Setting Up Email Forwarders in cPanel

Email forwarders in cPanel allow incoming messages to be redirected automatically to other addresses or domains. Forwarders are useful for routing messages to shared mailboxes, helpdesk systems, or alternative domains without creating additional mailboxes.

There are two supported forwarder types: account forwarders and domain forwarders.

Important considerations before using forwarders

Email forwarders relay all messages, including unsolicited mail. Excessive forwarding of spam can cause mail providers such as Gmail or Outlook to block the sending server. To reduce this risk, mailbox retrieval using external providers is often preferred over forwarding.

Forwarders are available on standard cPanel hosting environments.

Account forwarders

Account forwarders redirect messages sent to a single email address.

Adding an account forwarder

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Open the Tools page.
3. In the Email section, click Forwarders.
4. Under Create an Email Account Forwarder, click Add Forwarder.
5. Enter the mailbox name in Address to Forward.
6. Select the domain from the Domain list.
7. Choose a destination option:
   • Forward to another email address
   • Discard and send an error to the sender
8. Optionally open Advanced Options to forward to a system account, pipe to a program, or discard messages.
9. Click Add Forwarder.

[Screenshot placeholder: Add Email Forwarder form]

Multiple forwarders can be created to deliver the same message to several destinations.

Deleting an account forwarder

Account forwarders cannot be edited and must be removed if changes are required.

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Open Forwarders.
3. Locate the forwarder under Email Account Forwarders.
4. Click Delete and confirm.

[Screenshot placeholder: Delete account forwarder confirmation]

Domain forwarders

Domain forwarders redirect all incoming email for one domain to another domain.

Adding a domain forwarder

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Open Forwarders from the Email section.
3. Click Add Domain Forwarder.
4. Select the source domain.
5. Select the destination domain.
6. Click Add Domain Forwarder.

[Screenshot placeholder: Add Domain Forwarder screen]

Deleting a domain forwarder

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Open Forwarders.
3. Locate the entry under Forward All Email for a Domain.
4. Click Delete and confirm.

[Screenshot placeholder: Delete domain forwarder confirmation]

Alternative approaches

Instead of forwarding, external mail services can retrieve messages directly from the mailbox. This reduces spam relay risks and improves deliverability. For accounts with higher email volume or advanced filtering needs, solutions such as SpamExperts or scalable infrastructure like cloud servers may be mo