Create a New Retention Tag

The settings defined in the default policy tag (DPT) apply to all items in a mailbox that don't have a retention tag already applied. A retention policy can have up to three DPTs linked to it: one DPT with a retention action of Move to Archive, one DTP with a retention action of Delete and Allow Recovery, and one DTP specifically for voice mail.

Note   You have to use Windows PowerShell to create a DPT for voice mail. For more information, see Create a default policy tag (DPT) for voice mail messages.

To create a new DPT, follow these steps:

1. Select Manage My Organization > Mail Control > Retention Tags > New Tag.
   
2. Click Applied Automatically to Entire Mailbox (All).
   
3. Enter the following information:
   
   • * Name   The name of the retention tag. This name appears in the list of retention tags and in the list of retention tags linked to a retention policy. It’s required.
     
   • Retention action   Specifies the action to be taken when a message reaches the age limit specified by the retention period. Select one of the following actions:
     
     • Delete and Allow Recovery   This action emulates the behavior when the Deleted Items folder is emptied. When this action is specified, messages are moved to the Recoverable Items folder. Users can recover them by using the Recover Deleted Items feature in Outlook 2010 or Outlook Web App. For more information, see Recover Deleted Items.
       
     • Permanently Delete   This action purges messages from the mailbox, similar to the way deleted messages are purged from the Recoverable Items folder. After this happens, the user can no longer recover the messages. However, administrators can recover purged items if the retention period for deleted items hasn’t expired. For more information, see Recover Deleted E-Mail Messages in Exchange Online.
       
     • Move to Archive   This action moves a message to the user's archive mailbox. Messages are moved to a folder in the archive mailbox that has the same name as the source folder in the user's primary mailbox. This allows users to readily locate messages in their archive mailbox. If the user doesn't have an archive mailbox, no action is taken. For more information about archive mailboxes, see Enable an Archive Mailbox.
       
   • Retention period   Specifies a retention age for the tag. The age indicates the number of days to retain a message after it arrives in the user's mailbox. When a message reaches its retention age, the specified retention action is applied to the message.
     If you select Never, the retention age never expires and messages are held indefinitely. This prevents messages from being automatically deleted if the corresponding retention action is Delete and Allow Recovery or Permanently Delete. If the retention action is Move to Archive, messages aren’t automatically moved to the user’s archive mailbox.
     Note   If you link a DPT with a retention period that never expires to a retention policy, messages that don't have a retention tag already applied are never deleted or moved to the archive mailbox.
     
   • Comment   Use this box to type a comment about the retention tag. This comment is displayed to users when they use the Exchange Control Panel to add or remove retention tags that can be applied to messages. For more information, see Add or Remove an Optional Retention Policy or Archive Policy.
     The maximum length of this comment is 1024 characters with spaces.
     
4. When you're finished, click Save.
   

After you click Save, the new retention tag appears in the Retention Tags list.

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Retention policy tags (RPTs) apply retention settings to default folders such as the Inbox, Deleted Items, and Sent Items. Users can't apply or change an RPT applied to a default folder, but they can apply a different tag to items in a default folder.

Note the following restrictions for RPTs:

• You can't include more than one RPT for the same default folder type in one retention policy. For example, if a retention policy has an RPT for the Inbox, you can't add another Inbox RPT to that retention policy.
  
• You can't create an RPT with the Move to Archive action.
  

To create a new RPT for a default folder, follow these steps:

1. Select Manage My Organization > Mail Control > Retention Tags > New Tag.
   
2. Click Applied Automatically to a Specific Folder.
   
3. Enter the following information:
   
   • * Name   The name of the retention tag. This name appears in the list of retention tags and in the list of retention tags linked to a retention policy. It’s required.
     
   • Apply this tag to the following folder   Select the default folder that the RTP applies to.
     
   • Retention action   Specifies the action to be taken when a message reaches the age limit specified by the retention period. Select one of the following actions:
     
     • Delete and Allow Recovery   This action emulates the behavior when the Deleted Items folder is emptied. When this action is specified, messages are moved to the Recoverable Items folder. Users can recover using the Recover Deleted Items feature in Outlook 2010 or Outlook Web App. For more information, see Recover Deleted Items.
       
