parts
in every out of office message on this page
Every occasion
Out of office message examples for every occasion
What changes, what to leave out and a line to use as it is. The tabs have the full messages.
| Occasion | What changes | Leave out | Ready line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacation | Away dates, reply day, one urgent route | Where you go, who is at home | I am out of the office until Monday 4 January and will reply by Wednesday 6 January. |
| Christmas and year-end holidays | The whole business closes | A religious greeting if you are not sure | We are closed for the holidays and open again on Monday 4 January at 9:00. |
| New Year | Often a short closure on 1 January | Promises you cannot keep | Happy New Year. We are closed on 1 January and back on Monday 4 January. |
| Public holiday | One or two days | Long holiday stories | We are closed on 26 and 27 November for Thanksgiving and reply from Monday 30 November. |
| Weekend and after hours | The next business day and a time | 'Right away', personal numbers | We are closed for the weekend and will reply on Monday by 12:00. |
| Busy period | A real reply window | 'Limited availability' without a number | Until 15 April, replies take up to 3 business days. |
| Conference or trade show | You read email once a day | Hotel, city, flight times | I am at a work event until Thursday and read email once a day. |
| Sick day | Today and when you expect to be back | Symptoms, doctor visits | I am out of the office today and expect to be back tomorrow. |
| Medical leave | The month you are back; who covers | Diagnosis, treatment, hospital | I am on leave until March. Please write to our team at the address below. |
| Maternity leave | One covering person per area | Due dates, family details | I am on maternity leave until June and I am not reading this inbox. |
| Paternity leave | The same, often shorter | Family details | I am on paternity leave until 15 March. My colleague is looking after my clients. |
| Extended leave or sabbatical | Not read, not forwarded | The reason | I am away until September, and this email will not be forwarded. |
| Left the company | The company names the new contact | Why they left, where they went | Our former colleague has left the company, and this mailbox is not read. |
The dates are examples. Add the urgent route from the tab.
Rules
Six rules for a professional out of office message
For email, website chat, voicemail and status. Agree on them once, for the whole team.
Five parts, every time
The dates, the day you reply, where urgent questions go, what counts as urgent, and whether the email is read later, forwarded or not read.
LineI am back on Monday 4 January and will reply by Wednesday 6 January.
Promise a day you can keep
Back on Monday, reply by Wednesday. 'As soon as possible' is not a day, and 'shortly' is not true when nobody is working.
One urgent route
A shared address or the office line, checked at a set time. Avoid colleagues' names, titles and direct numbers in a reply strangers get3; long leave needs one named person.
Nothing about where or why
No destination, travel plans or medical details. Gmail adds your signature below the reply1: take your mobile number out of it before you leave.
Your employer's IT or security policy comes first: some organizations allow internal auto-replies only.
Gmail and Outlook
How to set an auto reply message in Gmail and Outlook
From Google's and Microsoft's help pages, read on 13 October 2026. Menus change: if one is missing, search the app's help for 'automatic replies'.
| App | Where | Dates | Who gets it | Same sender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail on a computer | Settings > See all settings > General > Vacation responder on, then Save Changes1 | 12:00 AM on the first day to 11:59 PM on the last day1 | Everyone, or contacts only; never spam or mailing lists1 | First message, again after 4 days1 |
| New Outlook for Windows | View > View settings > Accounts > Automatic replies; turn it on, then Save2 | Send replies only during a time period2 | Work accounts: colleagues, outside senders if chosen, or contacts only2 | Once to each person2 |
| Classic Outlook for Windows | File > Automatic Replies > Send automatic replies, then OK2 | Optional; stops at the end time2 | Inside My Organization and Outside My Organization tabs, each with its own message2 | Once to each person2 |
| Outlook on the web and Outlook.com | Settings > Accounts > Automatic replies, then Save5 | A time period; can also block your calendar5 | Send replies outside your organization: a checkbox5 | Once to each person5 |
| Website chat (AI agent) | My Bots > your bot > Basics tab > Instructions: lines from tab 8; Save Bot | None: add the lines and remove them by hand | Every visitor | Every chat |
Classic Outlook with a Gmail, Yahoo or other POP or IMAP account has no automatic replies; a rule works only while Outlook runs2. Set the reply in the email service itself.
Excel away plan
What is in the Excel away plan
Four sheets: Away plan with 7 sample absences, Away log with 8 messages, Summary, and Lists with occasions, people, closed days and settings. Auto columns fill in by themselves.
| Column | What it does |
|---|---|
| Absence, person away, occasion, first and last day away | One row per absence. The last day is the day before you are back. |
| Back on, reply by Auto | The next business day, then 2 business days more, skipping weekends and the closed days on the Lists sheet. |
| Backup, urgent means, what the AI agent says | Who covers, what counts as urgent, the lines for the bot's Instructions. |
| Four messages set; Ready Auto | External, internal, website chat, voicemail and status: Ready when all four are Yes. |
| Status Auto | Planned, Set messages now, Away now, Follow up, Follow-up overdue or Closed. |
| Messages logged, late or open Auto | Counted from the Away log for each absence. |
| Away log | One row per message that came in, with its absence, urgency and answer date. |
| Promised by, status Auto | Urgent: the next business day; the rest: the Reply by day. Open, Due today, Overdue, Answered on time or Answered late. |
In the sample, Grace's year-end vacation brings 5 messages, 3 urgent, all answered by the promised day. Felipe's August vacation shows what to catch: 1 reply 2 days late and 1 still open, so its follow-up is overdue. The Summary sheet counts absences by status and messages on time, by channel and by person. Works in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets.
