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Microsoft Outlook

How to Increase the Outlook PST File Size Limit

Published 11 September 2026

Outlook has a default maximum size of 50 GB for modern PST files.

If a PST file reaches this limit, Outlook may stop receiving or moving email and display errors indicating that the Outlook data file has reached its maximum size.

The limit can be increased using the Windows Registry.

Close Outlook before making the change.

Press Windows Key + R, type regedit and press Enter.

Browse to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\PST

If the PST key does not exist, right-click Outlook, select New > Key and name it:

PST

Right-click in the right-hand pane and create a new:

DWORD (32-bit) Value

Name it:

MaxLargeFileSize

Double-click it, select Decimal, and enter:

102400

This increases the maximum PST size to 100 GB.

Create another DWORD (32-bit) Value named:

WarnLargeFileSize

Set it to Decimal and enter:

97280

This sets the warning threshold to 95 GB.

Close Registry Editor and restart Outlook.

Important

The same settings also affect Outlook OST files.

Very large Outlook data files can reduce performance, so increasing the limit should not normally be used as a substitute for archiving or reducing the size of a mailbox.

The default 50 GB limit is generally preferable where possible.

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