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    Essential Skills
    Beginner
    3 min read 5 stepsApril 19, 2026Verified April 2026

    How to Set Up an Out-of-Office Reply in Gmail

    Gmail's vacation responder automatically replies to incoming emails when you are away — letting people know you are unavailable and when to expect a response.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Essential Skills
    Difficulty
    Beginner
    Read Time
    3 min read
    Steps
    5
    Topics covered
    gmail
    out of office
    vacation responder
    automatic reply
    email
    away message

    In this guide (5 steps):

    1. 1.Open Gmail Settings on a computer
    2. 2.Turn on the vacation responder
    3. 3.Write your message
    4. 4.Choose who receives the auto-reply
    5. 5.Save and verify
    1

    Open Gmail Settings on a computer

    ~21s
    Go to gmail.com on your computer. Click the gear icon () in the top right corner → "See all settings." This opens the full Gmail settings page. Scroll down to the "Vacation responder" section near the bottom of the General tab.

    Quick Tip

    If you only have your phone, open Gmail.com in your phone's web browser and request "Desktop site" to access the full settings.

    2

    Turn on the vacation responder

    ~15s
    In the "Vacation responder" section, click "Vacation responder on." Enter the "First day" (the date you leave or start the auto-reply) and check "Last day" if you want it to automatically turn off — enter your return date.
    3

    Write your message

    ~29s
    Fill in the "Subject" (for example, "Out of Office — Back [Date]") and the message body. Keep it brief and professional: tell people you are away, your return date, and who to contact if urgent. Example: "Thank you for your email. I am currently out of office until [date] and will respond when I return. For urgent matters, please contact [name] at [email]."

    Quick Tip

    Quick Tip: Do not include your phone number, home address, or too many personal details in an out-of-office message. It is sent to every sender, including strangers.

    4

    Choose who receives the auto-reply

    ~18s
    Below the message, check "Only send a response to people in my Contacts" if you want the auto-reply to go only to people you know. Leave it unchecked if you want everyone — including businesses and mailing lists — to receive it. For personal email, limiting to Contacts is usually better.
    5

    Save and verify

    ~17s
    Click "Save Changes" at the bottom. Gmail will show a yellow banner at the top of your inbox confirming the vacation responder is active and giving you an easy "End now" button if you want to turn it off early when you return. The responder turns off automatically on your end date.

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    Gmail's vacation responder (also called out-of-office reply) automatically sends a reply to anyone who emails you while you are away. This is useful when you are on vacation, traveling, dealing with a medical situation, or any time you will not be checking email regularly.

    The auto-reply tells senders that you received their email but are currently unavailable, and optionally, when you will return and who to contact in case of urgency.

    Key things to know: - The responder only sends one automatic reply per person every 4 days — it will not spam someone who emails you repeatedly - You choose a start date and end date — it activates and deactivates automatically - You can choose to only send the reply to people in your Google Contacts (more private) or to everyone who emails you - The message can be customized with whatever text you want - Gmail keeps working normally while the responder is on — emails still arrive in your inbox as usual

    The vacation responder is available in Gmail on your computer (gmail.com). The smartphone app does not have this feature. You must set it up on a computer or tablet browser.

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    gmail
    out of office
    vacation responder
    automatic reply
    email
    away message

    Official Resources

    GCFGlobal — Free Digital SkillsAARP Technology TipsSenior Planet

    Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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