Out of Office in Gmail: Setup + 12 Templates 2026

An out-of-office reply tells senders you are away and when you return. Gmail calls this the vacation responder. You set it once, and Gmail answers incoming email for you until your last day. This guide shows the setup on desktop and mobile, gives you 12 messages to copy, and covers the settings most guides skip.

The 30-second answer

Open Settings → See all settings → General. Scroll to Vacation responder. Select Vacation responder on, set your dates and message, then click Save Changes. Gmail replies once to each person who emails you while it is on. It skips mail that lands in Spam and messages sent to a mailing list.

How do I set an out-of-office reply on desktop?

The vacation responder lives in Gmail settings. Follow these steps in a web browser.

1. Click the gear icon in the top right.
2. Click See all settings.
3. Stay on the General tab and scroll to the bottom.
4. Find Vacation responder and select Vacation responder on.
5. Set the First day. Add a Last day if you know your return date.
6. Type a Subject and your message.
7. Click Save Changes.

Two details decide how it behaves:

• First day and last day are inclusive. Gmail starts the reply at the start of the first day and stops at the end of the last day, in your account’s time zone.
• No last day means it runs until you stop it. Leave the last day blank for open-ended leave, then turn it off by hand when you return.

How to set out of office in the Gmail mobile app

You can turn the responder on from your phone. The setting sits in the app, not the mobile browser.

On Android:

1. Open the Gmail app.
2. Tap the menu icon, then Settings.
3. Tap your account.
4. Tap Vacation responder.
5. Turn it on, set your dates and message, then tap Done.

On iPhone or iPad:

1. Open the Gmail app.
2. Tap the menu icon, then Settings.
3. Tap your account.
4. Tap Vacation responder.
5. Switch it on, set your dates and message, then tap Save.

The reply works the same across desktop and mobile. You only need to set it in one place.

12 out-of-office templates you can copy

Copy any message below and change the details in brackets. Keep it short, give a return date, and name a contact for anything urgent.

1. General / standard

Subject: Out of office Thank you for your email. I am out of the office until [date] with limited access to email. I will reply when I return. For urgent matters, please contact [name] at [email].

2. Short and minimal

Subject: Away I am away until [date] and will reply after I return. Thank you for your patience.

3. Medical leave

Subject: Out of office I am on medical leave and away from work until [date]. I will not be reading email during this time. For anything urgent, please contact [name] at [email], who can help in my absence.

4. Parental leave

Subject: On parental leave I am on parental leave until [date] and will not be checking email. For urgent matters, please reach [name] at [email]. I will reply to your message after I return.

5. Holiday / vacation

Subject: Happy holidays — I’m away Thank you for your email. I am away for the holidays and will return on [date]. I look forward to reconnecting then. For urgent needs, please contact [name] at [email].

6. Conference or event

Subject: At [conference name] I am attending [conference name] until [date] and will have limited email access. I will respond to your message when I am back at my desk. For anything time-sensitive, please contact [name] at [email].

7. Freelancer / contractor

Subject: Out of office Thank you for reaching out. I am away from my desk until [date] and will reply to project inquiries on my return. For active projects, please contact [name] at [email] for support.

8. Internal (for colleagues)

Subject: OOO until [date] I’m out until [date]. [Name] is covering my work — reach them at [email] for anything that can’t wait. I’ll clear my inbox when I’m back.

9. External (for clients)

Subject: Out of office Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office and will return on [date]. Your message is important to me, and I will respond as soon as I can. For immediate assistance, please contact [name] at [email].

10. Checking email sporadically

Subject: Away, checking email occasionally I am away until [date] and checking email only now and then. Expect a slower reply than usual. For urgent matters, please contact [name] at [email] for a faster response.

11. Role handover with a named contact

Subject: Out of office — [name] is covering I am out of the office until [date]. During this time, [name] is handling my responsibilities and can be reached at [email] or [phone]. Please direct all requests to them for a prompt reply.

12. Bilingual (English + Spanish)

Subject: Out of office / Fuera de la oficina I am out of the office until [date] and will reply on my return. For urgent matters, contact [name] at [email]. Estoy fuera de la oficina hasta el [date] y responderé a mi regreso. Para asuntos urgentes, contacte a [name] en [email].

A note on tone: match the message to the audience. Keep internal replies brief. Give clients a warmer line and a clear contact. Never promise a reply date you cannot meet.

Send replies to contacts only, or to everyone?

By default, the vacation responder replies to almost everyone who emails you. One checkbox narrows that.

In the vacation responder, tick Only send a response to people in my Contacts. Gmail then replies only to senders saved in your contacts, and stays silent to everyone else. Use it to auto-reply to colleagues and clients, but not to newsletters or strangers.

Gmail already protects you from a reply loop. It answers each sender once, then waits four days before it replies to that person again. It also skips mail that lands in Spam and messages sent to a mailing list.

Recurring or scheduled out-of-office

Personal Gmail has no built-in recurring out-of-office. The vacation responder is a single on-off window with one start date and one end date. For a weekly or monthly pattern, you re-enable it each time.

You have two ways to automate a repeat:

• Google Workspace. Some Workspace editions and admin tools offer scheduled or recurring auto-replies beyond the personal setting.
• A third-party add-on. Scheduling add-ons can turn the responder on and off to a calendar you set.

For a lighter touch, pair the responder with a filter that labels or forwards mail while you are away. See the Gmail filter recipes for rules that sort incoming mail, and the Gmail email forwarding guide to route it to a covering teammate.

How do I turn off the vacation responder?

Gmail makes the reply easy to stop.

While the responder is on, Gmail shows a yellow banner across the top of your inbox with the responder’s subject. Click End now in that banner to switch it off at once.

You can also turn it off in settings:

1. Open Settings → See all settings → General.
2. Scroll to Vacation responder.
3. Select Vacation responder off.
4. Click Save Changes.

If you set a last day, Gmail turns the reply off on its own at the end of that day. You do not need to return to settings unless you want to stop it early. When you are back, a quick inbox cleanup helps — see how to handle a backlog with archived emails in Gmail.

Before you log off

Set the responder a day early and send yourself a test email to confirm the wording. Name a real contact for urgent matters, and give a clear return date. Those three habits turn a basic auto-reply into a message that actually helps the people waiting on you.