How to remove follow up flags for email messages in Outlook?

In daily email management within Microsoft Outlook, you may notice that some messages—especially those requiring action or tracking—arrive with follow up flags already set. While these flags serve as reminders and workflow aids, there are often situations when you need to clear them. For example, a flagged message might already have been dealt with, or perhaps you prefer to manage your reminders differently. Knowing how to effectively remove follow up flags helps maintain a cleaner Inbox and ensures your attention isn’t drawn to unnecessary reminders. This article provides three practical methods to remove follow up flags from your messages, suitable for different scenarios in Outlook.

Remove the follow up flag for a received email

Mass remove the follow up flags for all received emails in a certain folder

Automatically remove the follow up flags for all incoming emails

Remove follow up flags in bulk using VBA code

Remove the follow up flag for a received email

If you only need to clear the follow up flag from one particular received email—perhaps after finishing the corresponding task or simply to tidy up your mailbox—Outlook makes this process straightforward and quick. This approach is ideal when flags are infrequent and don’t require bulk actions.

Open the specific mail folder (such as Inbox or another relevant folder), and locate the email message whose follow up flag you wish to remove.

With the desired message selected, move your mouse pointer to the flag icon that appears to the right of the email’s subject line within your message list. Then, right-click on this icon to open a context menu.

In the displayed menu, select Clear Flag.

Upon doing so, the follow up flag is immediately removed from the selected email message, helping you keep your mailbox uncluttered.

Tips: This action only affects a single email. If the flag icon is not visible, the message might not have a follow up status set, or your current view settings may need adjustment. Be careful not to mistakenly remove flags from messages that still require your attention.

Mass remove the follow up flags for all received emails in a certain folder

For users dealing with many flagged messages at once—for example, after a project finishes or when cleaning up a folder—manual clearing becomes time-consuming. Outlook provides a way to remove follow up flags from multiple emails in bulk, saving significant effort and helping with routine mailbox maintenance. This method is especially useful when clearing completed tasks or preparing a mailbox for archiving.

To proceed, first open the folder that contains the emails you’d like to clear flags from. Common folders include Inbox, Sent Items, or custom folders for project communication.

Place your cursor into the Search box located above the mail list. This action activates the Search Tools contextual tab, providing access to search-specific options. Then click the Flagged button , which instantly filters all messages in the folder currently carrying a follow up flag.

Next, select all emails shown in the search results. For convenience, you can click any one email and, while holding the Ctrl key, press the A key at the same time (Ctrl + A). This shortcut will highlight every flagged email currently in the view.

Once your selection is complete, right-click one of the flag icons next to the emails in the list.

From the shortcut menu, select Clear Flag option. This will remove the flags from all selected messages simultaneously.

All follow up flags within the chosen folder are now cleared in one action.

Additional Notes: This method only affects emails that have a visible follow up flag—messages without flags will remain unchanged. If your folder contains subfolders, this process must be repeated for each, as Search and flag actions are folder-specific. Also, double-check the selection before clearing flags to avoid losing track of emails that might still need your attention.

Automatically remove the follow up flags for all incoming emails

Users who prefer not to have follow up flags on new emails—such as those using alternative tracking or notification methods—may wish to automate the flag removal process. This can be particularly beneficial for shared mailboxes, general inquiry addresses, or when you regularly receive flagged emails from external systems but do not require automatic reminders in Outlook. Setting up this automation will help keep your Inbox free from flags, thus reducing unwanted notifications or reminders.

To configure Outlook to clear flags as soon as messages are received, you’ll need to establish a custom rule in Outlook’s Rules and Alerts menu. Rules give you control over how Outlook handles incoming mail, including flag and notification settings.

Start by switching to the Mail view in Outlook, then access the Rules and Alerts dialog box:

1. For Outlook 2007, utilize the top menu by choosing Tools then Rules and Alerts.
2. For Outlook 2010, 2013, and later versions, go to the Home tab and select Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts.

In the open Rules and Alerts window, click the New Rule button to start creating your automated flag removal rule.

In the Rules Wizard dialog, choose and highlight Apply rule on messages I receive (or Check messages when they arrive in Outlook 2007), then click Next.

Continue by setting the conditions under which this rule will apply:

1. Select the flagged for action condition.
2. Click the underlined text action within the rule description to specify the flag type.
3. In the dialog that appears, use the Flag dropdown to select Follow up, then confirm by clicking OK.
4. Click Next to proceed.

When the wizard advances, check the option labeled clear the Message Flag, then click Next again.

Continue clicking Next through any further options until you reach the final summary step. At the end, you can:

1. Type an appropriate name for your rule in the Step1: specify a name for this rule box (for example, "Automatic Flag Removal").
2. You may optionally activate Run this rule now on messages already in "folder name" to quickly remove follow up flags from existing messages in the chosen folder.
3. Click Finish to finalize your rule.

Note: If you select the option Run this rule now on messages already in "kelly", the rule will immediately clear flags from messages in that folder. The folder name automatically adjusts to your selected mailbox.

Finally, click OK to close the Rules and Alerts dialog box.

From now on, the rule will operate in the background, automatically clearing follow up flags from new incoming mail as it arrives.

Things to consider: While this method is efficient for keeping your mailbox clean, it also means you won’t receive any reminders or to-dos generated by follow up flags. Ensure this aligns with your workflow needs. Also, keep in mind that if the rule is disabled or deleted later, flags may begin to reappear, so check periodically that the rule is active if automated flag removal is critical to your process.

If you encounter issues—such as rules not executing automatically, or flags not being cleared—verify that your Outlook is connected and synchronized, and check the rule’s conditions to ensure correct setup. Restarting Outlook can also help resolve temporary disruptions in rule functionality.

Tip: For organizations using Exchange or shared mailboxes, rule behavior may vary depending on server configurations and permissions. Consult your IT administrator if you notice exceptions or inconsistencies.

For additional ways to manage flags, consider these alternatives:

Remove follow up flags in bulk using VBA code

For advanced users who need to clear a large number of follow up flags without manual selection, Outlook’s built-in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) provides a quick and effective solution. This approach is helpful when dealing with multiple folders or customized scenarios not covered by rules, and is especially useful if regular bulk removal is required.

1. Before using VBA, make sure to first select the target mail folder in Outlook where you want to remove flags. Then, press Alt + F11 to open the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window.

2. In the opened VBA window, click Insert > Module. In the new module, paste the following code:

VBA code: Remove all follow up flags from selected folder

Sub ClearAllFlagsInSelectedFolder()
    Dim xFolder As Outlook.Folder
    Dim xMail As Outlook.MailItem
    Dim xItem As Object
    On Error Resume Next
    xTitleId = "KutoolsforOutlook"
    Set xFolder = Outlook.Application.ActiveExplorer.CurrentFolder
    For Each xItem In xFolder.Items
        If xItem.Class = olMail Then
            Set xMail = xItem
            If xMail.IsMarkedAsTask Then
                xMail.ClearTaskFlag
                xMail.Save
            End If
            Set xMail = Nothing
        End If
    Next
    MsgBox "All follow up flags have been cleared in this folder.", vbInformation, xTitleId
    Set xFolder = Nothing
End Sub

3. Return to the VBA window and press F5 to run the code. Upon completion, a KutoolsforOutlook dialog box will tell you all flags have been cleared from the current folder.

Be sure the correct folder is selected before running the code, as this process will affect all emails inside it. If you encounter errors, double-check folder selection and consider restarting Outlook. This code does not affect items that are not email messages, such as calendar events or contacts.

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