To proactively retain or delete mailbox content for information governance in Microsoft 365, we recommend that you use retention policies and retention labels from the Microsoft Purview portal, instead of messaging records management that's described on this page. However, you should continue using messaging records management to move messages to archive mailboxes.
If you currently use messaging records management, this older feature will continue to work side-by-side with retention policies and retention labels. However, we recommend that going forward, you use retention policies and retention labels instead. They provide you with a single mechanism to centrally manage both retention and deletion of content across Microsoft 365.
Exchange creates the retention policy Default MRM Policy in your Exchange Online and on-premises Exchange organization. The policy is automatically applied to new users in Exchange Online. In on-premises organizations, the policy is applied when you create an archive for the mailbox. You can change the retention policy applied to a user at any time.
You can modify tags that are included in the Default MRM Policy. For example, you can change the retention age or retention actions, disable a tag, or modify the policy by adding or removing tags from it. The updated policy is applied to mailboxes the next time the Managed Folder Assistant processes them.
Note
The Default MRM Policy doesn't include a default tag to automatically delete content from the Deleted items folder as per Extended email retention for deleted items in Office 365. If you want to apply the 30-day retention or set a custom retention period, that can be done by adding an appropriate retention tag for deleted items folder to the Default MRM Policy.
Retention tags linked to the Default MRM Policy
The following table lists the default retention tags linked to the Default MRM Policy.
Name
Type
Retention age (days)
Retention action
Default 2 years move to archive
Default Policy Tag (DPT)
730
Move to Archive
Recoverable Items 14 days move to archive
Recoverable Items folder
14
Move to Archive
Personal 1 year move to archive
Personal tag
365
Move to Archive
Personal 5 year move to archive
Personal tag
1,825
Move to Archive
Personal never move to archive
Personal tag
Not applicable
Move to Archive
1 Week Delete
Personal tag
7
Delete and Allow Recovery
1 Month Delete
Personal tag
30
Delete and Allow Recovery
6 Month Delete
Personal tag
180
Delete and Allow Recovery
1 Year Delete
Personal tag
365
Delete and Allow Recovery
5 Year Delete
Personal tag
1,825
Delete and Allow Recovery
Never Delete
Personal tag
Not applicable
Delete and Allow Recovery
Junk Email
Retention policy tag (RPT)
30
Delete and Allow Recovery
What you can do with the Default MRM Policy
You can...
In Exchange Online...
In Exchange Server...
Apply the Default MRM Policy automatically to new users
Yes, applied by default. No action is required.
Yes, applied by default if you also create an archive for the new user.
If you create an archive for the user later, the policy is applied automatically only if the user doesn't have an existing Retention Policy.
Modify the retention age or retention action of a retention tag linked to the policy
Yes
Yes
Disable a retention tag linked to the policy
Yes
Yes
Add a retention tag to the policy
Yes
Yes
Remove a retention tag from the policy
Yes
Yes
Set another policy as the default retention policy to be applied automatically to new users
The Default MRM Policy doesn't include a DPT to automatically delete items (but it does contain personal tags with the delete retention action that users can apply to mailbox items). If you want to automatically delete items after a specified period, you can create a DPT with the required delete action and add it to the policy. For details, see Create a Retention Policy and Add retention tags to or remove retention tags from a retention policy.
Retention policies are applied to mailbox users. The same policy applies to the user's mailbox and archive.
In Exchange Online, you can use retention policies to manage email lifecycle. Retention policies are applied by creating retention tags, adding them to a retention policy, and applying the policy to mailbox users.
In Microsoft Exchange Server and Exchange Online, Messaging records management (MRM) helps organizations to manage email lifecycle and reduce legal risks associated with e-mail and other communications. MRM makes it easier to keep messages needed to comply with company policy, government regulations, or legal needs, and to remove content that has no legal or business value.
You can use retention policies to group one or more retention tags and apply them to mailboxes to enforce message retention settings. A mailbox can't have more than one retention policy.
You can use Retention tags and retention policies to manage email lifecycle. Retention Policies contain Retention Tags, which are settings you can use to specify when a message should be automatically moved to the archive or when it should be deleted.
Users send and receive email every day. If left unmanaged, the volume of email generated and received each day can inundate users, impact user productivity, and expose your organization to risks. As a result, email lifecycle management is a critical component for most organizations.
Learn how compliance works in Exchange Online. Learn how to use retention and data loss prevention policies to keep the data and communications you're required to maintain, how to find that data and communications, and how to ensure you're ready for an audit.