How to use
How to use these out of office messages
- 1
Pick the occasion
Copy the external, internal and short versions.
- 2
Fill in the five parts
Dates, reply day, urgent route, what counts as urgent, what happens to the email.
- 3
Agree on the backup
Ask first. Agree when they check the shared address and what they may decide.
- 4
Set every channel
The day before: email, website chat, voicemail, status. Test from another address.
- 5
Log, then follow up
When you are back, answer everything by the reply-by day.
Set it up in CRMsoftware.pro
- My Bots > choose the bot > Basics tab > Instructions: the day before you leave, add the lines from tab 8. Save Bot, then Try Bot.
- Behavior tab > Collect User Data: name and email are always asked; turn on Collect Phone Number and Collect Description.
- Connect tab > Send email notifications: set the Notification email to your backup at least a day before. Both inboxes must confirm; the links and codes expire within 24 hours.
- On Launch, urgent chats wait in Live Support as Awaiting agent: your backup clicks Claim, answers, then Resolve.
- Tasks > New Task for the day you are back: Task title 'Remove away lines, switch notifications back', Assignee, Deadline. Add one task per follow-up.
- On Growth: Settings > Saved Replies > New reply: Shortcut /away, Title, Reply body from tab 8, Share with team.
CRMsoftware.pro does not send email auto-replies: set those in Gmail or Outlook. AI chat 24/7 and basic tasks: Free, 3 users. Human handover and Live Support: Launch, $19 a month billed yearly. Saved Replies: Growth, $49.
The day you are back, 20 minutes
- Email reply off, away lines removed from the Instructions.
- Notification email, voicemail and status switched back.
- Away log: urgent follow-ups first, the rest by the reply-by day.
- Ask your backup what is still open, and thank them.
FAQ
Out of office message questions
What are some good out of office message examples?
A good one gives the dates, the day you will reply and where urgent questions go: 'I am out of the office until Monday 4 January and will reply by Wednesday 6 January. If it is urgent, please write to urgent@hearthstone.example.' The tabs and the table cover 13 occasions.
How do you professionally say you will be out of office?
Plainly, with dates: 'I am out of the office from 19 December and back on Monday 4 January.' Add the day you will reply and where urgent questions go. A professional out of office message makes a promise you can keep and says nothing about where you are or why.
What is a short out of office message?
Two or three sentences: 'Out of office until Monday 4 January. I will reply by Wednesday 6 January. Urgent: urgent@hearthstone.example.' Every tab has a short version; tab 8 has lines for status and voicemail.
What is the best out of office message for vacation?
One that says when you are back, when you will reply and where urgent questions go, and not where you are going. Gmail replies until 11:59 PM on the last day1, so set it to the day before you return.
What is a good out-of-office message for a holiday?
Write as the business: 'We are closed for the holidays and open again on Monday 4 January at 9:00. We will reply by Wednesday 6 January.' Add one urgent route that someone checks daily, and write 'happy holidays' if you are not sure how the customer celebrates.
What is a good out-of-office status message?
One line with the return day and an urgent route: 'Out of office until Monday 4 January. Urgent: urgent@hearthstone.example'. Use the same dates as your email and voicemail.
What should you not put in an out of office message?
Where you are going, travel plans, who is at home, medical details, your personal phone number and colleagues' job titles. Attackers use such details to make phishing believable3; business email compromise complaints to the FBI reported $3.05 billion in losses in 20256.
How do I set up an auto reply message in Gmail or Outlook?
Gmail on a computer: Settings > See all settings > General > Vacation responder on, then Save Changes1. New Outlook for Windows: View > View settings > Accounts > Automatic replies2. Outlook on the web: Settings > Accounts > Automatic replies5.
How do I write an out of office message for maternity, paternity or medical leave?
Say you are on leave until a month, not why, and name one person who covers your work, with a work address. Say the inbox is not read and whether emails are forwarded. See tabs 3 and 4.
Can CRMsoftware.pro send out of office replies to my email?
No. Email auto-replies are set in Gmail or Outlook. CRMsoftware.pro covers your website chat: the AI agent answers from your knowledge base around the clock, with your away dates in its Instructions (Free plan). On Launch, $19 a month billed yearly, urgent chats go to your backup in Live Support7.
Related templates
Free tools
Sources
- Start and end times, repeat replies, signature, read 13 October 2026: Gmail Help, Send an automatic reply when you're out of office (computer)
- Outlook for Windows, read 13 October 2026: Microsoft Support, How to set up out of office automatic replies in Outlook
- What to leave out, Information Security Team, 23 June 2021: University of Aberdeen, Gone Phishing! The dangers of using Out of Office Auto Reply
- Internal and external replies, read 13 October 2026: Trinity College, Technology Data and Innovation, Out-of-Office Best Practices
- Outlook on the web, read 13 October 2026: Microsoft Support, Send automatic out of office replies from Outlook.com or Outlook on the web
- Business email compromise complaints and losses in 2025: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 IC3 Annual Report
- Plans and prices: CRMsoftware.pro pricing
Be away without leaving customers waiting.
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