Bulk Create Distribution Lists or Groups (Exchange PowerShell)

Managing email distribution lists (DLs) is an essential task in Microsoft 365 administration — especially when setting up or migrating user communication structures. While Microsoft Graph PowerShell is powerful, you cannot use it to create or bulk-create Distribution Lists. For this task, Exchange Online PowerShell is required.

This article provides a simple yet effective script to bulk-create Distribution Lists (DLs) using Exchange PowerShell, along with an example CSV file you can modify and reuse.

Script – Bulk Create Distribution Lists

Connect-ExchangeOnline
$groups = Import-Csv -Path "C:\Users\Thilak\Downloads\dls.csv"
foreach ($group in $groups) {
    New-DistributionGroup -Name $group.Name -PrimarySmtpAddress $group.PrimarySmtpAddress
}
                            

CSV Details

Make sure your CSV file (in this case named dls.csv) is structured as follows:

Name,PrimarySmtpAddress
Sales Team 0101,salesteam0101@7xh7fj.onmicrosoft.com
Marketing Team 0101,marketing0101@7xh7fj.onmicrosoft.com
Support Team 0101,support0101@7xh7fj.onmicrosoft.com

Save the file in a known location like C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\dls.csv and update the script path accordingly.

How the Script Works

1. Connects to Exchange Online

The script begins with Connect-ExchangeOnline, allowing you to run mailbox and group management cmdlets.

2. Reads from CSV

The script uses Import-Csv to load group details from a local CSV file.

3. Creates Distribution Lists

The foreach loop processes each row in the CSV, calling New-DistributionGroup to create each DL using the provided name and SMTP address.

❗ Microsoft Graph PowerShell does not support creation of Distribution Lists (DLs). This task must be done using Exchange Online PowerShell, as shown above.

Further Enhancements

You can expand this script’s capabilities in several ways:

• Assign Group Owners or Moderators

Add parameters like -ManagedBy, -ModerationEnabled, or -RequireSenderAuthenticationEnabled to control access.

New-DistributionGroup -Name $group.Name -PrimarySmtpAddress $group.PrimarySmtpAddress -ManagedBy "admin@domain.com"

• Add Members Automatically

Once groups are created, use a follow-up script to import members using Add-DistributionGroupMember.

• Include Logging

Write the output of each creation to a log file for auditing purposes.

Possible Errors & Solutions

Error	Cause	Solution
New-DistributionGroup is not recognized	Not connected to Exchange Online	Run Connect-ExchangeOnline first
PrimarySmtpAddress already in use	Duplicate SMTP address in tenant	Ensure all email addresses in CSV are unique
Access Denied	Insufficient permissions	Ensure the account is a recipient administrator or Exchange admin
Cannot bind parameter	Typo in CSV column headers	Use exact header names: Name, PrimarySmtpAddress

Conclusion

Although Microsoft Graph PowerShell is powerful for modern group management, it does not support creating Distribution Lists (DLs). For this, you’ll need to rely on Exchange Online PowerShell, as demonstrated in this article.

Using a simple CSV file and a few lines of code, you can bulk-create DLs quickly and reliably — ideal for onboarding, migrations, or restructuring communication groups in your Microsoft 365 environment.

💡 Keep this method handy when you need to set up multiple email-enabled distribution groups without hassle.