(Updated) Microsoft Exchange Online | Releasing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing

Message Center ID: MC1113112
Exchange Online
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New feature User impact Admin impact
October 2025 November 2025 December 2025
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Summary

Multi-Geo In-Region Routing for Exchange Online allows routing inbound emails to specific geo-regions per accepted domain, with rollout starting October 2025. Disabled by default, it may affect Purview policies and requires Multi-Geo licenses. Admins should prepare by reviewing domains, permissions, and configurations.

Details

Updated October 30, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.     

[Introduction]

Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) enables customers to control the routing of inbound emails. Using IRR, customers can set the geo-region that inbound mail should be routed to for specific Accepted Domains.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 410245.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in early October 2025 and expect to complete by end of October 2025.

General Availability (Worldwide): We expect to begin rolling out in early October 2025 (previously early December) and expect to complete by late December 2025.

[How this will affect your organization:]

In-Region Routing (IRR) is disabled by default. If you do not plan to use this feature, no action is required.

For domains where you choose to enable IRR, the feature allows you to route inbound emails to accepted domains associated with specific geo-regions. When these domains are aligned with users located in the same geo-region, emails are fully processed and stored within the recipient’s region. 

If your organization uses Microsoft Purview capabilities such as Data Loss Prevention (DLP), retention policies, or eDiscovery, you may need to review and adjust those policies to ensure they align with the new regional routing behavior.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

We value your feedback and want to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns. Please comment or contact us through the M365 Admin Center if you need any assistance.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Does the change alter how existing user data is processed, stored, or accessed? - Yes. Emails are stored in-region based on domain configuration.
  • Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any Purview capabilities? - Maybe. Depends on how DLP or retention policies are scoped by region.
  • Does the change alter how admins can monitor, report on, or demonstrate compliance activities? - Maybe. Regional routing may affect reporting granularity.

Change History

November 12, 2025 at 8:30 PM Updated
Summary
Previous
Microsoft Exchange Online will introduce Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) in October 2025, enabling inbound emails to be routed and stored within users' regional data locations to meet compliance. IRR is disabled by default; admins must configure accepted domains and review related policies and licensing.
New
Multi-Geo In-Region Routing for Exchange Online allows routing inbound emails to specific geo-regions per accepted domain, with rollout starting October 2025. Disabled by default, it may affect Purview policies and requires Multi-Geo licenses. Admins should prepare by reviewing domains, permissions, and configurations.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2025-10-30T16:19:31.933Z
New
2025-11-12T18:23:39.713Z
Body Content
Previous

Updated October 30, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.     

[Introduction]

We’re introducing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) for Exchange Online, a new capability that helps organizations meet regional data residency requirements by allowing inbound email routing to be aligned with user locations. With IRR, admins can configure accepted domains to route messages directly to a designated geo-region, ensuring that email data is processed and stored entirely within the recipient’s region—even if it differs from the tenant’s primary location. This helps organizations meet compliance requirements without compromising email delivery performance.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 410245.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in early October 2025 and expect to complete by end of October 2025.

General Availability (Worldwide): We expect to begin rolling out in early October 2025 (previously early December) and expect to complete by late December 2025.

[How this will affect your organization:]

In-Region Routing (IRR) is disabled by default. If you do not plan to use this feature, no action is required.

For domains where you choose to enable IRR, the feature allows you to route inbound emails to accepted domains associated with specific geo-regions. When these domains are aligned with users located in the same geo-region, emails are fully processed and stored within the recipient’s region. This ensures that data remains within the user’s Preferred Data Location (PDL), supporting stronger data sovereignty and compliance with regional regulations.

If your organization uses Microsoft Purview capabilities such as Data Loss Prevention (DLP), retention policies, or eDiscovery, you may need to review and adjust those policies to ensure they align with the new regional routing behavior.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

We value your feedback and want to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns. Please comment or contact us through the M365 Admin Center if you need any assistance.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Does the change alter how existing user data is processed, stored, or accessed? - Yes. Emails are stored in-region based on domain configuration.
  • Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any Purview capabilities? - Maybe. Depends on how DLP or retention policies are scoped by region.
  • Does the change alter how admins can monitor, report on, or demonstrate compliance activities? - Maybe. Regional routing may affect reporting granularity.

New

Updated October 30, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.     

[Introduction]

Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) enables customers to control the routing of inbound emails. Using IRR, customers can set the geo-region that inbound mail should be routed to for specific Accepted Domains.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 410245.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in early October 2025 and expect to complete by end of October 2025.

General Availability (Worldwide): We expect to begin rolling out in early October 2025 (previously early December) and expect to complete by late December 2025.

