Google Workspace Email Forwarding: Setup Guide

Google Workspace has two kinds of email forwarding. A user forwards their own mail in Gmail settings, to one verified address. An administrator forwards or redirects mail for any address in the Google Admin console, with the recipient address map or a routing rule, to one or more recipients. Users can forward only while the admin leaves Automatic forwarding turned on, which is the default.

Forwarding Methods Compared

Which one fits:

• Your own mail, for example during a leave: Gmail forwarding

• A departing employee's mail to their replacement: recipient address map

• A copy of one person's mail to an assistant: routing rule

• A shared address like help@ to a CRM or ticket system: Default routing

• Messages with certain words to another team: content compliance rule

Forward One User's Mail in Gmail

A user sets this up in their own Gmail (Gmail Help):

1. Open the forwarding settings. In Gmail on a computer, click Settings > See all settings, then the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab (or Forwarding)

2. Add the address. In the "Forwarding" section, click Add a forwarding address, enter the address and click Next > Proceed > OK

3. Confirm the verification link. Gmail sends a verification message to that address. Open it in the other account and click the link

4. Turn forwarding on. Back in Gmail, refresh the page, open the same tab and select Forward a copy of incoming mail to

5. Choose what happens to Gmail's copy. Google recommends Keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox. The other choices mark the copy as read, archive it or delete it

6. Save. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page

Gmail forwards all new messages except spam; older mail stays where it is. For the first week Gmail shows the notice "You are forwarding your email to [email address]". To stop, click Disable forwarding and save. If the forwarding option is missing, the administrator has turned off automatic forwarding.

To forward only some messages, turn off automatic forwarding and use a filter: in the search box click Show search options, enter the criteria, click Create filter, choose Forward it and select a verified forwarding address.

To reply as the forwarded address, add it under Send mail as. For a work account Gmail asks for its SMTP server and login (Gmail Help); see Gmail SMTP server address, ports and settings.

Forward Mail for Many Users in the Admin Console

Admins have two routing settings. Google describes Default routing as the default mail delivery for the organization, and Routing as the place for more specialized rules or overrides (Add Gmail routing settings). Both require the Gmail Settings administrator privilege, and changes can take up to 24 hours. Routing rules apply only to active users with Gmail turned on.

A routing rule that copies one person's mail to more recipients (Google's example is a CEO's mail copied to their executive assistant):

1. Open Routing. In the Google Admin console, go to Menu > Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > Routing

2. Pick who it applies to. Leave the top organizational unit selected to apply the rule to everyone, or select a child organizational unit

3. Add a rule. On the Routing tab, click Configure or Add Another Rule and enter a descriptive name. Google won't save a setting without one

4. Select the messages. Under Select when this action is applied, check Inbound messages, Internal outbound messages or both

5. Add the recipients. Set the action to Modify message, check Add more recipients under Also deliver to, click Add and enter each address

6. Limit it to one mailbox. Under Envelope filter, select Only affect specific envelope recipients and enter the address whose mail you want copied. Without a filter, the rule applies to every user in the organizational unit

7. Save and test. Click Save, send a test message once the rule applies and look it up in Email Log Search

To send the message to the new address only, use Change envelope recipient instead: it bypasses the original mailbox. Check Add X-Gm-Original-To header so the receiving server sees the original recipient.

Default Routing

Default routing matches envelope recipients: Single recipient, Pattern match, Group membership or All recipients. With Perform this action only on non-recognized addresses, it covers suspended users, users with Gmail turned off and addresses at your domain that belong to no user. It has a lower priority than the other routing settings.

Forward by Content or to a Catch-All

To forward messages that contain words such as "invoice" or "receipt", add a content compliance rule in Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > Compliance with up to 10 expressions, and add accounting@ under Add more recipients. Mail sent to addresses that don't exist at your domain can go to one mailbox or a Google Group with a catch-all routing setting.

Recipient Address Map

The recipient address map, shown in the Admin console as Email forwarding using recipient address map, sends mail for one address in your organization to one or more other recipients (Google Workspace Admin Help). Google gives three uses: redirect a departed employee's mail to their replacement, forward a copy while someone is on leave, and map old addresses to new ones after an acquisition.

