Easily Move Public Folder to Microsoft 365 Groups

Published By Mohit Kumar Jha

Approved By Admin

Published On July 28th, 2025

Reading Time 6 Minutes Reading

Nowadays many organizations are moving towards faster and more secure collaboration services like Microsoft 365. That’s why many users want to migrate public folders to Office 365 Groups to improve the teamwork, protect the data, and help in management. Here, I am sharing with you ways that allow you to move your Public folder in your Microsoft 365 groups.

Know About Public Folder

In Microsoft Exchange Server, public folders are used to collect, organize, and share emails, calendars, contacts, and other documents. All the data in this folder is available and shared with all the members of the team. It is a collaboration tool in Exchange Server, which can be used for various purposes like department mailboxes, shared calendars and contacts, archiving projects, or any announcement distribution.

For a decade, this feature helped the organization in their collaboration. But the technology is evolving, and the need for modern cloud-based collaboration tools is increasing.

Microsoft has a modern feature, Office 365 groups, which works the same as the public folder but with advanced features. In this, users can easily share their Outlook mailbox, SharePoint site, Planner, Calendar, Microsoft Teams integration, etc. When you create a new group, all your data is tied together automatically, which makes it easy for collaboration across multiple Microsoft 365 services. So, it is a modern approach to the public folder, which is why most users move to Office 365 groups for a better experience.

Reasons to Migrate Public Folders to Office 365 Groups

Although I already said that the main factor for migrating the public folder to Office 365 groups is to take the benefits of modern tools. But users may also have personal reasons to move the folders, which I have mentioned below.

• The Office 365 groups provide an interactive workspace where you can chat, share calendars, and do other things. That’s why you are shifting from the public folder to the groups.
• If your organization’s department merges, acquires, or restructures your department. Microsoft 365 Groups is a better option for your collaboration.
• You are moving from your Exchange Server to Office 365. Then, you also have to move your public folders.
• Users can access their groups remotely or on mobile devices without any difficulties.

Therefore, switching your public folder is a great choice. Now, the method to migrate public folders to Office 365 groups is lengthy, so I divided it into 5 parts for your easy understanding. Properly follow them.

Part 1: Download Required Scripts and Verify Them

1. Go to this Microsoft location and download the migration script. Save the files in this folder: c:\PFtoGroups\Scripts
2. Verify these key files: AddMembersToGroups.ps1, LockAndSavePublicFolderProperties.ps1, UnlockAndRestorePublicFolderProperties.ps1.
3. Now, list all the mail-enabled and calendar public folders that you want to migrate. Choose the target Office 365 and create a new group.
4. Rename any public folders that have backslashes, like “Sales\Reports” to “Sales-Reports”
5. Run the PowerShell to enable the PAW feature. Remove any migration process that is being done at the backend.

Part 2: Create CSV File for Moving Public Folder to O365 Group

1. Create a CSV file containing two columns:
   FolderPath: the path where your public folder is located
   TargetGroupMailbox: your Office 365 group email address
2. The file will look like this: “FolderPath”,”TargetGroupMailbox”
   “\Sales”,”sales@contoso.onmicrosoft.com”
   “\Marketing”,”marketing@contoso.onmicrosoft.com”
   “\HR”,”hr@contoso.onmicrosoft.com”

Part 3: Start the Migration Process

1. Find the Exchange server’s MRS proxy endpoint and prepare your administrator credentials.
2. Run the PowerShell for the following steps:
3. Store Admin Credentials: $OnPremCred = Get-Credential
   make connection to Exchange Server: Connect-ExchangeOnline -UserPrincipalName youradmin@yourdomain.com
4. For validation, you can connect to on-premise Exchange: $Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri http:///PowerShell/ -Authentication Kerberos -Credential $OnPremCred
   Import-PSSession $Session -DisableNameChecking (from the domain name of Exchange server)
   Now, to create the migration batch, run these commands: New-MigrationBatch -Name “PFMigrationBatch01” `
   -SourcePublicFolderDatabase (Get-PublicFolderDatabase -Server ) `
   -CSVData ([System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes(“C:\PFMigration\PFMap.csv”)) `
   -NotificationEmails “admin@yourdomain.com” `
   -TargetDeliveryDomain “yourdomain.mail.onmicrosoft.com” `
   -PublicFolder `
   -AutoStart
5. Now, the batch process will start automatically; if it does not, then use this command to start it: Start-MigrationBatch -Identity “PFMigrationBatch01”

Part 4: User Permissions and Lock Down Public Folders

To make sure only the right user sees the Office 365 groups. Follow the steps below.

1. Run the AddMembersToGroups.ps1 script and add the CSV that you have created.
2. Choose a location and provide the Microsoft 365 admin credentials.
3. To prevent changes in the Public folder, run the LockAndSavePublicFolderProperties.ps1 script.
4. Provide the same CSV file and the backup directory.
5. Enter the admin credentials

Part 5: Complete the Migration Process

1. If the earlier batch process failed. Remove it from this command: Remove-MigrationBatch -Identity “PFMigrationBatch01”. (“PFMigrationBatch01” in place of this type the actual name of old migration batch.)
2. Now, we run a fresh migration batch with the same CSV file. Make sure your CSV file is accurate.
3. Use these commands to create a new migration batch: New-MigrationBatch -Name “FinalPFMigrationBatch” `
   -PublicFolder `
   -CSVData ([System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes(“C:\PFMigration\PFMap.csv”)) `
   -NotificationEmails “admin@yourdomain.com”
4. The process will automatically start to check the status: Get-MigrationBatch -Identity “FinalPFMigrationBatch”
   Finalize the process from this command: Complete-MigrationBatch -Identity “FinalPFMigrationBatch”
5. Test your Office 365 groups and remove the original public folders: Set-OrganizationConfig -PublicFoldersEnabled Remote

This is the manual way to migrate your public folders to Office 365 groups. It is a lengthy process that is difficult to understand for the non-technical users. But I have an alternative solution that makes the process easier.

Migrate Data from Public Folders to Office 365 Alternative Solution

The data in the public folder is in EDB file, so professional software like SysTools Exchange to Office 365 Migration Software would be the best for you. It is one of the many specialized Exchange to Office 365 Migration tool used to recover corrupt EDB files, but it is also used to move them to your Microsoft 365 option. Which you can use to then access the Office 365 groups. Follow the steps below to do the process.

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Steps to Convert Public Folder to Office 365

1. Download the software and click on the Add button at the top of the screen.
2. You have been given two options: Select File or Search File to upload your public folder data.
3. After adding the folders, click on the Add button.
4. Your data is now loading and displaying in the software.
5. Click on the Export option and choose the Office 365 option.
6. Provide the necessary details and press the Export option.

Read Also: How to Export Public Folder to PST File?

Final Words

In this article, I have explained two ways to migrate public folders to Office 365. The manual method is challenging because of the lengthy process. But, if you use the alternative option, then you can easily and securely move your data.