[How this will affect your organization:]

In-Region Routing (IRR) is disabled by default. If you do not plan to use this feature, no action is required.

For domains where you choose to enable IRR, the feature allows you to route inbound emails to accepted domains associated with specific geo-regions. When these domains are aligned with users located in the same geo-region, emails are fully processed and stored within the recipient’s region. 

If your organization uses Microsoft Purview capabilities such as Data Loss Prevention (DLP), retention policies, or eDiscovery, you may need to review and adjust those policies to ensure they align with the new regional routing behavior.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

We value your feedback and want to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns. Please comment or contact us through the M365 Admin Center if you need any assistance.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Does the change alter how existing user data is processed, stored, or accessed? - Yes. Emails are stored in-region based on domain configuration.
  • Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any Purview capabilities? - Maybe. Depends on how DLP or retention policies are scoped by region.
  • Does the change alter how admins can monitor, report on, or demonstrate compliance activities? - Maybe. Regional routing may affect reporting granularity.

October 30, 2025 at 6:31 PM Updated
Summary
Previous
Microsoft is releasing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing for Exchange Online to route inbound emails based on user location, ensuring data residency compliance. Rolling out from October to December 2025, it requires Multi-Geo licenses and may impact Purview policies. Admins must prepare domain configurations and permissions accordingly.
New
Microsoft Exchange Online will introduce Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) in October 2025, enabling inbound emails to be routed and stored within users' regional data locations to meet compliance. IRR is disabled by default; admins must configure accepted domains and review related policies and licensing.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2025-08-08T21:50:25.577Z
New
2025-10-30T16:19:31.933Z
Body Content
Previous

Updated August 8, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) for Exchange Online, a new capability that helps organizations meet regional data residency requirements by allowing inbound email routing to be aligned with user locations. With IRR, admins can configure accepted domains to route messages directly to a designated geo-region, ensuring that email data is processed and stored entirely within the recipient’s region—even if it differs from the tenant’s primary location. This helps organizations meet compliance requirements without compromising email delivery performance.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 410245.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in early October 2025 and expect to complete by end of October 2025.

General Availability (Worldwide): We expect to begin rolling out in early December 2025 and expect to complete by late December 2025.

[How this will affect your organization:]

In-Region Routing (IRR) is disabled by default. If you do not plan to use this feature, no action is required.

For domains where you choose to enable IRR, the feature allows you to route inbound emails to accepted domains associated with specific geo-regions. When these domains are aligned with users located in the same geo-region, emails are fully processed and stored within the recipient’s region. This ensures that data remains within the user’s Preferred Data Location (PDL), supporting stronger data sovereignty and compliance with regional regulations.

If your organization uses Microsoft Purview capabilities such as Data Loss Prevention (DLP), retention policies, or eDiscovery, you may need to review and adjust those policies to ensure they align with the new regional routing behavior.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

We value your feedback and want to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns. Please comment or contact us through the M365 Admin Center if you need any assistance.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Does the change alter how existing user data is processed, stored, or accessed? - Yes. Emails are stored in-region based on domain configuration.
  • Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any Purview capabilities? - Maybe. Depends on how DLP or retention policies are scoped by region.
  • Does the change alter how admins can monitor, report on, or demonstrate compliance activities? - Maybe. Regional routing may affect reporting granularity.

New

Updated October 30, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.     

[Introduction]

We’re introducing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) for Exchange Online, a new capability that helps organizations meet regional data residency requirements by allowing inbound email routing to be aligned with user locations. With IRR, admins can configure accepted domains to route messages directly to a designated geo-region, ensuring that email data is processed and stored entirely within the recipient’s region—even if it differs from the tenant’s primary location. This helps organizations meet compliance requirements without compromising email delivery performance.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 410245.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in early October 2025 and expect to complete by end of October 2025.

General Availability (Worldwide): We expect to begin rolling out in early October 2025 (previously early December) and expect to complete by late December 2025.

[How this will affect your organization:]

In-Region Routing (IRR) is disabled by default. If you do not plan to use this feature, no action is required.

For domains where you choose to enable IRR, the feature allows you to route inbound emails to accepted domains associated with specific geo-regions. When these domains are aligned with users located in the same geo-region, emails are fully processed and stored within the recipient’s region. This ensures that data remains within the user’s Preferred Data Location (PDL), supporting stronger data sovereignty and compliance with regional regulations.

