Can’t move emails to folders in Outlook: how to fix it

Match your symptom first

What happens	Likely cause	Start with
Error: Cannot move the items. when moving mail to any folder	Outlook bug or a damaged local data file	Fix 1, then Fix 8
Drag and drop does nothing, but other actions work	Add-in or display glitch	Fix 2 and Fix 4
Error ending in Cannot copy this folder because it may contain private items.	Moving a folder with subfolders out of a shared mailbox	Fix 5
The email lands in the folder but stays in the Inbox too	Copy behaviour, not a failed move	Fix 6
Nothing moves and sending or receiving has also stopped	Mailbox over its storage limit	Fix 7

Fix 1: Update Outlook and restart

Microsoft has a known-issue page for the Cannot move the items error in Outlook for Microsoft 365. It was fixed by an update released in early January 2024, so an Outlook that hasn’t updated since then can still show it. In classic Outlook go to File > Office Account > Update Options > Update Now, let it finish, and then restart the whole PC, not just Outlook. Microsoft lists restarting the computer as a separate workaround on the same page.

Fix 2: Use the Move command instead of dragging

Dragging often fails without any error message. The Move command does the same job and tells you if something goes wrong:

1. Select the message, or several with Ctrl or Shift.
2. In classic Outlook choose Home > Move > Other Folder and pick the destination.
3. In new Outlook or Outlook on the web, select Move on the ribbon, or right-click the message and choose Move. If the folder isn’t in the short list, select Move to a different folder.

If Move works but drag doesn’t, the mailbox is fine and the problem is the drag operation itself, which points to an add-in (Fix 4). If you file the same kind of mail every day, a rule saves the effort; our Outlook tips cover setting one up.

Fix 3: Try it in Outlook on the web

Sign in at outlook.office.com with your work, school or Microsoft account and move the same message there. This is the quickest way to find out where the fault is:

• It works on the web: the mailbox and its folders are healthy. The cause is on your PC, so carry on with safe mode, the data file and the profile.
• It fails on the web too: the problem is on the mailbox side, such as permissions on a shared folder or a full mailbox. Check Fix 5 and Fix 7, or ask your Microsoft 365 admin.

Microsoft also suggests the web as a stopgap while you fix the desktop app. IMAP and POP accounts should use their own provider’s webmail instead.

Fix 4: Rule out add-ins with safe mode

Safe mode starts classic Outlook without add-ins. Right-click Start, select Run, type Outlook.exe /safe and select OK. If moving and dragging work in safe mode, an add-in is interfering. Restart Outlook normally, open File > Options > Add-ins, choose COM Add-ins next to Manage, select Go, and clear the add-ins one at a time until the problem returns.

Fix 5: Moving folders out of a shared mailbox

The full error reads Cannot move the items. Cannot copy this folder because it may contain private items. Microsoft says it appears when you move a folder that has subfolders from a shared mailbox into your own mailbox, and that this is by design. You have three ways round it:

1. Recreate the folders in your mailbox, open each shared folder, press Ctrl + A to select its items, and move them with Home > Move > Other Folder. Moving the messages, rather than the folder, avoids the check.
2. Export the shared folder to a .pst file with Include subfolders ticked (File > Open & Export > Import/Export), then import that .pst into your own mailbox.
3. Have the mailbox owner make you a delegate with Editor permission and Delegate can see my private items ticked, plus Owner permission on the folders. Microsoft recommends removing that extra access once the move is done.

If the shared mailbox isn’t showing in Outlook at all, see how to add a shared mailbox in Outlook.

Fix 6: Items get copied instead of moved

Some moves are copies by design. Microsoft notes that dragging an item out of a public folder or a SharePoint list copies it. New Outlook has a less obvious case: with offline mode turned on (Settings > General > Offline), moving a message that’s older than the period Outlook keeps offline creates a copy in the destination folder and sends the original to Recoverable Items. That happens in your own mailbox and in shared ones. To get a normal move, do it in Outlook on the web, or with offline mode switched off.

Fix 7: Check mailbox storage

When a mailbox goes over its storage limit, Microsoft says you can’t send or receive messages. Microsoft doesn’t list a full mailbox as a cause of failed moves, but it’s worth ruling out when mail has stopped flowing as well. Work and school mailboxes get up to 100 GB, though admins can set lower limits. In new Outlook check Settings > Accounts > Storage. Empty Deleted Items, which counts toward the limit, or move old mail into an archive. Our guide to enabling an archive mailbox in Microsoft 365 shows how.

Fix 8: Rebuild the OST or repair the PST

Classic Outlook keeps a local copy of a Microsoft 365 mailbox in an .ost file. If that file is damaged, moves can fail even though the mailbox online is fine, which is exactly the result Fix 3 would show. Open File > Account Settings > Account Settings, go to the Data Files tab, select your account and choose Open File Location. Close Outlook, rename or delete the .ost file, then start Outlook again. It downloads a fresh copy from the server, which can take a while on a big mailbox.

A .pst file (an archive or a POP account) can’t be re-downloaded, so repair it with the Inbox Repair tool, SCANPST.EXE, instead. It’s in the Office program folder, usually ending in root\Office16; search for scanpst under C:\Program Files if you can’t find it. Select Browse, pick the .pst, select Start, then Repair. Keep the backup it offers to make.

Fix 9: Create a new Outlook profile

Microsoft’s workaround list for the move error includes a new profile, and it specifically says to keep the old one. Add a new profile in Control Panel > Mail (Microsoft Outlook) > Show Profiles > Add, set up your account in it, and choose Prompt for a profile to be used so you can switch between the two. If the new profile moves mail normally, stay on it. The steps are covered in more detail in how to reset Outlook to default settings.

Fix 10: Repair Office

If every profile has the problem, repair the Office installation. On Windows 11 open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, select the three dots next to Microsoft 365, choose Modify, and run Quick Repair. On Windows 10 the same Modify button is under Apps & features. Try Online Repair if Quick Repair doesn’t help; it takes longer and needs an internet connection.

If you’ve recently switched to new Outlook and miss the old behaviour, you can still get classic Outlook back.

Related guides

• How to reset Outlook to default settings (classic and new Outlook)
• Outlook calendar keeps disappearing: how to get it back
• How to add a shared mailbox in Outlook
• How to enable an archive mailbox in Microsoft 365

Official sources

• Outlook error Cannot move the items when moving items to other folders (Microsoft Support)
• Move or copy an item to another folder in Outlook (Microsoft Support)
• Cannot copy this folder because it may contain private items (Microsoft Learn)