How to Export Distribution Groups in Microsoft 365

By actively managing distribution groups, organizations can mitigate security risks, eliminate redundancy, and enhance their Microsoft 365 environment. This approach ensures that only the appropriate individuals receive information, keeping everyone informed and aligned. These groups can be managed using the Exchange admin center and PowerShell.

Using Exchange Admin Center

Using Windows PowerShell

• The Distribution Group Changes report provides a comprehensive view of all distribution group changes, including membership changes, ownership changes, creation & deletion of groups, and any other modifications in distribution groups settings.

By exporting distribution list members to CSV, you can gain critical data for maintaining accurate records to:

How to export members of a distribution group using the Exchange admin center

Export Microsoft365 distribution group members using PowerShell

$Groups = Get-DistributionGroup -RecipientTypeDetails MailUniversalDistributionGroup -ResultSize Unlimited

  $Groups | ForEach-Object {
      $group = $_
      Get-DistributionGroupMember -Identity $group.DisplayName | ForEach-Object {
          New-Object -TypeName PSObject -Property @{
              GroupName = $group.DisplayName
              MemberDisplayName = $_.DisplayName
              MemberPrimarySMTPAddress = $_.PrimarySmtpAddress
              RecipientType = $_.RecipientType
              Alias = $_.Alias
          }
      }
  } | Export-CSV "D:\DistributionGroupMembers.csv" -NoTypeInformation

• Save time and effort by exporting AdminDroid's Distribution Group Members report.
• Simply select the group and get a complete list of distribution group members delivered straight to your inbox in various formats like CSV, PDF, XLS, XLSV, RAW, etc.

In Microsoft 365, Dynamic distribution groups are a flexible way to manage email recipients. They automatically populate their membership list based on pre-defined filters, ensuring emails reach the intended audience every time.

Create a dynamic distribution group using the Exchange admin center

Create a dynamic distribution group using PowerShell

• Maintain efficient group management with Dynamic Distribution Groups report available in AdminDroid.
• This simplifies identification of the group's manager, recipient filter, and other relevant group details.

No. While both distribution groups and shared mailboxes involve the sharing of emails among multiple users, they serve different purposes.

Distribution groups

Microsoft 365 distribution groups are used to send emails to a group of users at once. Company announcements, newsletters, and mass notifications can be sent using the distribution group.

Note: Distribution groups lack inherent mailboxes. Emails addressed to a distribution group are routed directly to the primary inboxes of all its designated members.

Shared mailboxes

Shared mailboxes are used when multiple people need access to the same mailbox such as team inboxes (customer support, sales), or project communication.

While shared mailboxes provide valuable collaboration features, distribution groups shine when your primary goal is efficient one-way communication. They excel at broadcasting information to a large audience. This simplifies email management for both you and the recipients, who only receive the initial message, keeping their inboxes less cluttered.

If you're looking to boost collaboration within your team but already have a distribution group set up, consider upgrading it to a Microsoft 365 group. This saves you the hassle of creating a whole new group and re-adding all the members. Even better, this smooth transition keeps your established structure intact while unlocking the powerful collaboration features of Microsoft 365 groups.

Enjoy easier access to shared resources and improved teamwork capabilities – all without starting from scratch. However, all the distribution lists may not be eligible for the upgrade. Check the eligibility before upgrading.

To Upgrade distribution list to Microsoft365 group

You can also use PowerShell to upgrade, if the group is eligible.

Upgrade-DistributionGroup -DlIdentities "<Distribution-group-email-address>" 

Eligibility criteria for upgrading a distribution group to a Microsoft 365 group

You can also use the below PowerShell cmdlet to get all the distribution groups eligible for upgrade.

Get-EligibleDistributionGroupForMigration