If your organization uses Microsoft Purview capabilities such as Data Loss Prevention (DLP), retention policies, or eDiscovery, you may need to review and adjust those policies to ensure they align with the new regional routing behavior.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

We value your feedback and want to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns. Please comment or contact us through the M365 Admin Center if you need any assistance.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Does the change alter how existing user data is processed, stored, or accessed? - Yes. Emails are stored in-region based on domain configuration.
  • Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any Purview capabilities? - Maybe. Depends on how DLP or retention policies are scoped by region.
  • Does the change alter how admins can monitor, report on, or demonstrate compliance activities? - Maybe. Regional routing may affect reporting granularity.

August 8, 2025 at 10:30 PM Updated
Summary
Previous
Microsoft is releasing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing for Exchange Online to route inbound emails based on user location, ensuring data residency compliance. Rolling out from August to October 2025, it requires Multi-Geo licenses and may impact Purview policies. Admins must prepare domain configurations and permissions accordingly.
New
Microsoft is releasing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing for Exchange Online to route inbound emails based on user location, ensuring data residency compliance. Rolling out from October to December 2025, it requires Multi-Geo licenses and may impact Purview policies. Admins must prepare domain configurations and permissions accordingly.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2025-07-31T18:53:30.070Z
New
2025-08-08T21:50:25.577Z
Body Content
Previous

Updated July 31, 2025: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re introducing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) for Exchange Online, a new capability that helps organizations meet regional data residency requirements by allowing inbound email routing to be aligned with user locations. With IRR, admins can configure accepted domains to route messages directly to a designated geo-region, ensuring that email data is processed and stored entirely within the recipient’s region—even if it differs from the tenant’s primary location. This helps organizations meet compliance requirements without compromising email delivery performance.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 410245.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in early August 2025 and expect to complete by end of August 2025.

General Availability (Worldwide): We expect to begin rolling out in early October 2025 and expect to complete by late October 2025.

[How this will affect your organization:]

In-Region Routing (IRR) is disabled by default. If you do not plan to use this feature, no action is required.

For domains where you choose to enable IRR, the feature allows you to route inbound emails to accepted domains associated with specific geo-regions. When these domains are aligned with users located in the same geo-region, emails are fully processed and stored within the recipient’s region. This ensures that data remains within the user’s Preferred Data Location (PDL), supporting stronger data sovereignty and compliance with regional regulations.

If your organization uses Microsoft Purview capabilities such as Data Loss Prevention (DLP), retention policies, or eDiscovery, you may need to review and adjust those policies to ensure they align with the new regional routing behavior.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

We value your feedback and want to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns. Please comment or contact us through the M365 Admin Center if you need any assistance.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Does the change alter how existing user data is processed, stored, or accessed? - Yes. Emails are stored in-region based on domain configuration.
  • Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any Purview capabilities? - Maybe. Depends on how DLP or retention policies are scoped by region.
  • Does the change alter how admins can monitor, report on, or demonstrate compliance activities? - Maybe. Regional routing may affect reporting granularity.

New

Updated August 8, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) for Exchange Online, a new capability that helps organizations meet regional data residency requirements by allowing inbound email routing to be aligned with user locations. With IRR, admins can configure accepted domains to route messages directly to a designated geo-region, ensuring that email data is processed and stored entirely within the recipient’s region—even if it differs from the tenant’s primary location. This helps organizations meet compliance requirements without compromising email delivery performance.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 410245.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in early October 2025 and expect to complete by end of October 2025.

General Availability (Worldwide): We expect to begin rolling out in early December 2025 and expect to complete by late December 2025.

[How this will affect your organization:]

In-Region Routing (IRR) is disabled by default. If you do not plan to use this feature, no action is required.

For domains where you choose to enable IRR, the feature allows you to route inbound emails to accepted domains associated with specific geo-regions. When these domains are aligned with users located in the same geo-region, emails are fully processed and stored within the recipient’s region. This ensures that data remains within the user’s Preferred Data Location (PDL), supporting stronger data sovereignty and compliance with regional regulations.

If your organization uses Microsoft Purview capabilities such as Data Loss Prevention (DLP), retention policies, or eDiscovery, you may need to review and adjust those policies to ensure they align with the new regional routing behavior.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

We value your feedback and want to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns. Please comment or contact us through the M365 Admin Center if you need any assistance.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Does the change alter how existing user data is processed, stored, or accessed? - Yes. Emails are stored in-region based on domain configuration.
  • Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any Purview capabilities? - Maybe. Depends on how DLP or retention policies are scoped by region.
  • Does the change alter how admins can monitor, report on, or demonstrate compliance activities? - Maybe. Regional routing may affect reporting granularity.

