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How to use created tags in a shared mailbox in Microsoft Outlook?

Eliza 20 Reputation points
2025-12-10T10:16:02.7866667+00:00

Hi.

I am a personal assistant and my CEO granted me access (owner permission) to his main inbox. Now, I can't utilize the tag feature in order to categorize and organize his mail. It's grayed out. He already created the tags for me to use, but it's still grayed out. I can't even click the tag icon.

I am using the Outlook in Browser since the desktop option is restricted as set by the company.

I can freely use the same tags in his Calendar shared with me, but not with the Inbox. What can be done so I can utilize the tags in his inbox too? Thank you in advance for your help.

Outlook | Web | Outlook on the web for business | Email
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  1. Tina L 8,820 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-12-11T11:15:55.4366667+00:00

    Hello @Eliza,  

    Thank you for responding.

    From what I see, you currently have Owner permissions for the Inbox folder only, not for the entire mailbox. This could be the reason why the Categorize (Tags) option remains grayed out in Outlook on the web. 

    At the moment, I don’t have a test environment available to confirm this behavior, but if needed, I can run a test later and share the results.  

    Based on your question and my initial testing, if you’d like to use tags in the CEO’s mailbox, you’ll need Full Access to the entire mailbox. 

    You can ask your CEO (or your organization’s admin) to grant you Full Access by: 

    Note: If you and your CEO are an end user, please contact your IT administrator to perform these steps.   

    • Going to Microsoft 365 Admin Center=> Users => select the CEO’s account. 
    • Under Mail settings, please open Mailbox permissions. 
    • In Read and manage permissions, click Add permissions and select your account and save changes. 

    User's image

    User's image About your side, after that, you can wait a few minutes for permission to sync: 

    • You sign in to Outlook on the web with your account and click your profile icon => Open another mailbox. 

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    • Enter the CEO’s email address. 
    • Once the mailbox opens, check if the Categorize (Tags) option is still grayed out. 

    Note: If the mailbox doesn’t open immediately or you see an error, you should wait a little longer and try again; it can take some time for changes to propagate. 

     User's image Waiting for your reply!

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  1. Tina L 8,820 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-12-10T11:36:52.4+00:00

    Hello @Eliza,  

    Thank you for reaching out to the Q&A forum! 

    I noticed that your title mentions a shared mailbox, but in your description, you refer to your CEO’s main mailbox where you were granted Owner permissions.  

    Could you please confirm if this is indeed the CEO’s primary mailbox and not a separate shared mailbox? 

    Additionally, to support you better, please provide me more detail: 

    1. Could you let me know how the permissions were granted?
    2. If possible, could you share a screenshot of this issue?

    Note: I will help you blur or hide any personal information if needed.      

    The reason I’m asking is that I tested a similar scenario by granting Full Access through the Admin Center (Read and manage permissions), and in my environment I was still able to use tags in Outlook on the web.

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    Looking forward to hearing from you.       

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