1. Open browser Gmail, then Settings > See all settings.
2. In General, find Vacation responder and turn it on.
3. Choose the start and end dates, and enter a clear subject and message.
4. Review any audience restriction, such as replying only to contacts. Choose the scope appropriate to the mailbox's role.
5. Save the changes and check the active-responder indicator.
6. Send a test from an appropriate external address and review the response.

State your availability and the approved contact for urgent requests. Avoid disclosing travel details, security-sensitive information or a colleague's personal contact number. Confirm that the alternative address is monitored and that its owner expects the additional work.

For an illustrative absence ending on 14 October, the message could read:

Thank you for your message. I am away and will return on 15 October. For an urgent account enquiry, contact [email protected] and include your service reference. Otherwise, I will review your message after I return.

Replace the dates and alternative address with the approved details, and confirm that the other team is monitoring that inbox. Select the intended start and end dates in Vacation responder and review whether its audience setting includes your external customers. Test from an eligible external address. The response supplies an onward contact; it does not forward the original message or assign it to that team automatically.

Gmail limits repeated vacation responses to the same sender. Messages treated as spam or sent to certain mailing lists also do not receive the usual response. Use the documented behaviour when testing instead of repeatedly changing settings because every message does not get a reply.

Review the account's date and timezone context and verify that the responder has stopped when you return. You can use the displayed end action to stop it early. Update any separate calendar out-of-office entry and delegated access according to the handover plan.

For a permanent staff departure, use a managed preservation and routing decision instead of leaving an indefinite vacation message on an unattended account. That decision should include who receives future enquiries and who owns the retained business records.

• Delegating Gmail access without sharing a password
• Scheduling a team meeting with Google Calendar
• Creating and checking a professional Gmail signature
• Planning a staff departure across email and shared files

• Gmail vacation responder
• Google Workspace former-employee data options