July 31, 2025 at 8:30 PM Updated
Title
Previous
Microsoft Exchange Online | Releasing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing
New
(Updated) Microsoft Exchange Online | Releasing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing
Summary
Previous
Microsoft Exchange Online is introducing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) to help organizations meet regional data residency requirements by routing inbound emails to user-specific geo-regions. Public preview starts in August 2025, with general availability in October 2025. IRR is disabled by default and may require policy adjustments for compliance.
New
Microsoft is releasing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing for Exchange Online to route inbound emails based on user location, ensuring data residency compliance. Rolling out from August to October 2025, it requires Multi-Geo licenses and may impact Purview policies. Admins must prepare domain configurations and permissions accordingly.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2025-07-10T23:34:16.190Z
New
2025-07-31T18:53:30.070Z
Tags
Previous
New feature,User impact,Admin impact
New
Updated message,New feature,User impact,Admin impact
Body Content
Previous

[Introduction]

We’re introducing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) for Exchange Online, a new capability that helps organizations meet regional data residency requirements by allowing inbound email routing to be aligned with user locations. With IRR, admins can configure accepted domains to route messages directly to a designated geo-region, ensuring that email data is processed and stored entirely within the recipient’s region—even if it differs from the tenant’s primary location. This helps organizations meet compliance requirements without compromising email delivery performance.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 410245.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in early August 2025 and expect to complete by end of August 2025.

General Availability (Worldwide): We expect to begin rolling out in early October 2025 and expect to complete by late October 2025.

[How this will affect your organization:]

In-Region Routing (IRR) is disabled by default. If you do not plan to use this feature, no action is required.

For domains where you choose to enable IRR, the feature allows you to route inbound emails to accepted domains associated with specific geo-regions. When these domains are aligned with users located in the same geo-region, emails are fully processed and stored within the recipient’s region. This ensures that data remains within the user’s Preferred Data Location (PDL), supporting stronger data sovereignty and compliance with regional regulations.

If your organization uses Microsoft Purview capabilities such as Data Loss Prevention (DLP), retention policies, or eDiscovery, you may need to review and adjust those policies to ensure they align with the new regional routing behavior.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

  • Ensure that admins have the necessary permissions to manage accepted domains and access to either Exchange Online PowerShell or to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
  • Review your domain configurations and identify users located in secondary geo-regions.
  • Prepare to configure accepted domains with the new geo-region property.
  • Review the documentation for configuring the feature: Microsoft 365 Multi-Geo | Learn 

We value your feedback and want to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns. Please comment or contact us through the M365 Admin Center if you need any assistance.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Does the change alter how existing user data is processed, stored, or accessed? - Yes. Emails are stored in-region based on domain configuration.
  • Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any Purview capabilities? - Maybe. Depends on how DLP or retention policies are scoped by region.
  • Does the change alter how admins can monitor, report on, or demonstrate compliance activities? - Maybe. Regional routing may affect reporting granularity.

New

Updated July 31, 2025: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re introducing Multi-Geo In-Region Routing (IRR) for Exchange Online, a new capability that helps organizations meet regional data residency requirements by allowing inbound email routing to be aligned with user locations. With IRR, admins can configure accepted domains to route messages directly to a designated geo-region, ensuring that email data is processed and stored entirely within the recipient’s region—even if it differs from the tenant’s primary location. This helps organizations meet compliance requirements without compromising email delivery performance.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 410245.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in early August 2025 and expect to complete by end of August 2025.

General Availability (Worldwide): We expect to begin rolling out in early October 2025 and expect to complete by late October 2025.

[How this will affect your organization:]

In-Region Routing (IRR) is disabled by default. If you do not plan to use this feature, no action is required.

For domains where you choose to enable IRR, the feature allows you to route inbound emails to accepted domains associated with specific geo-regions. When these domains are aligned with users located in the same geo-region, emails are fully processed and stored within the recipient’s region. This ensures that data remains within the user’s Preferred Data Location (PDL), supporting stronger data sovereignty and compliance with regional regulations.

If your organization uses Microsoft Purview capabilities such as Data Loss Prevention (DLP), retention policies, or eDiscovery, you may need to review and adjust those policies to ensure they align with the new regional routing behavior.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

We value your feedback and want to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns. Please comment or contact us through the M365 Admin Center if you need any assistance.

[Compliance considerations:]

  • Does the change alter how existing user data is processed, stored, or accessed? - Yes. Emails are stored in-region based on domain configuration.
  • Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable any Purview capabilities? - Maybe. Depends on how DLP or retention policies are scoped by region.
  • Does the change alter how admins can monitor, report on, or demonstrate compliance activities? - Maybe. Regional routing may affect reporting granularity.

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