How to Cancel a Meeting in Outlook (Without Losing History)

Cancelling a meeting in Outlook the right way matters, because simply deleting it from your own calendar doesn't tell anyone. They'll still turn up, or sit in an empty Teams call waiting for you. A cancellation removes it from every attendee's calendar and lets you say why.

How to cancel a meeting in new Outlook or Outlook on the web

1. Open your calendar and select the meeting.
2. Click Cancel.
3. Add a message explaining why, or suggesting a new time.
4. Click Send.

How to cancel a meeting in classic Outlook

1. Double-click the meeting in your calendar to open it.
2. On the Meeting or Organizer Meeting tab, click Cancel Meeting.
3. Type a message if you want.
4. Click Send Cancellation.

Cancelling a recurring meeting

You want to cancel	Choose
Just one week's meeting	This event, or Occurrence
This one and all future ones	This and all following events
Every meeting in the series	All events in the series, or Series

In classic Outlook, the Cancel button on a recurring meeting becomes a menu so you can pick one occurrence or the whole series.

The catch: cancelling a series deletes its history

Microsoft warns that cancelling a meeting deletes it from your calendar along with its agenda, notes and attachments. Cancel a whole recurring series and every past meeting in it disappears from your calendar too, including the notes from months of catch-ups.

If you just want a regular meeting to stop, don't cancel the series. Microsoft's own advice is to open the series, change its end date to the last meeting you want to keep, and send an update. Past meetings stay in everyone's calendar, and future ones are removed.

Can't see a Cancel button?

You're probably not the organiser. Only the person who sent the invitation can cancel a meeting for everyone. If someone else organised it, you can:

• Decline it, which tells the organiser you won't be there.
• Delete it from your own calendar by right-clicking it and choosing Delete. This only affects you.
• Ask the organiser to cancel it if it's no longer needed.

If the organiser has left the business, an IT administrator can usually help remove a meeting that's stuck in people's calendars.

Cancel or reschedule?

If the meeting is still needed, it's kinder to move it than to cancel and start again. Open the meeting, change the date and time, and click Send Update. Everyone's calendar moves with it, their replies are reset, and the joining link stays the same, which avoids people turning up to the old link.

What to write in a cancellation

• Say briefly why it's cancelled.
• Say whether it's rescheduled, and when.
• Share anything people would have got in the meeting, like an update or a document.

A one-line note such as 'Cancelling as we've covered this by email; notes attached' saves a flurry of replies asking what happened.

What attendees see when you cancel

Each attendee gets a cancellation email with your note, and the meeting is removed from their calendar, either straight away or when they open the email, depending on their calendar app and settings. People using Google Calendar or Apple Calendar get the same update, because Outlook sends a standard calendar cancellation. If someone tells you the meeting is still in their diary, ask them to open the cancellation email, which usually clears it, or to delete it by hand.

Cancelling at short notice

If the meeting is about to start, a cancellation still goes out, but people already sitting in the online meeting may not see it straight away. Send the cancellation, then post a quick message in the meeting chat or a team channel so nobody waits. For in-person meetings, a phone call or message to anyone travelling in is worth the effort.

Cancelling meetings you set up from a booking tool

If a client booked the call through a scheduling page that adds it to your Outlook calendar, cancelling it in Outlook may not cancel it in the booking tool. The client could get a reminder for a meeting that's no longer happening. Cancel from the booking tool first where you can, because it usually updates your calendar and emails the client at the same time. My comparison of meeting schedulers covers how the main tools handle this.

My verdict

Open the meeting, click Cancel, add a line explaining why, and Send: that's all it takes to clear it from everyone's calendar. For a recurring meeting you want to end, change the series end date instead of cancelling, so the history and notes stay put. And if there's no Cancel button, you're not the organiser, so decline it instead. For keeping meetings under control across a team, see productivity tips for remote teams.

Related: the history page.

Frequently asked questions

Does cancelling a Teams meeting in Outlook remove the link?

Yes. Cancelling the meeting removes it from calendars, so the joining link is no longer listed for attendees.

Can I undo a meeting cancellation in Outlook?

No. Once it's sent, you'll need to create the meeting again and send a fresh invitation.

Who can cancel a meeting in Outlook?

Only the organiser can cancel a meeting for everyone.

Does deleting a meeting in Outlook cancel it?

Only if you're the organiser and send the cancellation. Deleting an invite you received only removes it from your calendar.

How do I cancel one meeting in a recurring series?

Open that occurrence, click Cancel and choose This event or Occurrence.

How do I stop a recurring meeting without losing past ones?

Change the series end date and send an update, rather than cancelling the series.

Can I add a message when cancelling a meeting?

Yes. Type it in the cancellation before sending.

Why is there no Cancel option on my meeting?

You're not the organiser. Decline it, or delete it from your own calendar.