Managing Distribution Groups Using the Exchange Admin Center

Step-by-Step Guide

Finding the Distribution Group

1. Open the Exchange Admin Center using a web browser. Recommended browsers include Chrome, Edge, and Firefox
   • You can access the Exchange Admin Center in two ways: Directly using the URL link above or by opening Outlook on the Web in Office 365, clicking on the Gear icon near the top right of the screen, selecting "General" from the list of Settings at the left, selecting "Distribution Groups" from the choices offered, and clicking on the "this portal" link.
2. Within the Exchange Admin Center, click on the "Groups" in the list at the left of the screen
3. Click "Groups I own" in the main window to display a list of groups that you can manage
4. Click on the distribution group when it appears in the list to modify group membership

Modifying Membership - Adding members to a Distribution Group

1. Open the distribution group by searching for it following the instructions above

   Some distribution groups have other distribution groups as members. This practice is called nesting groups. When you encounter this, it is the best practice to make a note of any nested group(s), and then modify membership for the nested group rather than directly modifying membership for the group that contains the nested group(s). Failure to follow this practice will significantly complicate membership management over time.

2. Click the Members tab. If you see nested groups in the list, proceed cautiously with the information given above in mind
3. Click "View all and manage members"
4. Click on the +Add Members button
5. Type the name or MyID of the person you want to add into the Search box and press the enter key

6. Click to select the person you want from the search results and then click on the Add button at the bottom of the window

   If the person you want to add doesn't appear in the search results, they may have a FERPA flag.  Details on how to address this are available on the EITS help page.

7. Repeat for any others you want to add to the distribution group

Modifying Membership - Removing members from a Distribution Group

1. Open the distribution group by searching for it following the instructions above

   Some distribution groups have other distribution groups as members. This practice is called nesting groups. When you encounter this, it is the best practice to make a note of any nested group(s) and then find and modify that group directly rather than making changes to a group that contains a nested group(s). Failure to follow this practice will significantly complicate membership management over time.

2. Click the Members tab. If you see group nesting in the members list, proceed cautiously with the information given above in mind
3. Click to select the person you want from the group members and then click on the "Delete" button above the list
4. Repeat for any others you want to remove from the distribution group