Microsoft Exchange Online Archiving is a Microsoft 365 cloud-based, enterprise-class archiving solution for organizations that have deployed Microsoft Exchange Server 2019, Microsoft Exchange Server 2016, Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, or subscribe to certain Exchange Online or Microsoft 365 plans. Exchange Online Archiving assists organizations with archiving, compliance, regulatory, and Microsoft Purview eDiscovery challenges.
As a Microsoft online service, Exchange Online Archiving is designed to help meet the need for robust security, reliability, and user productivity. For more information about Microsoft 365, including features common to all Microsoft online services, see Microsoft 365 and Office 365 platform service description.
For detailed plan information on subscriptions that enable users for Exchange Online Archiving, see Exchange Online Archiving.
Exchange Online Archiving is available through the following plans.
Plan
Description
Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Server
Cloud-based archive for users with primary mailboxes in Exchange Server 2019, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2013 or later. If you want to add a cloud-based archive to a primary mailbox that's located on an on-premises Exchange server, you need to configure a hybrid deployment. For more information about hybrid deployments, see Exchange Server hybrid deployments.
Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Server (via Enterprise CAL Suite)
Cloud-based archive for users with primary mailboxes in Exchange Server 2019, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2013 or later. For details, see Client Access Licenses and Management Licenses.
Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Online
Cloud-based archive and in-place hold as an add-on for the following plans1,2,3: • Exchange Online Plan 1 • Exchange Online Kiosk • Microsoft 365 Business Basic • Microsoft 365 Business Standard • Office 365 E1 • Office 365 A1 • Office 365 G1 • Office 365 F3 • Microsoft 365 F3
Note that the following plans already include archiving and don't require Exchange Online Archiving as an add-on: • Exchange Online Plan 2 • Microsoft 365 Business Premium • Microsoft 365 E3 • Microsoft 365 E5 • Microsoft 365 F5 Compliance • Office 365 A3 • Office 365 A5 • Office 365 E3 • Office 365 E5
1 A hybrid deployment isn't required for cloud-only organizations where no mailboxes are located on an on-premises Exchange server. However, if on-premises mailboxes exist, then hybrid deployment is required.
2 For more information, see Exchange Online limits. Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Online add-on adds auto-expanding archiving and In-Place Hold and Litigation Hold.
3 Includes GCC, GCC-High, and DoD plans for US Government.
Looking for information about all Microsoft 365 plans? Microsoft 365 is available in various plans to best meet the needs of your organization. For information about different plans, including standalone plan options and information on moving from one plan to another, see Office 365 plan options.
Feature availability across Exchange Online Archiving plans
The following table lists the major Exchange Online Archiving features available across plans (certain caveats apply). This table might change without notice. For more information, see the footnotes. For the most up-to-date, complete list of features, see Powerful tools to support your enterprise.
Encryption between on-premises servers and Exchange Online Archiving
Yes
Yes
Encrypting between clients and Exchange Online Archiving
Yes
Yes
Encryption: S/MIME and PGP
Yes
Yes
IRM using Azure Information Protection
No
No4
IRM using Windows Server AD RMS
Yes5
Yes5
Auditing
Yes
Yes
1 User mailboxes must reside on Exchange 2013 or later. 2 An Archive Mailbox can be used only to archive mail for a single user or entity for which a license has been applied. Using an Archive Mailbox as a means to store mail from multiple users or entities is prohibited. For example, IT administrators can’t create shared mailboxes and have users copy (through the Cc or Bcc field, or through a transport rule) a shared mailbox for the explicit purpose of archiving. 3 For a list of supported Microsoft Outlook versions, see Client features in Exchange Online Archiving. 4 Azure Information Protection isn't included, but can be purchased as a separate add-on and will enable the supported Information Rights Management (IRM) features. Some Azure Information Protection features require a subscription to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, which isn't included with Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Office 365 Enterprise E1, Office 365 Education, or Office 365 Enterprise F3. 5 Windows Server AD RMS is an on-premises server that must be purchased and managed separately in order to enable the supported IRM features. 6 When you put a mailbox on In-Place Hold or Litigation Hold, the hold is placed on both the primary and the archive mailbox.