1. Open Routing. Go to Menu > Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > Routing and select the top-level organizational unit. Default routing is a separate page

2. Add the map. Scroll to Email forwarding using recipient address map, click Configure or Add Another Rule and enter a descriptive name

3. Enter the mappings. Click Add, put the original recipient in Address and the destination in Map to address. For many pairs, click Bulk Add and enter one original,new pair per line

4. Choose the messages. Under Messages to affect, select All incoming messages or Only external incoming messages

5. Forward or redirect. Check Also route to original destination to keep delivering to the original recipient. Leave it unchecked to redirect

6. Save. Optionally check Add X-Gm-Original-To header, then click Save

Forwarded and redirected messages appear to come directly from the original sender. All address maps together hold up to 5,000 recipient addresses, and the setting exists only at the top-level organization. For an extra address on the same mailbox, Google suggests an email alias instead.

Forward to an External Address

User forwarding. In Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > End User Access, the Automatic forwarding setting has the box Allow users to automatically forward email to another address. It is on by default; when it is off, the forwarding option disappears from users' Gmail settings (Google Workspace Admin Help). It can differ per organizational unit.

Admin forwarding. A routing or Default routing rule can deliver to an outside address with Change envelope recipient or Add more recipients. Google's article on forwarding Gmail to a CRM uses Default routing to send help@solarmora.com to support@my-crm.com, and asks that such an address exist only in the routing rule, with no user account, mailbox or group membership.

If the outside server can't be reached, Gmail retries every few minutes for up to 7 days, then returns the message to the sender (Email routing and delivery options).

Any outside account that receives company mail should have 2-Step Verification turned on.

Forward to Multiple Addresses

• One user, several addresses: Gmail settings take one forwarding address. Google's tip is a filter with Forward it for each extra address

• Admin, one address to several: an address map sends one person's mail to one or more recipients, and a routing rule takes several entries under Add more recipients

• A team that changes: forward to a Google Group and manage the recipients in the group's membership

Google's sending limits list 10,000 automatically forwarded messages, counted separately from the 2,000-message daily sending limit, and 40 filters that forward mail. An organization can make up to 30 million forwarding operations in 24 hours and 600,000 per minute. The other limits: Google Workspace and Gmail sending limits.

Google Domains Email Forwarding Now

On September 7, 2023, Squarespace acquired all Google Domains registrations and customer accounts (Squarespace). Forwarding rules created in Google Domains moved with the domain. If they stopped working on a domain with custom nameservers, Squarespace's fix is to add the two MX and two TXT records listed in the Email forwarding section of its domains dashboard and then follow its remaining DNS steps (Squarespace).

Squarespace email forwarding gives up to 100 aliases per domain, one Forward to address per alias, and * as the alias for any address at the domain. The destination confirms a verification email, and forwarding starts 24 to 48 hours later. It is available only for domains without a custom email address: if the domain's mail is in Google Workspace, forward from Workspace with the methods above.

Why Forwarded Mail Lands in Spam

A forwarded message keeps the original sender's From address but arrives from Google's servers, which the sender's SPF record doesn't list. Google notes that forwarded messages often fail SPF (Best practices for forwarding email to Gmail). The receiver then relies on DKIM, which passes only if the message arrives unchanged. Per Google, DKIM breaks when something changes the Subject or other signed headers (To, Cc, Date, Message-ID), the MIME boundaries or the body, including re-encoding. In Workspace, leave Prepend custom subject and Remove attachments from message off on rules that forward mail.

Google's recommendations for administrators who forward mail:

• Change the envelope sender to your forwarding domain

• List every server or service that forwards for your domain in your SPF record

• Filter spam before forwarding: forwarded spam that recipients report makes future mail from your domain more likely to go to spam

• Consider a separate domain or IP address for forwarding

• Add an X-Forwarded-For: or X-Forwarded-To: header

Check your records with the SPF, DKIM and DMARC checker. The Workspace setup is in SPF, DKIM and DMARC for Google Workspace; reading the results, in SPF, DKIM and DMARC test.