     • Permanently Delete   This action purges messages from the mailbox, similar to the way deleted messages are purged from the Recoverable Items folder. After this happens, the user can no longer recover the messages. However, administrators can recover purged items if the retention period for deleted items hasn’t expired. For more information, see Recover Deleted E-Mail Messages in Exchange Online.
       
   • Retention period   Specifies a retention age for the tag. The age indicates the number of days to retain a message after it arrives in the user's mailbox. When a message reaches its retention age, the specified retention action is applied to the message.
     If you select Never, the retention age never expires and messages are held indefinitely. This prevents messages from being automatically deleted.
     Note   If you link a RPT with a retention period that never expires to a retention policy, messages in the specified default folder that don't have a retention tag already applied are never deleted.
     
   • Comment   Use this box to type a comment about the retention tag. This comment is displayed to users when they use the Exchange Control Panel to add or remove retention tags that can be applied to messages. For more information, see Add or Remove an Optional Retention Policy or Archive Policy.
     The maximum length of this comment is 1024 characters with spaces.
     
4. When you're finished, click Save.
   

After you click Save, the new retention tag appears in the Retention Tags list.

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Users can use Outlook 2010 and Outlook Web App to apply personal tags to custom folders and individual items in their mailbox. Users can’t apply personal tags to default folders.

To create a new personal tag in the Exchange Control Panel, follow these steps:

1. Select Manage My Organization > Mail Control > Retention Tags > New Tag.
   
2. Click Applied by Users to Items and Folders (Personal).
   
3. Enter the following information:
   
   • * Name   The name of the retention tag. This name appears in list of retention tags and in the list of retention tags linked to a retention policy. It’s required.
     
   • Retention action   Specifies the action to be taken when a message reaches the age limit specified by the retention period. Select one of the following actions:
     
     • Delete and Allow Recovery   This action emulates the behavior when the Deleted Items folder is emptied. When this action is applied, messages are moved to the Recoverable Items folder. Users can recover using the Recover Deleted Items feature in Outlook 2010 or Outlook Web App. For more information, see Recover Deleted Items.
       
     • Permanently Delete   This action purges messages from the mailbox, similar to the way deleted messages are purged from the Recoverable Items folder. After this happens, the user can no longer recover the messages. However, administrators can recover purged items if the retention period for deleted items hasn’t expired. For more information, see Recover Deleted E-Mail Messages in Exchange Online.
       
     • Move to Archive   This action moves a message to the user's archive mailbox. Messages are moved to a folder in the archive mailbox that has the same name as the source folder in the user's primary mailbox. This allows users to readily locate messages in their archive mailbox. If the user doesn't have an archive mailbox, no action is taken. For more information about archive mailboxes, see Enable an Archive Mailbox.
       
   • Retention period   Specifies a retention age for the tag. The age indicates the number of days to retain a message after it arrives in the user's mailbox. When a message reaches its retention age, the specified retention action is applied to the message.
     If you select Never, the retention age never expires and messages are held indefinitely. This prevents messages from being automatically deleted if the corresponding retention action is Delete and Allow Recovery or Permanently Delete. If the retention action is Move to Archive, messages aren’t automatically moved to the user’s archive mailbox.
     Note   If a user links a personal tag with a retention period that never expires to mailbox items, those items are never deleted or moved to the archive mailbox.
     
   • Comment   Use this box to type a comment about the retention tag. This comment is displayed to users when they use the Exchange Control Panel to add or remove retention tags that can be applied to messages. For more information, see Add or Remove an Optional Retention Policy or Archive Policy.
     The maximum length is 1024 characters with spaces.
     
4. When you're finished, click Save.
   

After you click Save, the new retention tag appears in the Retention Tags list.

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After you create a retention policy tag, you have to add it to a retention policy before it’s applied to a user’s mailbox or, in the case of personal tags, before a user can apply it to mailbox items. You can also edit existing retention tags by changing the name, retention action, retention period, or the comment. For more information, see:

• Select a Retention Tag
  
• Edit a Retention Tag