Microsoft 365 Sensitivity Labels

Sensitivity labels can be applied directly within Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. However, labels are only enforced on:

• Files stored in SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive

• Emails sent through Outlook

Sensitivity labels cannot be applied to files stored outside of these locations.

Employees with Microsoft 365 A5 or higher licenses are required to use sensitivity labels to help protect institutional data in accordance with Guidance on Information Confidentiality Classification (Policy 46).

The following file types are currently supported for labeling:

• Word: .docx, .docm

• Excel: .xlsx, .xlsm, .xlsb

• PowerPoint: .pptx, .ppsx

• PDF

Users without an employee A5 or higher license will not be able to apply sensitivity labels. However, they may still see the sensitivity label icon and description in the Office apps.

Available Sensitivity Labels

There are four sensitivity labels available: Public, Confidential, Restricted, and Highly Restricted.

Supported files in employee OneDrives (with A5 or higher licenses) will be automatically labeled 'Confidential' in the weeks following deployment. Document owners are responsible for ensuring the sensitivity label applied to a file accurately reflects the sensitivity of its contents.

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Using "Print to PDF" with Sensitivity Labels

What happens to sensitivity labels when I use "Print to PDF" in Microsoft Office apps?

When you use the Print to PDF and Save as Adobe PDF options in the Office apps, the resulting PDF does not retain the original document’s sensitivity label.

Why is this a concern?

Our organization has an auto-labelling policy that applies the default label Confidential to any supported file type (including PDFs) that does not already have a label. This means:

• If you print a Restricted or Highly Restricted document to PDF, the new PDF will be labelled Confidential, which may understate the sensitivity of the original content.

What should I do instead?

Whenever possible, use the Save As PDF or Export to PDF options in Office apps. These methods preserve the original sensitivity label in the resulting PDF.

• Word, Excel, PowerPoint: Use File > Save As > PDF or File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document.

• Outlook: Outlook does not currently support exporting emails to PDF with sensitivity labels. If you must save an email as a PDF, be aware that using "Print to PDF" will not retain the label, you must manually apply the correct sensitivity label to the PDF via OneDrive, Teams, or SharePoint after printing.

If you’re trying to edit a recurring meeting series in Outlook or Microsoft Teams and encounter the following error:

"Your organization requires you add a sensitivity label to the meeting before you can save it."

…it may be due to a policy change introduced after May 12, when your organization started enforcing mandatory sensitivity labels for meetings.

Why This Happens: 

Before May 12, sensitivity labels were not required for meetings. If a recurring meeting was created before that date, it may not contain any label metadata. When you try to edit the entire series now, Outlook or Teams detects the missing label and blocks the change until a valid sensitivity label is assigned.

How to Fix It

1. Open the meeting series in your Teams calendar.

2. Click on the Sensitivity label drop-down (usually near the top of the meeting window).

3. Choose the appropriate label (e.g., "Internal", "Confidential", or as per your org's policy).

4. Save the meeting.

FAQ

How do I add the Sensitivity label column to a view in Teams or SharePoint?

To add an existing column without leaving your list or library:

1. Navigate to the list or library where you want to create the column. 

2. To the right of the last column name at the top of the list or library, select + Add column or +.

3. In the pop-up that opens select Show or hide columns.

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4. Scroll down to Sensitivity and check the box to display the column.

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5. Scroll back to the top and select Apply.

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