How-to
How to delegate a Gmail mailbox
Gmail delegation lets one user read and send from another mailbox without the password, and a single mailbox supports up to 25 delegates. A delegate cannot change settings, chat, or see the mailbox password, and sent mail records both the sender and the mailbox.
| Delegates per mailbox | Up to 25 |
|---|---|
| Enabled by | The mailbox owner, or an admin turning delegation on per unit |
| Delegate can | Read, send, reply and manage mail |
| Delegate cannot | Change settings, use Chat, or see the password |
| Better option | A Google Group for a genuinely shared address |
Turn it on, then grant it
Delegation must be permitted for the organizational unit in the Admin console before a user can grant it. The mailbox owner then adds the delegate in Gmail settings, and the delegate sees the mailbox appear in their account shortly afterwards.
Sent mail identifies both parties, so delegation is auditable in a way that sharing a password never is. That auditability is the reason to prefer it, not convenience.
When a group beats delegation
If an address exists for a function rather than a person, such as accounts or support, a Google Group with collaborative inbox features is cheaper and cleaner: no licence, no leaver problem and no delegation to unwind when the team changes.
Delegation earns its place where a real person's mailbox needs cover, such as an executive assistant or holiday absence. Using it to fake a shared mailbox creates a licensed account that nobody owns and everybody depends on.
- Permit delegation per organizational unit before users can grant it.
- Use a group, not a licensed mailbox, for functional addresses.
- Remove delegates as part of offboarding; they survive the owner leaving.
What we see that others don't say
Functional addresses run as delegated user mailboxes are one of the most reliable sources of wasted licence spend we find, because each one is a billed seat doing the job a free Google Group would do.
What this doesn't cover
- Delegation covers Gmail and, separately, Calendar. It does not extend to Drive file ownership.
- A delegate cannot alter the mailbox's settings, filters or forwarding rules.
Questions we get asked
- How many delegates can one Gmail mailbox have?
- Up to 25. Beyond a small handful the address is almost certainly functional rather than personal and should be a Google Group with a collaborative inbox instead.
- Can a delegate see the mailbox password?
- No. Delegation grants mail access without credentials, and sent messages record both the delegate and the mailbox, which is why it is preferable to sharing a password.
How this page is verified
Reviewed by Pearl Lemon Cloud migrations desk, Google Workspace migration engineers. Last checked .
- Delegate limit and capability list checked against Google's published Gmail delegation documentation at the review date.
- Cost pattern drawn from seat audits of client tenants before renewal.
Sources you can check
Related pages
Paying for mailboxes that should be groups?
A seat audit lists every functional address running as a licensed account and what converting it to a group saves per year.