Export distribution group members to CSV with PowerShell

How to export distribution group members to CSV file? We want a list of all distribution groups and all members of the group. In this article, you will learn how to bulk export distribution group members to CSV file with PowerShell script.

Introduction

A distribution group, or distribution list, is a collection of two or more people that appears in your organization’s address book. When an email message is sent to a distribution group, it goes to all group members.

You want to see which users are members of the distribution groups, also known as distribution lists. The Export-DistributionGroups.ps1 PowerShell script will run against every distribution group.

These groups are:

• Distribution group
• Security group (mail-enabled security groups)

Get distribution group members with PowerShell script

The Export-DistributionGroups.ps1 PowerShell script works for Exchange Server and will get all the distribution groups, including their members, and export them to a CSV file.

The script will gather the following information per distribution group:

1. DisplayName
2. PrimarySmtpAddress
3. SecondarySmtpAddress
4. Alias
5. GroupType
6. RecipientType
7. Member
8. MemberPrimarySmtpAddress
9. MemberType
10. MemberAccountStatus
11. Owners
12. HiddenFromAddressLists
13. MemberJoinRestriction
14. MemberDepartRestriction
15. RequireSenderAuthenticationEnabled
16. AcceptMessagesOnlyFrom
17. Notes
18. SendOnBehalf
19. SendAs
20. DateCreated
21. DateModified

Prepare export distribution groups PowerShell script

Create two folders on the (C:) drive:

• Temp
• Scripts

Download the Export-DistributionGroups.ps1 PowerShell script and place it in C:\scripts folder. The script will export the CSV file to the C:\temp folder.

Ensure the file is unblocked to prevent errors when running the script. Read more in the article Not digitally signed error when running PowerShell script.

Another option is to copy and paste the below code into Notepad. Give it the name Export-DistributionGroups.ps1 and place it in the C:\scripts folder.

<#
    .SYNOPSIS
    Export-DistributionGroups.ps1

    .DESCRIPTION
    Export Exchange Server Distribution Group Members to CSV file with PowerShell.

    .LINK
    www.alitajran.com/export-distribution-group-members-to-csv/

    .NOTES
    Written by: ALI TAJRAN
    Website:    www.alitajran.com
    LinkedIn:   linkedin.com/in/alitajran

    .CHANGELOG
    V1.00, 06/06/2021 - Initial version
    V2.00, 04/13/2024 - Refactored and added more properties
    V2.10, 04/19/2024 - Fixed contact error, SendAs permissions not working, and added MemberType property
#>

# CSV file export path
$Csvfile = "C:\temp\ExportDGs.csv"

# Get all distribution groups
$Groups = Get-DistributionGroup -ResultSize Unlimited

# Create an empty array to store the custom objects
$Results = @()

# Set up the progress bar parameters
$totalGroups = $Groups.Count
$currentGroup = 0

# Loop through distribution groups
foreach ($Group in $Groups) {

    $GroupDN = $Group.DistinguishedName
    $DisplayName = $Group.DisplayName
    $PrimarySmtpAddress = $Group.PrimarySmtpAddress
    $SecondarySmtpAddresses = $Group.EmailAddresses | Where-Object { $_ -clike "smtp*" } | ForEach-Object { $_ -replace "smtp:", "" }
    $GroupType = $Group.GroupType
    $RecipientType = $Group.RecipientType
    $Members = Get-DistributionGroupMember $GroupDN -ResultSize Unlimited
    $ManagedBy = $Group.ManagedBy
    $Alias = $Group.Alias
    $HiddenFromAddressLists = $Group.HiddenFromAddressListsEnabled
    $MemberJoinRestriction = $Group.MemberJoinRestriction
    $MemberDepartRestriction = $Group.MemberDepartRestriction
    $RequireSenderAuthenticationEnabled = $Group.RequireSenderAuthenticationEnabled
    $AcceptMessagesOnlyFrom = $Group.AcceptMessagesOnlyFromSendersOrMembers
    $SendOnBehalf = $Group.GrantSendOnBehalfTo
    $Notes = (Get-Group $GroupDN)
    $DateCreated = $Group.WhenCreated
    $DateModified = $Group.WhenChanged

