I don't see a "spam" folder in my Outlook for Mac app.

Hi @Chris Halpin, 

I hope you’re having a great day.

Based on what you described, it’s likely that some messages are being blocked before they ever reach your mailbox. In organization‑managed email environments, messages may be stopped by server‑side security filtering (such as spam, phishing, or quarantine policies). When this happens, the messages won’t appear in your Inbox or Junk Email folder at all, even if the sender resends them multiple times.

A - Recommended next steps 

1/ Use Search to find missing emails 

You can use the Search bar at the top of Outlook and type in a sender name, email address, subject, or keyword from the message. 

Select Filters to narrow results by folder, sender, subject, date range, or attachments. 

This can help uncover messages even if they’re not immediately visible in the folder list. 

2/ Check Outlook on the web (for work or school accounts) 

If you’re using a work/school (Microsoft 365 or Exchange) account, spam filtering may be handled by your organization’s mail server. 

Signing in to Outlook on the web can help confirm whether messages are being delivered to your mailbox at all; or being held by server‑side filtering (such as Junk or quarantine), depending on your organization’s settings.

3/ Prevent legitimate messages from going to Junk 

If you find a legitimate email in Junk Email, right click and mark it as “Not Junk” or “Move to Inbox”. 

You can also add the sender or domain to your Safe Senders list so future messages from them go straight to your Inbox. 

More info here: Filter junk email and spam in Outlook - Microsoft Support 

B - Contact Support 

If the message does not appear in Outlook on the web either, it strongly indicates that the email is being blocked or held by organization‑level security policies outside of the Outlook application. Please contact your organization’s IT team as they can help verify whether server‑side spam or quarantine policies are applied, whether messages are being processed by Microsoft Defender or Exchange Online Protection, and whether organizational settings limit user‑level “Not Junk” actions. 

IT admin can refer to this article: Manage quarantined messages and files as an admin

In case your IT department cannot access the necessary information or make the required changes, I recommend asking them to open a request with Microsoft Support team through the Microsoft Admin Center. They have access to backend configurations and can perform a more in-depth investigation. At the very least, they can provide the most effective workaround to ensure your experience remains smooth and secure.     

As community moderators, we appreciate your understanding that we do not have access to the administrative tools or permissions required to investigate or modify these configurations. We also do not have the capability to initiate remote sessions for direct assistance. Our role is to guide users to the appropriate resources and support channels.  

I hope this information is helpful. Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, feel free to reach out.   

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It will depend on what email service you use.

On Microsoft 365, you will need to go to https://security.microsoft.com/quarantine to see you quarantine folder