Out of Office Message Examples for Any Absence

Any absence

Away fromBack on

These replies need a return date

Who coversTheir email

Your name

SubjectOut of office

Thank you for your message. I am away from to and will reply when I return. For anything urgent, please contact at .

Professional · short · 1 of 2

Also for your time off

Where does it go?

"Thank you for your message. I am away from October 6 to October 14 and will reply when I return. For anything urgent, please contact Priya Nair at priya.nair@yourcompany.com." That is a complete out of office message, because a sender only needs to know when you are back and who can help until then.

It can be two sentences long, it does not need to give a reason, and the tone follows the inbox: plain for clients and strangers, warmer for a team that knows you, and a joke only where every sender will take it well.

All 12 replies on this page

Type your details in the writer and every reply below fills itself in.

Professional 4

Thank you for your message. I am away from [Away from] to [Back on] and will reply when I return. For anything urgent, please contact [Who covers] at [Their email].
Short
Until [Back on] I am out of the office and not checking this inbox. [Who covers] ([Their email]) can help in the meantime, and I will answer your email on my return.
Short
Thank you for getting in touch. I am away from the office between [Away from] and [Back on] and will not be reading email during that time. If your message needs attention before I am back, please write to [Who covers] at [Their email], my cover until I am back. Otherwise I will reply once I return on [Back on].
Longer
This is an automatic reply. [Your name] is away until [Back on] and messages sent to this address will be read after that date. For time-sensitive matters, reach out to [Who covers] at [Their email], who can act on my behalf while I am out. Thank you for your patience, and I will be in touch shortly after my return.
Longer

Warm 4

Hello, thanks for your email. I am away until [Back on] and will get back to you once I return. If it cannot wait, [Who covers] at [Their email] will gladly help.
Short
Between [Away from] and [Back on] I'm out of the office. Your message matters, so I will reply properly when I am back. Before then, [Who covers] ([Their email]) is your best contact.
Short
Thanks for reaching out. I am away from [Away from] until [Back on] and not reading email while I am gone, so this is a quick note to say your message has landed safely. If you need an answer before I return, [Who covers] is covering for me; write to them at [Their email]. Otherwise I will reply as soon as I am back at my desk.
Longer
Hi, thank you for writing. I am away from the office until [Back on] and will go through my inbox when I return, replying to each message in turn. Should something need a quicker answer, [Who covers] knows my work well and is happy to help at [Their email]. I appreciate your patience and look forward to picking this up with you soon.
Longer

Funny 4

From [Away from] to [Back on] I am away, and this reply is the only thing I am sending until then. For a human with answers, try [Who covers] at [Their email].
Short
Skip if: the sender list includes clients or strangers who do not know your voice
You have reached an empty chair. I am away until [Back on]; [Who covers] ([Their email]) is sitting in the chair next to it and will gladly help you before then.
Short
Skip if: the sender list includes clients or strangers who do not know your voice
Your email has arrived while I am away from [Away from] to [Back on], so it is now in a queue with the others, and I promise the queue moves on [Back on]. If waiting is not an option, [Who covers] at [Their email] is covering for me and has been warned that you might write. I will reply as soon as I am back.
Longer
Skip if: the sender list includes clients or strangers who do not know your voice
A computer is answering you, which means I am away until [Back on]. It cannot approve your request, fix the thing or join your call, but [Who covers] can; write to [Their email]. I will pick up everything else when I am back on [Back on], probably in the order I find it.
Longer
Skip if: the sender list includes clients or strangers who do not know your voice

Out of office messages by situation

Before you go

What to leave out

A reason. "Away" is a complete explanation for a general absence; the moment you add one, people start judging whether it is good enough.
A list of contacts. One name and one address; if two people cover, split by topic in one sentence or pick the senior one.
"As soon as possible". Name the day you will reply, even if it is a day after you return.
An apology. You are allowed to be away; thank people for their patience instead.
Your mobile number, unless you genuinely want to be called by everyone who emails you.

Filling it in

Pick a tone, choose short or standard, and type the day you leave, the day you are back and who covers. The reply fills itself in; copy it into the automatic replies setting of your mail client and set the same end date there, so the reply switches off when you return.

Questions people ask

How do you professionally say you will be out of the office?

Give the dates, a single cover contact and the day you will answer, in two or three sentences and with no reason given. That is professional because it is complete and brief, not because it is formal. Add a plain sign-off and leave out the apology, the phone number and any promise to check in. The professional tone on this page is written for a client-facing inbox and reads the same to a stranger as to a colleague.

What is the best auto reply message?

The one that leaves the sender with nothing to wonder about: when you are back, who to ask in the meantime, and when you will reply. Beyond those three facts, the best reply is the shortest one your inbox can take. A team inbox tolerates warmth and a joke; a client inbox wants the plain version. Every reply on this site carries the three facts, so the choice between them is only tone and length.

What is a short out of office message?

Two sentences: the dates and the cover contact. Away until the fourteenth and not reading email, with a named colleague for anything urgent, is complete at twenty words. The short items on this page run twenty to forty words and need nothing added. If you have no return date, say you are on leave and name the contact; a date you cannot keep is worse than none.