A working out of office message answers four questions in under 60 words: when you left, when you’re back, who to contact meanwhile, and whether you’re reading email at all. Everything else is decoration. Below are 12 copy-ready templates for the situations people actually face, plus the formula behind them and the one setting most people get wrong.
Skip to the template you need, or read the formula first if you want to write your own.
The Five Parts of a Message That Works
Every effective auto-reply contains the same five elements, in roughly this order:
- The fact. You’re away. One clause: “I’m out of the office.”
- The dates. Both of them, written as calendar dates, not “next week.”
- Your response plan. Not checking at all, checking occasionally, or answering on return. This is the part senders care about most and the part most messages leave out.
- The backup. A named person and their email for anything that can’t wait, ideally someone you actually warned.
- The close. One line. No apology for existing.
A message with all five fits comfortably in four sentences. If yours runs longer, it’s either explaining why you’re away, which nobody needs, or apologizing, which nobody wants.
12 Out of Office Message Examples
Fill the brackets and send. Each one assumes you’ll set the auto-reply end date one day after you return, for reasons covered further down.
1. The default
“I’m out of the office from [date] to [date] and will reply when I return. For anything urgent, please contact [name] at [email]. Thanks, [your name]”
2. Short and simple
“Away until [date] with limited access to email. I’ll respond when I’m back.”
3. Out for one day
“I’m out today, [date], and back tomorrow morning. I’ll reply then; for anything that can’t wait, [name] at [email] is covering.”
4. Checking email occasionally
“I’m out of the office until [date] and checking email once a day, usually in the morning. Expect a reply within 24 hours; for faster help, contact [name] at [email].”
5. Not checking at all
“I’m on leave until [date] and won’t be reading email while I’m away. Messages sent now will stay unread, so please resend after [date] or contact [name] at [email] if it’s urgent.”
6. Vacation with a briefed backup
“I’m on vacation from [date] through [date]. [Name] ([email]) has full context on [project] and can make decisions in my absence. I’ll pick things up on [return date].”
7. Heavy backlog or delayed response
“I’m back from leave and working through a large backlog. I’m answering messages in the order received and expect to reach yours by [date]. If something has become urgent since you wrote, reply to this email with URGENT in the subject line.”
8. Sick leave, privacy kept
“I’m out of the office on leave with limited access to email, returning [date]. [Name] at [email] is handling my work in the meantime.”
9. Parental leave
“I’m on parental leave from [date] until [date] and not monitoring this inbox. [Name] ([email]) is covering my responsibilities and can help with anything I’d normally handle.”
10. Bereavement, privacy kept
“I’m away from work on personal leave and not checking email. Please contact [name] at [email], who is covering everything in my absence. Thank you for your patience.”
11. Company-wide closure
“Our offices are closed for [holiday] from [date] through [date]. We’ll respond to messages when we reopen on [date]. For emergencies during the closure, contact [email].”
12. You’ve left the role
“I no longer work at [company] as of [date]. For anything related to [area], please contact [name] at [email]. This inbox is not monitored.”
Internal and External Replies Are Two Different Messages
Both Outlook and Gmail let you send one auto-reply to colleagues and another, or none, to outsiders, and using that split is the single biggest upgrade to most people’s setup. Microsoft’s guide to automatic replies in Outlook puts internal and external messages on separate tabs; Gmail’s vacation responder offers a contacts-only option that does a similar job.
Use it, because the two audiences need different information. Colleagues can have the detail: exact dates, your deputy’s mobile, which projects are paused. Strangers should get the minimum.
Two things in particular do not belong in a message sent to the open internet: a colleague’s direct phone number, which you’ve now handed to every spammer who emails you, and an explicit statement that your home is empty for two weeks. Say “out of the office,” not “in Portugal until the 20th.”
The Date Trap
Most confusing auto-replies fail on dates. Three rules fix it.
Write calendar dates, not relative ones: “back Monday, 14 October” survives being read three days later, “back next Monday” does not. State the date you’re back at work, not the date your flight lands, since senders plan around when you’ll answer. And set the responder’s end date one day later than your actual return, so the first day back buys you a catch-up buffer instead of a fresh pile of messages sent to someone the system says is available.
For anyone whose return is genuinely unknown, say so plainly rather than guessing. “Returning date to be confirmed, [name] is covering” is more useful than a date you’ll silently miss.
Funny Out of Office Messages: When They Land
Humor works in an auto-reply when three conditions hold: your workplace culture already tolerates it, the message still contains all five required parts, and nobody emailing you is likely to be in crisis. A joke that replaces the backup contact isn’t a joke, it’s a dead end.
The safe pattern is a straight message with one light line at the end, something like “I’ll be answering email at roughly the speed of a Monday morning” once the details are settled. What ages badly is a message that’s entirely a bit, especially the ones riffing on being unreachable in paradise; the client whose deadline just slipped reads that differently than your teammates do.
What to Leave Out
Cut the apology for being away, the explanation of why you’re away, your full itinerary, medical details, and the promise to answer “as soon as possible,” which commits to nothing and reassures no one. Also cut “I’ll respond as soon as I return” if you’re returning to 400 messages; say what you actually plan to do, the way you would when replying to any email where the honest answer is “not immediately.”
FAQ: Out of Office Message Examples
What is a good example of an out of office message?
A good example: “I’m out of the office from 3 to 12 June and will reply when I return. For anything urgent, please contact Dana Rees at dana@company.com.” It gives the dates, the response plan, and a backup in under 30 words.
How do you professionally say you will be out of office?
Say it plainly: “I’m out of the office until [date] with limited access to email.” Professional means clear and specific, not formal, so skip apologies and reasons and name someone who can help meanwhile.
What is the best auto-reply message?
The best auto-reply is the shortest one that still answers when you’re back, whether you’re reading email, and who to contact instead. Anything beyond those three points is optional, and anything that omits them will generate follow-up emails.
What is a good short out of office message for one day?
“Out today, [date], back tomorrow. I’ll reply in the morning; [name] at [email] can help if it’s urgent.” One-day absences need no explanation and no apology, just the return time.
Before you switch it on, send yourself a test from a personal address. Half of all broken auto-replies are broken in ways only the recipient can see: the wrong date, a name without an email address, or an internal-only message going out to the world.
