1. Open the source Gmail account in a browser and go to Settings > See all settings.
2. Open the Forwarding or Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab, depending on the interface.
3. Add the approved destination address and complete the verification message sent there.
4. Return to the source settings, choose forwarding to that address and select what happens to the Gmail copy.
5. Save the change and send a new external test message.
6. Confirm the destination receives it and the source retains the intended copy.

If only a subset of mail should move, use an accurately tested filter rather than forwarding the whole mailbox. This still needs an authorised destination and the applicable administrator permission. Forwarding is not a historical mail migration or an independent backup.

If Gmail shows a forwarding notice you did not expect, inspect both the general forwarding setting and filters. Follow the organisation's account-security response, including password, session and app-access review. Record the suspicious destination privately before removing evidence needed for investigation.

Check whether it was received after activation, matched the filter and avoided the Spam folder. Review the destination's rejection or filtering too. Do not keep adding forwarding rules to compensate for an unresolved routing problem.

Remove forwarding when the project or handover ends and test the normal mailbox flow again. For a permanent staff departure, use an administrator-approved continuity and preservation plan instead of leaving business mail attached to an unattended personal forwarding destination.

• Creating Gmail filters that organise messages safely
• Tracing a missing message with Google Email Log Search
• Resetting a Google Workspace password and sign-in sessions
• Transferring a departing employee's Google Workspace data

• Gmail automatic forwarding
• Google Workspace administrator mail forwarding