---
title: The CRM forwarding address
description: Create the workspace forwarding address, forward an email from a stranger so that the CRM prepares its records, understand why an email is discarded and how long forwarded emails are kept.
url: "https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/crm-forwarding-address/"
updated: "2026-11-09"
category: CRM
---

# The CRM forwarding address

Each workspace has its own forwarding address, in the form crm+…@…. When you receive in your mailbox an email from someone who is not in the CRM yet, a contact request for example, forward it to this address. It arrives in your “E-mails to handle” queue, with its attachments, and the AI can prepare its records. Illizeo never reads your mailbox: it only receives what you forward to it. This article is intended for the CRM administrator, who creates the address and follows discarded emails, and for the users who forward.

## Before you start

- The CRM module must be enabled for your workspace (see [Enabling and administering the CRM module](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/crm-enable-and-administer/)).
- Permissions in the role matrix, CRM menu: “CRM settings — View” to see the address; “CRM settings — Edit” to create it, regenerate it and set the maximum size.
- Forwarding requires “CRM accounts — Create”. Reading your queue in **CRM › Microsoft 365** also requires “CRM contacts — View”. Preparing the records with AI requires “CRM accounts — Create”, “CRM contacts — Create” and the CRM AI being active in the workspace.
- The inbox that receives forwarded emails is run by Illizeo. If the page shows “Illizeo’s inbox is not in service on this platform yet: the address cannot be created, and no forwarded e-mail is collected.”, contact Illizeo.
- No Microsoft connection is needed to forward: the address works with any email service.

## Creating and sharing the address

1. Open **Settings › CRM › Forwarding address**.
2. If the page says “No address has been created for this workspace yet.”, click **Create the address**. The message “Forwarding address created.” confirms it.
3. Click **Copy** next to the address, then give it to your team.

Only people who can view the CRM settings see the address in Illizeo: it is up to the administrator to share it. Under the address, the page shows the **Created or renewed on** date and the number of emails discarded in the last 30 days, with their reasons.

![The Settings › CRM › Forwarding address page: the workspace address with the Copy and Regenerate the address buttons, the number of emails discarded in the last 30 days and the maximum size of a forwarded email.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/crm-forwarding-address-01.en_.png?resize=800%2C500&quality=80&ssl=1)
The workspace forwarding address, emails discarded in the last 30 days and the maximum size.

### Regenerating the address

If the address has spread beyond the team or receives unwanted messages, click **Regenerate the address**, then **Regenerate** in the confirmation window. The previous address stops delivering at once: emails still forwarded to it are discarded. Give the new address to your team.

![The Regenerate the forwarding address? window: the previous address stops delivering at once, give the new one to your team.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/crm-forwarding-address-02.en_.png?resize=460%2C284&quality=80&ssl=1)
Regenerating the address: the previous one stops delivering at once.

## Forwarding an email

1. In your email service, open the email you received and choose **Forward**. Forwarding in the body of the message and forwarding as an attachment are both recognised.
2. Send it from the email address of your Illizeo account: that is what identifies you.
3. If you wish, write a note above the forwarded message, for example the context of the request.
4. Address it to the workspace forwarding address and send it.

The forwarding mailbox is checked every 2 minutes. When the email is accepted, you receive the notification “CRM: forwarded e-mail received”: a click opens the email in your queue. No reply is sent, whether the email is accepted or discarded.

## What is accepted or discarded

An email is only accepted if it passes these checks, in this order:

1. it is addressed to a workspace’s current address;
2. the sending address is authenticated: the sender’s domain publishes SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and all three checks pass;
3. in that workspace, the CRM module is installed, and the sending address belongs to a single active user, whose Illizeo account is activated and who can create CRM accounts;
4. the email, attachments included, does not exceed the maximum size set by the workspace.

Otherwise, the email is discarded without reply. It is neither read by anyone nor kept: only its reason is counted. The administrator sees these reasons on the address page:

| Reason shown | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| Sender not authenticated | Your email domain does not publish SPF, DKIM and DMARC, or one of the checks fails. Your IT team can set them up. |
| Unknown sender | The email was sent from an address other than the Illizeo account’s, or by someone inactive or not allowed to create CRM accounts. |
| Message too large | Remove attachments, or raise the maximum size. |
| Outdated address | The email was sent to a former forwarding address: use the address shown. |
| Other reason | For example, the CRM module is no longer installed in the workspace. |

![Diagram: a forwarded email goes through four checks (current address, SPF DKIM DMARC authentication, sender is an active user who can create accounts, size); if one fails, it is discarded without reply; otherwise it goes into the E-mails to handle queue and, once the records are created, into the record’s timeline.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/crm-forwarding-address-flux-01.en_.png?resize=800%2C902&quality=80&ssl=1)
The reason for each discard is counted on the address page, except for a former address, which is no longer linked to the workspace.