Fixing Common Forwarding Problems

• The option is missing in Gmail: the admin turned off Automatic forwarding for the user's organizational unit

• Forwarding never started: the destination never clicked the verification link

• A new rule does nothing: routing changes can take up to 24 hours

• A rule skips one user: routing rules don't apply to suspended users or users with Gmail turned off; use Default routing or an address map

• Some messages are missing: Gmail doesn't forward spam, and a filter can archive or delete Gmail's copy

Then trace the message in Email Log Search (Menu > Reporting > Email Log Search). It shows whether a message was delivered and whether it was marked as spam, without its contents (Google Workspace Admin Help). If Google delivered the forwarded message, the receiving server filtered it: ask the recipient to allowlist your forwarding address or check their spam and quarantine.

A forwarding loop happens when accountA@ forwards to accountB@ and accountB@ forwards back. Keep a list of active forwarding rules to avoid it.

Keeping Forwarding Secure

Review forwarding rules every quarter: is the destination still in use and owned by the right person, has the project ended, and does mail leaving the domain match your data policy? A forgotten rule that forwards to an ex-employee's personal address is a data leak. If a user sees a forwarding notice they never set up, Google's advice is to change the password immediately and turn forwarding off.

Forwarding Replies From Many Sending Mailboxes

Teams that send cold email from many mailboxes often add a forwarding rule to each one so that replies reach one person. Every rule then needs its own verification, and forwarded replies face the SPF and DKIM issues above. Outreach2day mailboxes are SMTP/IMAP mailboxes on your own domains, and the app has one inbox for the replies from all your mailboxes, so replies need no forwarding rules. For other setups, see how to manage multiple email accounts and email inbox management software.

FAQ

How do I forward emails in Google Admin?

In the Admin console, go to Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail > Routing and use Email forwarding using recipient address map, or add a routing rule with Add more recipients. Changes can take up to 24 hours.

Can Google Workspace forward email to multiple users?

Yes. An admin can map one address to several recipients or list several under Add more recipients. In Gmail settings a user forwards to one address, plus one Forward it filter per extra address.

What is a recipient address map?

An Admin console setting that sends mail for one address to one or more other addresses. With Also route to original destination checked, the original recipient keeps getting the mail; unchecked, the mail is redirected.

Can I forward Google Workspace email to an external address?

Yes, while the admin's Automatic forwarding setting is on (the default) and the outside address confirms Gmail's verification link. Admins can also route mail to an outside address with Default routing or a routing rule.

Why aren't my forwarded emails arriving?

The usual causes: the verification link was never clicked, the admin turned off Automatic forwarding, a new rule hasn't applied yet (up to 24 hours), or the message was spam. Look it up in Email Log Search; if Google delivered it, the receiving server filtered it.

Sources

Setting names and console paths are copied from these pages, checked October 1, 2026:

• Gmail Help: Automatically forward Gmail messages to another account

• Gmail Help: Gmail messages are missing: options for Gmail's copy

• Gmail Help: Send emails from a different address or alias

• Gmail Help: Best practices for forwarding email to Gmail

• Admin Help: Let users automatically forward their own Gmail emails

• Admin Help: Redirect or forward Gmail messages to another user: address maps, forwarding limits

• Admin Help: Working with Gmail Admin settings: address maps at the top-level organization only

• Admin Help: Add Gmail routing settings

• Admin Help: Set up Default routing for your organization

• Admin Help: Forward email to a third-party CRM

• Admin Help: Get misaddressed email in a catch-all mailbox

• Admin Help: Set up rules for advanced email content filtering

• Admin Help: Email routing and delivery options: 7-day retries

• Admin Help: Gmail sending limits in Google Workspace: auto-forwarding limits

• Admin Help: Find messages with Email Log Search

• Squarespace: About the Google Domains migration to Squarespace

• Squarespace: Restore domain and email forwarding after migration

• Squarespace: Email forwarding with a Squarespace domain

Outreach2day sets up domains, DNS records and warmed-up mailboxes for outreach, so you do not have to administer them yourself.