How to export emails from Microsoft Purview

Raised from ticket #2038

If you need to export emails from a Microsoft 365 tenant using the Microsoft Purview compliance portal, follow these steps:

Step 1: Assign eDiscovery Permissions

  • Ensure your account has the necessary permissions by adding it to the eDiscovery Manager role group.
  • In the Microsoft Purview compliance portal, navigate to Permissions > Email & collaboration roles > Roles, and select the eDiscovery Manager role group.
  • Add your account to the eDiscovery Administrator list. NOTE: You need to have Business Premium / Office E3 or higher to allow for actual eDiscovery exports.
  • Verify that the Export role is assigned to this role group.
  • Note: Changes in permissions might take up to 24 hours to apply.

Step 2: Create a Content Search

  • In the compliance portal, go to Content search and select New search.
  • Provide a name and description for the search.
  • Under Locations, enable Exchange mailboxes and select the mailboxes you wish to export.
  • To export all emails, leave the Conditions section empty.
  • To export only a specific date range, add a Condition for “Received” and select before, after, or between certain dates
  • Submit the search and wait for it to complete.

Step 3: Export Search Results

  • Once the search is complete, select it from the list and choose Export results.
  • In the export options:
    • Under Output options, select All items, including ones that have unrecognized format, are encrypted, or weren’t indexed for other reasons.
    • Under Export Exchange content as, choose One PST file for each mailbox and can likely leave the default selections. Read them carefully though.
  • Start the export process. Note: This can take over an hour to export depending on the size of export you’re doing.

Step 4: Download the Exported PST Files

  • After the export job is prepared, navigate to the Exports tab in the compliance portal.
  • Select your export job and copy the Export key.
  • Click Download results, which will prompt you to install the eDiscovery Export Tool if it’s not already installed.
  • In the eDiscovery Export Tool, paste the export key and specify the download location on your local computer.
  • Initiate the download to retrieve the PST files.