Do Microsoft 365 Email Addresses Support Accented Characters?
Question details
A Microsoft 365 administrator needs to know if accented characters can be used when assigning email addresses and display names to users.
- Product
- Microsoft 365
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Creating new user accounts or adding email aliases in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- Observed behavior
- The system throws an error stating that only letters, numbers, underscores, hyphens, apostrophes, and periods are allowed in the email address field, rejecting any accented characters.
Ensure you have global administrator or Exchange administrator privileges in your Microsoft 365 tenant to manage user accounts and email aliases.
Use Accented Characters in User Display Names
While the underlying primary email addresses are restricted to standard characters, user display names fully support accented characters.
Exchange Online strictly enforces standard character sets for SMTP routing, particularly for the primary alias and onmicrosoft.com domains. However, the display name, which is what recipients actually see in their inbox, supports a wide range of internationalized and accented characters.
Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center using your administrator credentials.
On the left sidebar, click on 'Users' and select 'Active users' to view your organization's directory.
Select the user account you want to modify, and click on 'Manage contact information' in the properties pane.
In the 'Display name' field, enter the user's correctly spelled name including the necessary accented characters.
Click 'Save changes'. Emails sent by this user will now display their accented name to recipients, while relying on the standard SMTP address for background routing.
Configure Standard Characters for the Primary SMTP Alias
Set up the actual email routing address using an approved, non-accented character format to prevent delivery errors.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use special characters like apostrophes in Microsoft 365 email addresses?
Yes, Microsoft 365 permits certain special characters in the email alias, including apostrophes, hyphens, underscores, and periods. However, accented letters (like é, à, ñ) are not permitted in the actual email address.
Why does the onmicrosoft.com domain restrict accented characters?
The default onmicrosoft.com domain is deeply integrated with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) and Exchange Online routing. These systems rely on strict ASCII standards to prevent email delivery failures and directory synchronization errors.
Do recipients see my non-accented email address or my accented display name?
Most modern email clients will prominently show the recipient your Display Name (which can safely include accents) rather than the underlying SMTP email address. If they specifically click to inspect the contact details, they will see the non-accented email alias.
Is there any way to force international characters in an SMTP address?
While Email Address Internationalization (EAI) is an evolving global standard, standard Microsoft 365 mailbox aliases currently require basic ASCII characters. You would need to consult Microsoft Business Support for specific custom domain EAI capabilities, though using standard aliases remains the industry best practice.
