Update 7/14/2025: Updated the FAQ.
As with all cloud services, Exchange Online imposes service limits to prevent misuse of Exchange Online resources and ensure availability for all users. For examp...
Updated Jul 14, 2025
Version 18.0
Blog Post
I have more than 3000 licenses in my tenant, since the journal will not be counted against the quota, but based on my observation, from the “Outbound messages report” in Exchange admin center, journal email will still consider sending to external.
• As you can see the details in message trace, that is send external.
• When we are monitoring the “Observed Value” will keep on increasing as well
Question：
• Due to the enable enforcement for all the tenant the is different rollout start date, and I have more than 3000 licenses in my tenant, so before 1st of May , 2025 , all the journal email from my tenant will treat as a send external email?
• After rollout date, when I performing the “Get-LimitEnforcementStatus” will the journal email volume excluded in the “Observed Value”?
- Arindam_Thokder
Microsoft
Alex2929 - Message trace will show journal email as external, however journaling email is not counted and won't be counted against this limit ever, it will be always excluded.
KevinShaughnessyAlex2929 to qualify Arindam's comment a bit, this is true that journaled messages (recipients) won't be counted if the journaling is done via EXO journaling rules. That's the case now and will be after enforcement is enabled. If you're journaling using some method other than EXO journaling rules it will be counted against quota, now and in the future.