    # Get SendAs permissions
    $SendAsPermissions = Get-ADPermission $($Group.identity) |
    Where-Object {
        ($_.ExtendedRights -like "*send-as*") -and
        ($_.IsInherited -like "false") -and
        ($_.User -notlike "NT Authority\self")
    }
    $SendAsUsers = $SendAsPermissions.User

    # Loop through each member and add them to the results array
    foreach ($Member in $Members) {
        $AccountStatus = $null
        if ($Member.RecipientType -ne "MailContact") {
            $AccountStatus = (Get-ADUser -Identity $Member.DistinguishedName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).Enabled
        }
        else {
            $AccountStatus = "N/A"
        }

        $Result = [PSCustomObject]@{
            DisplayName                        = $DisplayName
            PrimarySmtpAddress                 = $PrimarySmtpAddress
            SecondarySmtpAddress               = ($SecondarySmtpAddresses -join ',')
            Alias                              = $Alias
            GroupType                          = $GroupType
            RecipientType                      = $RecipientType
            Member                             = $Member.Name
            MemberPrimarySmtpAddress           = $Member.PrimarySmtpAddress
            MemberType                         = $Member.RecipientType
            MemberAccountStatus                = $AccountStatus
            Owners                             = ($ManagedBy.Name -join ',')
            HiddenFromAddressLists             = $HiddenFromAddressLists
            MemberJoinRestriction              = $MemberJoinRestriction
            MemberDepartRestriction            = $MemberDepartRestriction
            RequireSenderAuthenticationEnabled = $RequireSenderAuthenticationEnabled
            AcceptMessagesOnlyFrom             = ($AcceptMessagesOnlyFrom.Name -join ',')
            Notes                              = $Notes.Notes
            SendOnBehalf                       = ($SendOnBehalf.Name -join ',')
            SendAs                             = ($SendAsUsers -join ',')
            DateCreated                        = $DateCreated
            DateModified                       = $DateModified
        }

        $Results += $Result
    }
    # Update the progress bar
    $currentGroup++
    $status = "{0:N0}" -f ($currentGroup / $totalGroups * 100)

    $progressParams = @{
        Activity        = "Retrieving Group Members"
        Status          = "Processing group: $($Group.DisplayName) - $currentGroup of $totalGroups : $status% completed"
        PercentComplete = ($currentGroup / $totalGroups) * 100
    }

    Write-Progress @progressParams
}

# Complete the progress bar
Write-Progress -Activity "Retrieving Group Members" -Completed

# Output the custom objects array, sort them, and display in a grid view
$Results | Sort-Object DisplayName | Out-GridView -Title "Exchange Server Distribution Group Members"

# Export report to CSV file
$Results | Sort-Object DisplayName | Export-CSV -Path $Csvfile -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8 #-Delimiter ";"

• Line 23: Edit the CSV file path if you want

Note: If you want to export a specific distribution group, add the group name in line 26.

$Groups = Get-DistributionGroup "All Staff" -ResultSize Unlimited

Run export distribution groups PowerShell script

Run Exchange Management Shell as administrator and run the PowerShell script to export all distribution groups and members to CSV file.

c:\scripts\.\Export-DistributionGroups.ps1

The Export-DistributionGroups.ps1 PowerShell script starts scanning the distribution groups in the organization. This can take some time.

When it’s done, a list is created and exported in the C:\temp folder with the name ExportDGs.csv.

Result distribution group export CSV file

Let’s look at the CSV export file in the path C:\temp. You should see the ExportDGs.csv file.

Open ExportDGs.csv with your favorite application. For example, with Microsoft Excel.

If you don’t need all the information, you can tweak it to your needs. You can sort and filter the columns by DisplayName, GroupType, HiddenFromAddressLists, or any other type.

Did this help you to export distribution group members to CSV file with PowerShell?

Read more: Create distribution group in Exchange Hybrid »

Conclusion

You learned how to export distribution group members to CSV with PowerShell. The export to CSV file in Exchange admin center will not give you as much information as PowerShell does. With PowerShell, you can have a custom distribution group report. Use the Export-DistributionGroups PowerShell script.

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