Licensing terms
For licensing terms and conditions for products and services purchased through Microsoft Commercial Volume Licensing Programs, see the Product Terms site.
Messaging
To keep track of upcoming changes, including new and changed features, planned maintenance, or other important announcements, visit the Message Center. For more information, see Message center.
To find the Exchange Online limits for various service areas, including address book, mailbox storage, and reporting and message trace limits, see Exchange Online limits - Service Descriptions.
Administrators can learn about recovery options for deleted messages and high-level methods that Exchange Online uses to protect mailbox data: Back up email in Exchange Online.
To use Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Server, user mailboxes must reside on Exchange Server 2019, Exchange Server 2016, or Exchange Server 2013.
User subscriptions
Each user who accesses the Exchange Online Archiving service must have an Exchange Online Archiving subscription. Each email archive subscription can be used only for storage of one user's messaging data.
Federated identity and single sign-on
Administrators can use a single sign-on approach to authentication with on-premises Active Directory. To achieve this, administrators can configure on-premises Active Directory Federation Services—a Microsoft Windows Server® 2008 service—to federate with the Microsoft Federation Gateway. After Active Directory Federation Services is configured, all users whose identities are based on the federated domain can use their existing corporate sign in to automatically authenticate to Office 365.
Archive storage quota
Administrators can't adjust the storage quota. The archiving feature (called auto-expanding archiving) provides more storage space in archive mailboxes, up to a maximum of 1.5 TB. Each Exchange Online Archiving subscriber initially receives 100 GB of storage in the archive mailbox. When auto-expanding archiving is turned on, extra storage space is automatically added when the 100-GB storage capacity is reached. In Exchange hybrid deployments, auto-expanding archiving is only supported for cloud-based archive mailboxes when the on-premises user's mailbox resides on Exchange Server 2019, Exchange Server 2016, or Exchange Server 2013 SP1 and later.
Auto-expanding archive is only supported for mailboxes used for individual users or shared mailboxes with a growth rate that doesn't exceed 1 GB per day. Using journaling, transport rules, or auto-forwarding rules to copy messages to Exchange Online Archiving for the purposes of archiving isn't permitted. A user's archive mailbox is intended for just that user. Microsoft reserves the right to deny archiving in instances where a user's archive mailbox is used to store archive data for other users or in other cases of inappropriate use.
Auto-expanding archiving
The archiving feature called auto-expanding archiving provides extra storage space in archive mailboxes. Each Exchange Online Archiving subscriber initially receives 100 GB of storage in the archive mailbox. When auto-expanding archiving is turned on, additional storage space is automatically added when the 100-GB storage capacity is reached. This incremental addition of storage space continues until the archive storage reaches 1.5 TB. In Exchange hybrid deployments, auto-expanding archiving is only supported for cloud-based archive mailboxes when the on-premises user's mailbox resides on Exchange Server 2019, Exchange Server 2016, or Exchange Server 2013 (SP1 or later). For more information, see Overview of auto-expanding archiving.
Important
Administrators can't adjust the storage quota.
Auto-expanding archiving is not supported for mailboxes residing on Exchange Server 2010.
Important
Auto-expanding archive is only supported for mailboxes used for individual users or shared mailboxes with a growth rate that does not exceed 1 GB per day. Using journaling, transport rules, or auto-forwarding rules to copy messages to Exchange Online Archiving for the purposes of archiving is not permitted. A user's archive mailbox is intended for just that user. Microsoft reserves the right to deny additional archive storage in instances where a user's archive mailbox is used to store archive data for other users or in other cases of inappropriate use.
This module examines how Microsoft 365 supports data governance by enabling organizations to archive content by using archive mailboxes, and manage their high-value content for legal, business, or regulatory obligations by implementing records management. MS-102