Does SecureMailMerge work with personal Outlook accounts?
SecureMailMerge requires a Microsoft 365 Business subscription and is not compatible with free personal Outlook, Outlook.com, or Hotmail accounts.
No, SecureMailMerge requires a Microsoft 365 Business (or Education) subscription. It does not work with personal email accounts such as Outlook.com or Hotmail.
Which accounts work
SecureMailMerge is built to work with Microsoft 365 Business and Education mailboxes only. Personal accounts are not supported by SecureMailMerge, even though Outlook add-ins in general can run on some personal accounts.
How to check your account type
If you’re unsure whether you have a business account:
- Try to sign in at portal.office.com
- If you can access the Microsoft 365 admin center or see business apps, you have a business account
- If you’re prompted for a “work or school account” when installing the add-in, your current account may be a personal one
Unsupported account types
The following account types are not supported:
- Outlook.com and Hotmail (free email accounts)
- Microsoft 365 Personal
- Microsoft 365 Family
- Microsoft 365 Home
These are all consumer products. Even though you may pay for Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Home, these subscriptions do not include a Business or Education mailbox, which SecureMailMerge requires.
The most affordable business option is Microsoft 365 Business Basic, which includes a hosted business mailbox that works with SecureMailMerge.
Nonprofits can get these Business plans through Microsoft’s nonprofit program: a grant of up to 300 Microsoft 365 Business Basic licenses, and discounted Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Business Premium. They are regular Business plans with work accounts, so SecureMailMerge works with them.
I’m being asked for a “work or school account”
If you see this message when trying to use SecureMailMerge, it means you’re signed in with a personal Microsoft account. You’ll need to use a Microsoft 365 Business account to use the add-in.
Need more help?
Email support with what you were trying to do, what happened and the exact error message. Do not include real recipient data.