How to assign and reassign tasks in Outlook?

Author Kelly Last modified 2025-04-09

Managing your workload is streamlined with Microsoft Outlook's "Tasks" feature. Beyond creating tasks for yourself, you can also delegate tasks to others. This guide will show you how to effortlessly assign tasks to colleagues within Outlook, as well as how to reassign tasks you've received, ensuring efficient task management and collaboration.

Assign a new task to other people

Assign a built task to other people

Reassign tasks that other people assign to you

Assign a new task to other people

If you need to create a new task and assign it to others immediately, you can follow these steps:

Step 1. Get into the "Task" window and edit a new task.
You can click "Home" > "New Items" > "Task" to open the "Task" window in Outlook.

Step 2. Click the "Assign Task" button in the "Manage Task" group under the "Task" tab in the Ribbon. See the following screenshot:

doc-assign-task-1

Step 3. Specify the sender's email address in the "From" box, and the receiver's email address in the "To" box.
doc-assign-task-3

Step 4. Click the "Send" button. This newly created task will be assigned to the people whose email addresses you typed into the "To" box.

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Assign a built task to other people

Supposing you have already created a task but now need to assign it to someone else, here are two methods to do it:

Method A: Right-click the built task

First, click "Tasks" in the navigation pane to display all tasks. Then, right-click the task you want to assign, and click "Assign Task" from the drop-down menu. See the following screenshot:

doc-assign-task-2

Now you will enter the "Task" window. Enter the email addresses into the "To" box, and click the "Send" button.

Method B: Reopen and edit the built task by double-clicking

Alternatively, you can double-click the task to open it, then click the "Assign Task" button in the "Manage Task" group under the "Task" tab in the Ribbon. (See screenshot 1)

Finally, in the "To" box, enter the email addresses of the people you want to assign the task to, and click the "Send" button.

Reassign tasks that other people assign to you

If you have received a task and now need to reassign it to someone else, you can follow these steps:

Step 1. Locate the assigned email you received, and open it by double-clicking.

Step 2. Now you are in the "Task" window. See the following screenshot. Click the "Assign Task" button in the "Manage Task" group under the "Task" tab.

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