Resolving "Failed to get Information Rights Management Template" Sensitivity Label Error in Microsoft 365

Users in Microsoft 365 may encounter a cryptic error when trying to apply sensitivity labels to emails or Office files. The error appears as:

"Failed to get template. Template: [GUID]. Exception encountered: RmException"

This article explains why labels stop working, what the error means, and how administrators can fix it permanently.

Scenario 1 – Labeling an Email in Outlook

When a user assigns a sensitivity label to an email and tries to send it, Outlook gives NDR mentioning the email got blocked.

Scenario 2 – Labeling a File (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

When a user clicks a sensitivity label in an Office desktop app (e.g., Word), nothing happens — or the label appears to select briefly but then unselects itself. Sometimes an error pop‑up appears:

Screenshot description (typical error):

"Something went wrong. We couldn't apply the label. Please try again or contact your support team."
Or the label simply does not stick – it looks like it was clicked but reverts to "No label" or a different label.

The file remains unlabeled or labeled incorrectly, and encryption/protection never applies.

Root Cause

Both scenarios share the exact same underlying cause:

The sensitivity label references an Azure Rights Management (Azure RMS) template that is in Archived status — but Microsoft 365 still tries to use it.

When a user applies a label:

• Outlook or Office calls Azure RMS to fetch the encryption template

• If the template is Archived, the service returns: "Failed to get template"

• The label application fails silently or with a generic error

Why Does a Label Reference an Archived Template?

Cause	Explanation
Label was retired but not removed from user policies	The label is still published to users, but its backend template was archived
Template manually archived via PowerShell	An admin ran Set-AipServiceTemplateProperty -Status Archived
Label migrated incorrectly	During tenant migration or label recreation, the template ID changed or was orphaned
Microsoft Purview sync delay	A label was edited, but the Azure RMS template wasn't updated properly

How to Fix It

For IT Admins – Permanent Resolution

Step 1: Connect to Azure Information Protection Service

Open PowerShell as administrator and run:

Install-Module -Name AIPService -Force -AllowClobberConnect-AipService

Step 2: Find the Archived Template

List all templates and locate the one with Status : Archived that matches the GUID in your error:

Get-AipServiceTemplate | FL Name, TemplateId, Status

Look for your problematic TemplateId (e.g., aa017b4b-18a0-41d1-8a13-5ddd651d6c40).

Step 3: Publish the Archived Template

Set-AipServiceTemplateProperty -TemplateID "aa017b4b-18a0-41d1-8a13-5ddd651d6c40" -Status Published

Step 4: Verify the Change

Get-AipServiceTemplate -TemplateID "aa017b4b-18a0-41d1-8a13-5ddd651d6c40" | FL Name, Status

You should now see Status : Published.

Step 5: Wait for Replication

Changes take 1–2 hours to sync across all Microsoft 365 services. After that:

• Ask users to restart Outlook and Office apps

• Test applying the label to an email and a file again

Conclusion

The "Failed to get template" error (NDR 550 5.7.162 in email, or unresponsive label clicks in Office files) is caused by an archived Azure RMS template that a sensitivity label still depends on. Publishing the template via the Set-AipServiceTemplateProperty PowerShell cmdlet resolves the issue for both Outlook and Office desktop apps within 1–2 hours. Regular auditing of template status prevents recurrence.