TL;DR: An out-of-office message states you’re unavailable, when you’ll reply, and how to get help.

  • Give a return date, or a contact and update time.
  • Add a time zone for senders elsewhere.
  • Name a monitored contact; either a colleague or shared inbox.
  • Support teams: add ticket assignment and a realistic response target.

An out-of-office message is less useful when it omits the return time or the next step. The sender is left deciding whether to wait, follow up, or go around you.

A good one closes that in two sentences.

Below are general out of office message examples you can copy, eight support and delay scenarios, the mistakes worth avoiding, and how to set automatic replies in Teams, Outlook, Gmail and Apple Mail.

Before you use any template: replace the bracketed fields. Use ticket references, response windows and escalation routes only when your system and team can support them.

Say whether a response window means business hours or elapsed hours. A status page gives incident updates. It does not report or escalate a new issue on its own.

Simple out of office message examples

Start here if you just need a professional out of office message template you can paste as is.

Use case Example
Simple professional
  • “Thank you for your message. I am out of the office and will return on [date]. I will respond after I return. For urgent help, contact [name and contact details].”
Short
  • “I am away and will return on [date]. For urgent help, contact [monitored contact].”
Personal leave
  • “I am on leave and return on [date]. For help while I am away, contact [name and contact details].”
Vacation
  • “I am on holiday until [date, time zone] with no access to email. [Name] is covering and can be reached at [address].”
Business travel
  • “I am travelling for work until [date] and replies may be slower than usual. For anything time-sensitive, contact [name and contact details].”
Microsoft Teams status
  • “Out of office until [return date]. For urgent help, contact [name or team]. Please use [channel] for ongoing requests.”

If your return date is not known, do not invent one. Give a coverage contact and say when you will next update the sender.

What to include in an out of office message

A good out of office message template rests on three essentials. Everything beyond them is optional, and only worth adding if it genuinely helps the sender.

  1. That you are away. One line. No explanation needed.
  2. When you are back, or when they will hear from you. Give a specific date and, where relevant, a time and time zone. If the date is uncertain, say when an update is coming instead.
  3. A monitored next step. A covering colleague, or a shared support inbox with clear ownership. Confirm with that person or team before you name them.

Add a time zone, an urgent-support route, or a link to self-service help when they genuinely help the sender. Leave out anything that does not.

8 Out of office and delay messages for support teams

Support and delay messages carry more weight than a personal auto-reply, since customers are often deciding whether to wait or escalate.

These eight out of office scenarios cover the most common out of office messages for customer service situations, each with a short rule and wording you can adapt.

1. After work hours

Rule: An after-hours reply should state the support hours, the reopening time, and the expected response window after reopening.

Send this:

Thanks for contacting us. Our support hours are [days and hours, time zone]. We reopen on [date and time] and expect to reply within [response window] after reopening. For a service update, visit [status page URL].

2. Weekend

Rule: Name the day and hour support resumes, and give a ticket reference so the sender can see the request was recorded.

Send this:

Our support team is unavailable this weekend and returns on [date and time, time zone].
Your request is recorded as [ticket reference]. We expect to reply within [response window] after reopening. For [defined urgent issue], use [monitored on-call channel].

3. Public holiday

Rule: Give the exact reopening date. Holidays differ by region and the sender cannot guess yours.

Send this:

Our support team is closed for [holiday] and reopens on [date and time, time zone].
We expect to reply within [response window] after reopening. You can find self-service guidance at [help center URL].

4. Agent on leave

Rule: Name the covering agent or team, and say only what is true about the handoff.

Send this:

[Agent name] is away and returns on [date].
Your ticket is assigned to [covering agent or team], who can access the conversation history. We expect to reply within [response window]. Please continue using this thread.

Use this only after the reassignment is actually configured.

5. Next regional support shift

Rule: Say which team picks the ticket up and when their shift starts, with the time zone.

Send this:

Our next support shift starts on [date and time, time zone].
Your request is queued for [support team]. We expect to reply within [response window] after that shift starts. For [defined urgent issue], use [monitored escalation channel].

Keep subject-line escalation only if that rule exists and someone is watching it.

6. Live chat unavailable

Rule: Give a working alternative channel with a realistic response estimate attached.

Send this:

Live chat is currently unavailable. Please email [support address]. We expect to reply within [response window and applicable support hours]. For self-service help, visit [help center URL].

7. Urgent technical issue

Rule: The emergency route must be a different channel from the one that is currently unmonitored, and it must be staffed.

Send this:

This inbox is not monitored outside [business hours and time zone]. For [defined urgent technical issue], contact [staffed on-call channel]. Other requests will be reviewed after support reopens on [date and time].

8. High ticket volume

Rule: State the current estimated response time rather than repeating your normal target, and tell people not to resend.

Send this:

We are receiving more requests than usual.
Our current estimated response time is [response window]. Your request is recorded as [ticket reference]. Please continue using this thread if you have more information.

Five mistakes in OOO messages that leave senders waiting

Most weak out of office messages fail for one of a handful of predictable reasons, and each one leaves the sender guessing rather than acting. The five patterns below are the ones worth checking for before you publish an out of office message template.

