How do I override the outbound email "to" setting at the application level

 

Introduction

In Oracle APEX, managing email delivery is a critical part of many business applications, especially those involving user notifications, password resets, workflow confirmations, or system alerts. However, during testing or development, it’s important to prevent emails from reaching real users. Oracle APEX provides a built-in feature that allows developers to override the outbound "To" email address at the application level, ensuring all emails are safely redirected to a controlled inbox. This is particularly useful in non-production environments where sending live emails could lead to confusion or data exposure.

To override the outbound email "To" address at the application level in Oracle APEX, you can use the "Application Email Override" feature. This forces all outbound emails from your APEX application to be redirected to a single email address — useful for testing, QA, or sandbox environments, so real users don’t receive emails.

 

How to Override Email "To" Address at the Application Level

 Steps:

Go to the APEX App Builder.

Open your application.

Navigate to:
Shared Components > Email > Email Configuration

Set the field:
"Override Application Primary Recipient"

Enter the desired email address (e.g. test@yourcompany.com)

Click Apply Changes.

 

What Happens:

All emails sent using APEX_MAIL.SEND or apex_email.send from this application will have their "To" address replaced with the override address.

The original recipient is moved to the email header as a note (not actually used in sending).

 

 This is application-specific, not workspace-wide.

If you have multiple applications in the same workspace, you must set this for each app individually.

 

Notes:

Useful for testing email templates safely.

Does not affect the CC, BCC, or Reply-To fields unless you override them too.

The override only applies to production-mode sends, not necessarily test sends from the APEX Builder unless run in that app context.

 

 If Using APEX_MAIL.SEND or APEX_MAIL.PUSH_QUEUE

No need to change your PL/SQL code. The override works automatically once set in Shared Components > Email Configuration.

 

 Conclusion

Overriding the outbound email "To" address at the application level in Oracle APEX is a simple yet powerful safeguard during testing and development. By configuring this setting in the application's shared components, developers can ensure that no unintended recipients receive messages while still validating email content and delivery. This feature enhances testing safety, supports quality assurance workflows, and prevents accidental communication in pre-production stages — all without requiring any changes to the application’s PL/SQL email-sending logic.