## Where the email arrives

The accepted email goes into the “E-mails to handle” queue of the person who forwarded it, and theirs only: open **CRM › Microsoft 365**. Without a Microsoft connection, the block only appears when the queue holds at least one email. The email carries the **Forwarded by you** marker.

The CRM finds the original email inside your forward: its sender, date, subject and body. Click **Read** to also see the original recipients, **Your note when forwarding**, and the attachments, which you can download. Images embedded in the body are not kept as attachments. If the CRM does not recognise the original email, it keeps the message as it arrived, with you as the sender and its subject without “Fwd:” or “FW:”.

![A forwarded email opened in the E-mails to handle queue: the Forwarded by you marker, the original sender, the note written when forwarding and the body of the email.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/crm-forwarding-address-03.en_.png?resize=800%2C365&quality=80&ssl=1)
A forwarded email in your queue: the original email and your note.

## What you do with it next

- **Prepare the records**: the AI reads the email and its attachments, then suggests the organisation, the contact, an opportunity (or a follow-up case) and tasks. If the CRM AI is active for this use, preparation starts by itself on arrival; the email then shows “Records prepared, to review” and the button becomes **Review the prepared records**. This preparation counts towards the workspace’s AI consumption.
- **Create the records**, after reviewing and correcting them: the records kept are created or updated, the email moves to **Handled** and joins the contact’s and account’s timeline, as “E-mail received” on its original date. Its attachments can be downloaded from there. An email that involves an address or domain the workspace never logs (**Never logged** setting) creates its records without joining their timeline. If your workspace submits these creations for approval, the message “Proposal sent for approval.” appears and nothing is created before the approver agrees.
- **Mark as handled** or **Ignore**: the email is filed without any record.

Discarding the prepared records leaves the email in the queue. Nothing is ever created without your validation.

## How long forwarded emails are kept

- An email **To handle** stays in your queue until you file it.
- An email marked as handled or ignored without being attached to a record is erased, attachments included, 30 days after it was filed.
- An email attached to a record follows the retention periods of CRM contacts (see [Protecting contact data (GDPR)](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/crm-contact-data-protection/)).
- The count of discarded emails covers 30 days; it keeps no sender, subject or content.

![Diagram: a forwarded email attached to a record follows CRM contact retention; marked as handled or ignored, it is erased 30 days later; without a decision, it stays in the queue.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/crm-forwarding-address-flux-02.en_.png?resize=800%2C197&quality=80&ssl=1)
Attachments follow the email. An email whose records include neither a contact nor an account is erased like a handled email.

## Setting the maximum size

In the **Maximum size of a forwarded e-mail** block, enter a value between 1 and 35 MB, attachments included, then click **Save**. The default is 20 MB. A larger email is discarded with the reason “Message too large”. Without the edit permission, the size is shown read-only.

## Good to know

- A forwarding address only delivers to its own workspace: an email never enters any workspace other than the address’s.
- The sending address must be exactly the email address of your Illizeo account. An alias, or an address shared by two active users, gets the email discarded.
- An email sent to a former address is no longer linked to your workspace: it is discarded without being counted on this page.
- The “CRM: forwarded e-mail received” notification is governed by the “CRM — Microsoft 365: connection expired” row in **Personal Settings › Notifications**: turning that row off also turns this one off.
- The CRM log keeps the creation and regeneration of the address, size changes and each reception (size and number of attachments); never the content.
- You can also bring emails into your queue through an Outlook folder (see [Microsoft 365 in the CRM](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/crm-microsoft-365-and-emails/)).

## FAQ

### I forwarded an email and nothing arrives in my queue.

Wait a few minutes. If nothing arrives, ask your administrator for the reason shown on the address page: most often, the email was sent from an address other than your Illizeo account’s, or your email domain is not authenticated.

### Can my colleagues see the emails I forward?

No, as long as they are in your queue. Once attached to a record, the email can be read in the timeline by anyone who can read that contact or account.

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