How to Create Folder for All Mailboxes in Exchange Online?

Organizations often want their admins to know how to create folder for all mailboxes in Exchange Online or Microsoft 365’s email management system. This is done to add uniformity between employee accounts. Despite being such a critical task, many admins struggle to do bulk folder creation.  They delegate the work to users themselves, resulting in inconsistency, mistakes, and missing value. Or end up doing one account at a time, delaying the task, thus reducing its impact.

Here we have arranged for you the go-to solution to create custom folders in every user account of your O365 tenant. Let us first look for any GUI approach so we can be sure that there is no other way but the complex cmdlet methods.

Can Admins Create Folders for All Mailboxes Via the Admin Center?

Unfortunately, the answer to that is no; neither the main Microsoft 365 admin center nor the Exchange Admin center allows admins this ability. What they can do instead is use shared mailboxes or public folders and give access to multiple accounts.

Check out our guide to create a shared mailbox in Office 365 cloud.

Likewise, making a  public folder is also easy:

• Log in to EAC > find Public folders > Public folder mailboxes > Add a public folder mailbox.
• Type a name > hit Add.
  

The problem with this approach is one shared mailboxes have a limited storage quota (50 GB), plus every member has access, so there is no message privacy.

So we turn to the only possible alternative, i.e., PowerShell.

Are there any PowerShell Commands to Make Mailbox Folders En Masse?

Yes, there are. Just use this script.

During your attempt to run this script, you may face some issues. To combat them, check if your environment supports the PowerShell script or not. We have a mini checklist you can use to figure out what extra steps you need to complete.

Conditions You Must Meet Before You Use the PowerShell Script

• App registered in Azure AD.
• Client ID, Tenant ID, and Client Secret obtained.
• Application permissions granted (e.g., Mail.ReadWrite, User.Read.All).
• Admin consent obtained.
• User is Global Admin, Exchange Admin, or Application Admin.
• PowerShell 7.0+ installed.
• Execution Policy set for script running.
• Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK installed.
• Target users have Exchange Online licenses.
• Outbound access to https://graph.microsoft.com.
• TLS 1.2+ enabled.

These conditions are just one part of the problem. The current version of the script is too basic and only works in some special situations, plus there is a lot of room for improvement.

Also Read: How to Create a Migration Endpoint in Office 365 Step by Step

Below, we have made a non-exhaustive list of changes you can make in the script to improve its usage.

Limits of this Script and Possible Future Iterations

• The most severe limitation is that the script currently makes one folder at a time, and that too at the account level. So, this means no nested structures are possible.
• The folders that are made are empty, and users have to set rules or manually drag and drop existing emails.
• This script cannot alter the existing folder structure of the account; it only builds on top of what’s already there.
• There can exist naming conflicts in scenarios where users themselves are using the folder name before the admin assigns it.
• The script has no provision to add folders within shared or resource mailboxes, i.e., it is limited to pure licensed user mailboxes.
• No logfile or progress tracker is generated, admins have to rely on intuition or keep a consistent to and fro with users to figure out if the task is done or remains.
• The same problem exists because of a lack of error handling, and also carries the risk of hitting API throttling, especially for large tenants with thousands of members.

Non-PowerShell Workaround for User Folder Creation

If you are an admin and are not comfortable using Graph API’s or PowerShell, here is a plausible pathway. Do this only when the users are offline/not logged in to their accounts.

Step 1. Log in to the EAC/Microsoft 365 admin center and select a user for whom you want to make a folder.

Step 2. Convert that user account into a shared mailbox and only add yourself as the member, also hide the name from GAL.

Step 3. Open Outlook, the user account should be there, and create a new folder for that shared mailbox.

Step 4. Go back to the EAC, then revert the shared mailbox to the original user mailbox, also add the name back into the GAL.

Step 5. Repeat for all other accounts.

Use this process only when you have to make the folders for a small number of accounts.

How Can Users Attempt A Folder Creation On Their Own?

They have multiple approaches

• Log in to Outlook Web/Open Outlook Client.
• Hover over the Account name/ parent folder.
• Click the three horizontal dots icon.
• Choose Create folder/subfolder option
• Type a name and press Enter.

Check Out: Steps to Download All Data from OneDrive for Business Account

If you have a disciplined workforce, delegating the custom folder creation job to users can be beneficial. Plus, as they’re the ones who interact with emails daily, users can provide crucial feedback and improve upon the existing folder structure.

Conclusion

So now any admin, regardless of their technical expertise, is knowledgeable enough. They can now create a folder for all mailboxes in Exchange Online. We included the method that users can perform on their own, plus we explained that there is no GUI-based bulk folder creation option available to admins. To top it all off, we also gave you a sample PowerShell script that can automate this folder creation task.

Once you make all the folders and users start to distribute their emails in said folders, it is important that the organization maintains an external backup. This request is satisfied via the SysTools Office 365 Backup Tool.

Get a copy now and keep your organization’s data safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Earlier, I had a script that used ApplicationImpersonation to create folders in user accounts. Why doesn’t it work anymore?

This is because in early 2025, Microsoft decided to deprecate the ApplicationImpersonation role. That role was seen as too extensive and could be used to bypass security. Graph API-based scripts are your best options for performing mass folder creation.

Q. Why don’t Connect-ExchangeOnline based folder creation cmdlets not work on other user accounts?

This is because Connect-ExchangeOnline is tied to one account; you cannot be logged in to multiple accounts simultaneously. Microsoft does not allow that. Moreover, if you are logged into an account, you cannot make changes in other accounts, even if you are an admin.

Q. What is the difference between creating a folder for each user and using a Shared Mailbox/Public folder?

Privacy. The folders that you, as an admin or users themselves, make are only visible to them. Shared Mailboxes/Public folders are available to multiple members.