Microsoft 365 Migration

Find the Exchange Online Equivalent of Active Directory Notes Attribute

Algirdas Jasaitis Oct 15, 2026 868 views

Question details

IT administrators migrating from on-premises Active Directory to Exchange Online need to identify the correct attribute mapping for the legacy AD Notes field.

How to Find the Exchange Online Equivalent of the Active Directory Notes Attribute

Product: Microsoft Exchange Online
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Migrating on-premises Active Directory users and mailbox properties to Microsoft 365 and attempting to retain data stored in the Notes field.
Observed behavior: The traditional Active Directory Notes field does not have an obvious or default equivalent attribute in Exchange Online, leading to uncertainty about where the data should be stored.

Before you start

Ensure you have Global Administrator or Exchange Administrator privileges in your Microsoft 365 tenant before attempting to review or modify user properties.

Solution 1Recommended

Review Exchange Properties and Request Microsoft 365 Support

Because user and mailbox properties can differ between on-premises Exchange and Microsoft 365, you should review available attributes in the admin center and contact Microsoft Support for specific mapping guidance.

Depending on your synchronization setup (like Microsoft Entra Connect), custom fields or the standard Notes attribute may require specific extension attributes to sync properly.

To avoid misconfiguring accounts, it is highly recommended to verify the supported properties directly in your tenant and consult official support.

Sign in to the Admin Center

Navigate to https://admin.microsoft.com in your web browser and sign in using your Microsoft 365 administrator credentials.

Review Active User Properties

Go to Users > Active users in the left navigation pane. Click on a migrated user account to open the properties panel and review the available contact and account fields to see if the required information has mapped to a different field.

Open a New Service Request

If you cannot identify the correct attribute, click on Support > Help & support (or New service request) in the Microsoft 365 admin center navigation menu.

Detail Your Migration Issue

Describe your issue by stating you need the Exchange Online equivalent of the on-premises Active Directory Notes attribute. Follow the prompts to speak with a Microsoft support agent for tailored migration assistance.

Review Exchange Properties and Request Microsoft 365 Support

Custom Extension Attributes: In many migration scenarios, administrators choose to map non-standard or missing on-premises attributes to Exchange Custom Attributes (CustomAttribute1 through CustomAttribute15).

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't the Active Directory Notes attribute sync automatically to Exchange Online?

By default, Microsoft Entra Connect (formerly Azure AD Connect) only synchronizes a specific set of standard attributes required for Microsoft 365 functionality. The on-premises 'Notes' attribute is often excluded from the default sync rules.

Can I map the Notes attribute to a custom field in Microsoft 365?

Yes. You can use the Synchronization Rules Editor in your on-premises Azure AD Connect server to create a custom inbound and outbound synchronization rule that maps the on-premises AD 'Notes' attribute to an available Exchange Custom Attribute (e.g., extensionAttribute1).

How do I view Exchange custom attributes for a user?

You can view these attributes using the Exchange admin center by navigating to Recipients > Mailboxes, selecting a mailbox, and checking the custom attributes section. Alternatively, you can use the Exchange Online PowerShell command: Get-Mailbox -Identity 'User' | Format-List CustomAttribute*

Migration & Recovery