Mailboxes Overview
Request ICTA allocation, create official mailboxes, and assign officers on verified government domains.
Hosted mailboxes are official government email accounts on your verified domains: for example info@health.go.ke. Officers read mail in webmail or over IMAP. ICT administrators manage them from Overview → Mailboxes.
Institutions start with zero mailbox allowance until ICTA approves an allocation request. Sending from the REST API or SMTP still works on verified domains; the gate is hosted mailboxes only.
Who sees what
| Role | Mailboxes screen |
|---|---|
| Authorizing Officer / ICT administrator | Full org list, create, bulk upload, allocation requests, assign officers |
| Officer | My Mailboxes: only assigned mailboxes, with Open webmail links |
Before you create a mailbox
- ICTA has approved your institution's allocation (allowance > 0).
- The domain is verified and mail hosting is enabled (toggle on the domain detail page after ICTA approval).
- You have remaining capacity (
used < allowance).
Request allocation from ICTA
If allowance is zero or you need more:
- Open Mailboxes → Request allocation (or Request more when you already have some).
- Propose domains, mailbox counts, and reasons; attach the Authorizing Officer's signed PDF letter.
- Track status on the request detail page (pending, more info needed, approved, rejected).
See Request domains & mailboxes from ICTA for the full lifecycle.
Create a mailbox
- Click New mailbox.
- Pick a hosted domain and the local part (before
@). - Choose a type: person, shared, or send-only, and set a quota (GB).
- Copy the one-time app password from the credentials panel: it cannot be shown again.
Optional Access & setup fields let you assign the mailbox to an officer, invite one by email, set a login password, or forward incoming mail during creation.
You can also bulk upload a CSV of local parts for one domain when provisioning many officers at once.
Enable mail hosting on a domain
If a verified domain shows hosting as off, open it from the mailboxes banner or Domains and enable Mail hosting. This requires ICTA to have approved hosting on that domain during allocation.
Open webmail
Each mailbox row and detail page links to mail.govconnect.ke. Officers sign in with the mailbox address and app password.
Next steps
- Managing mailboxes: assign officers, passwords, suspend, delete
- Storage: org pool, quotas, and requests
- Webmail: the in-browser inbox