How to set up out of office in Gmail.
Step-by-step guide to enabling Gmail's vacation responder on web, mobile, and Google Workspace. Plus a copy-paste message you can use right now.
Step-by-step guide to enabling Gmail's vacation responder on web, mobile, and Google Workspace. Plus a copy-paste message you can use right now.
To set up an out-of-office in Gmail: open Gmail → click the gear icon → "See all settings" → scroll to "Vacation responder" → toggle on → set your start/end dates and message → "Save Changes" at the bottom. The setting takes effect immediately. Mobile follows the same flow under Settings → your account → Vacation responder.
In Gmail's upper-right corner, click the gear icon to open the Quick settings panel.
Click "See all settings" at the top of the panel.
You'll land on the General tab. Scroll all the way to the bottom — Vacation responder is the second-to-last section.
Click the radio button labeled "Vacation responder on." Set your First day (when the auto-reply starts) and check the Last day box if you have a specific return date.
If you don't set a Last day, the responder runs until you manually disable it. Set the date — it's safer.
Subject line: keep it short and specific. "Out of office until [return date]" works.
Message body: use our free template below or our free generator.
Two checkboxes appear below the message:
Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and click "Save Changes." Your vacation responder is now active.
You'll see a yellow banner at the top of Gmail confirming "Vacation responder on." Click "End now" any time to disable it manually.
iOS or Android — same flow.
Tap the menu icon (three lines, top-left) → scroll to bottom → tap Settings.
Tap the email account you want to set up the responder for. (If you have multiple accounts, each needs its own setup.)
It's near the bottom of the account settings. Toggle it on, set dates, write your message, save.
Out of office until [return date]
Hello, Thank you for your email. I am out of office from [start date] until [return date] and will not be checking email during this time. For urgent matters, please contact [name] at [email]. They have full coverage and will be glad to help. I will respond to your message in the order received upon my return. Best regards, [Your name]
Need a different tone (warm, playful, brief, firm)? Use our free OOO message generator — five tones, eight reasons, copy-and-paste output.
Gmail sends one auto-reply per sender every 4 days, regardless of how many emails they send during that window. This prevents reply storms with mailing lists.
No. Gmail's spam filter blocks auto-replies to messages it considers spam. You can also restrict replies to known contacts using the checkbox in step 4.
Yes — same setup. Workspace adds the option to restrict auto-replies to people in your organization.
Yes. The "First day" date can be in the future. Gmail will activate the responder automatically on that date.
Only if those emails actually arrive in the Gmail inbox. If you have aliases that forward elsewhere, the responder only fires on emails Gmail receives directly.
The auto-reply tells people you're out. OutOfOfficePro is a live page they can tap to instantly reach the right person — by issue type, automatically routed. Add the URL to your responder body and your vacation message stops being passive. $9.99/mo for active routing.
Set up your routing page →