MC1472028 - (Updated) Outlook: Change the organizer of meetings

Microsoft 365 Message Center announcement MC1472028.

MS Message Center's Summary

Microsoft is introducing a feature to transfer meeting ownership in Outlook starting in late September 2026. This capability allows users to pass meeting organization to a colleague who must accept the request. Administrators should inform help desks and update internal documentation because classic Outlook is not supported and external attendees receive replacement invitations.

Administrator impact
No direct administrator action is required.
End user impact
Users can now transfer meeting organization to colleagues while preserving meeting content and attendee settings.
Importance
4/10: This feature introduces a useful productivity capability for meeting management with no mandatory administrative configuration.

Microsoft Summary

Microsoft is enabling Outlook users to transfer meeting organizer roles within their organization, improving meeting continuity during role changes or leave. The rollout begins November 2026 for non-online meetings, with phased support for Teams meetings and artifacts. The feature requires acceptance by the new organizer and preserves meeting content.

Message Center ID
MC1472028
Category
stay Informed
Severity
normal
Services
Exchange Online, Microsoft 365 suite
Tags
Updated message, New feature, User impact
Published
2026-09-14
Last updated
2026-10-26
Expires
2027-02-01

Updated October 26, 2026: We have updated the content and timeline. Thank you for your patience. [What and Why:] Microsoft is introducing Change organizer for eligible Outlook meetings and recurring meeting series. Users can ask another person in their organization to become the organizer, and the selected person must accept before ownership changes. This supports personal and team productivity by maintaining meeting continuity during role changes, leave, and offboarding. [Rollout Schedule:] This phase supports non-online meetings: Worldwide: Early November through early December 2026 GCC: Late November through late December 2026 GCC High: Early December through late December 2026 DoD: Early December through late December 2026 Phase 2 will add eligible online meetings. For Teams meetings, the transfer will generate a new Teams meeting link owned by the new organizer. Phase 2 will also be rolled out along with phase 1 with the same schedule. Phase 3 will add transfer support for eligible Teams meeting artifacts, including chat, meeting options, transcripts, recordings, agenda, notes, and attendance reports. Its timing will be announced separately. [Impact on Your Organization:] Who is affected: Users who organize eligible meetings or recurring series. Users selected to become a new organizer. Delegates with permission to edit meetings on another user's primary calendar. Help desk teams supporting meeting ownership transitions. Platforms/Services: Outlook on the web New Outlook for Windows Teams Microsoft 365 Calendar Exchange Online Classic Outlook for Windows is not supported. What will happen: The current organizer can select one person in the same organization or tenant and send an organizer change request. The meeting remains with the current organizer until the selected person accepts. The organizer or an authorized delegate can cancel a pending request. For recurring series, future instances move to the new organizer's calendar. Earlier instances remain with the previous organizer. Internal Exchange Online attendees receive a silent update and do not need to respond again. Their Reminder, Category, Show As, and Private settings are preserved. External and on-premises attendees receive a cancellation and a new invitation, which requires a response. The meeting body, attachments, and sensitivity labels are preserved. The new organizer might require separate access to OneDrive attachments or links. If the meeting has a Teams meeting, a new Teams meeting link will be generated upon transfer which will be owned by the new organizer. This feature is enabled by default and requires no tenant configuration. There is no admin setting to control the availability of this feature. The meeting must be in the future, use a work or school account, and be stored on the organizer's primary calendar. Draft, canceled, encrypted, group calendar, group mailbox, and shared mailbox meetings are not eligible. [Action Required/Recommendations:] No administrative action is required. Review meeting ownership processes for role changes, leave, and offboarding. Update internal meeting management and offboarding documentation. Tell users that the new organizer must accept the request and that the previous organizer is not automatically retained as an attendee. Advise users that external attendees must respond to a replacement invitation. Ask users to confirm that the new organizer can access linked OneDrive content. Review the Microsoft Support article, Change the organizer of a meeting in Outlook. [Compliance Considerations:] Consideration Impact Explanation Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed? Yes Future meeting instances move to the new organizer's calendar and can be managed by that organizer. Earlier recurring instances remain with the previous organizer. Meeting content is preserved, but linked OneDrive content might require separate access. Does the change provide a new way of communicating between users, tenants, or subscriptions? Yes The feature adds organizer transfer requests within an organization. Internal attendees receive silent updates, while external and on-premises attendees receive a cancellation and replacement invitation.