No return time or next step

“Away with limited access to email” gives the sender nothing to act on. Give a return date, or a coverage contact and an update time.

Writing it but not activating it

Writing the message is not enough. Schedule it, save the settings, and confirm it activates. Prepare it in advance and set it to start when your absence begins.

Oversharing the reason

Health details and personal circumstances do not belong in a message going to people you do not know. “I am out of the office” is complete on its own.

Naming a contact nobody is watching

Before you list an alternative address, confirm someone owns it while you are away. An unmonitored inbox is worse than no alternative at all.

Wrong tone for the audience

A light internal reply to colleagues is fine. Keep customer-facing messages clear and professional, and avoid humour when the issue is urgent or sensitive. Share only the coverage details the customer needs.

How to set an out of office reply

Here’s where to turn on automatic replies in the email and chat tools most teams already use.

  • Microsoft Teams. Profile picture, then Set status message, then Schedule out of office. Turn on automatic replies, write the message, choose the time period and save. A status message on its own is not the same as scheduling automatic replies. Teams and Outlook share this setting. Microsoft’s guide
  • Classic Outlook. File, then Automatic Replies. Enter the message and date range, then save. Microsoft’s guide
  • New Outlook. View, then View settings, then Accounts, then Automatic Replies. Enter the message and schedule.
  • Outlook on the web. Settings, then Account, then Automatic replies.
  • Gmail. Settings, then See all settings, then General, then Vacation responder. Turn it on, set the dates, subject and message, then save. Google’s guide
  • Apple Mail. For automatic replies that work while Mail is closed, configure them through your email provider. Mail on Mac can also send automatic replies through rules while the app is open. For iCloud Mail, open Mail on iCloud.com, then Settings, then Auto-Reply. For a Gmail or Microsoft account, use the steps above. Apple’s guide

Outlook’s built-in automatic replies depend on the account type. Gmail and other POP or IMAP accounts do not use that feature the same way.

When an auto-reply is not enough

An out-of-office reply explains your availability. The request still needs an owner and a follow-up plan.

Before an agent goes on leave, confirm three things: who handles new and existing tickets, which support hours apply, and how urgent issues reach the covering team.

Help desk software supports this through assignment rules, saved replies, and SLA reminders or escalations.

In BoldDesk, SLA timing follows the business-hours calendar you select, so do not assume the clock runs through a weekend. Check that the response window in your message matches your team’s actual target.

  • Setting it up. In BoldDesk, configure ticket auto-replies under Admin, then Ticket Automation, using the relevant creation or update trigger. For replies to existing tickets outside business hours, the documented workflow uses an update trigger with the applicable conditions and an email-to-requester action.
  • The Add Reply action is treated as a formal response and counts toward SLA, so check which action you select before using an absence notice, because an automated acknowledgement may count toward your response metrics. Use the editor’s supported dynamic fields rather than typing a fixed ticket number. Test ticket-creation and ticket-update triggers separately to confirm both situations are covered. (BoldDesk documentation)
  • Live chat is configured separately. Away messages live under Admin> Chat> Live Chat> Chat Experience> Away Experience Configuration. Do not use the email ticket path for chat. (BoldDesk documentation)

Store your wording once so agents are not improvising at 6 pm on a Friday. Our canned response examples library covers after-hours, escalation and delay messages, and our guide to canned responses covers the method.

For the covering agent, AI Copilot can draft replies from your knowledge base and similar resolved tickets and summarise the thread. Agents review drafts before sending.

Maintain professional and reliable support with out of office messages

Whether you’re away from the office for a short or long period, it is important to remain professional by communicating adequately.

An out-of-office message lets whoever tries to reach out know you are away, so you won’t have to worry.

This avoids hurting your relationship with customers and colleagues by providing information and how to move forward despite being absent.

Clear communication is easier when your help desk can automate replies, route tickets, and track SLAs so customers aren’t left waiting.

Never Miss a Customer Message While You’re Away Again!

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Frequently asked questions

That you are away, when you will reply or return, and a monitored next step. Add a time zone when senders are in other regions. For customer-facing replies, add a ticket reference or a link to your status page.

Keep it brief, usually two to four short sentences. Include your availability, expected return or response time, and a useful next step.

Prepare it in advance and schedule it to start when your absence begins. For unplanned absence such as sick leave, turn it on as soon as you can.

Only when it helps the sender set expectations, such as travel or a conference. Health and personal details do not belong in an OOO message going to people you do not know.

Internally, sometimes. Keep customer-facing messages clear and professional, and avoid humour when the issue is urgent or sensitive.

In a shared inbox, nothing automatic happens unless you configure it. In a help desk, incoming email becomes a ticket that can be auto-assigned to a covering agent with an SLA attached, so it is tracked rather than waiting.

An AI agent can answer routine questions from your knowledge base while your team is offline and escalate what it cannot resolve, depending on its configured knowledge, permissions and escalation rules. AI Copilot is different: it assists a human agent rather than replying on its own. Check current AI availability and usage terms on the pricing page.

Yes. Colleagues can have your calendar and a direct alternative contact. Customers need a return time, a support channel, and the coverage details relevant to them.