# Message forwarding


Use this feature to forward successfully processed messages from an endpoint to a specific destination endpoint for additional processing. Forwarding messages can be particularly useful in [complex upgrade scenarios](/nservicebus/messaging/moving-handlers.md#how-to-move-handlers-between-endpoints-how-to-ensure-that-the-messages-get-to-the-destinationendpoint).

## Forwarding a message from the handler

Individual messages can be forwarded directly from the handler:

<!-- snippet: ForwardingMessageFromHandler -->

```cs
await context.ForwardCurrentMessageTo("destinationQueue@machine");
```

<!-- endsnippet -->

> [!WARNING]
> Forwarding should not be used to abort message processing in the handler. Messages cannot be forwarded to the `error` queue as the required metadata for failed messages would not be present in the forwarded message's metadata. Attempting to use forwarding as a mechanism to abort processing can result in partial updates.
> 
> Instead, throw an exception in the message handler. This ensures that no [ghost messages](/nservicebus/concepts/glossary.md#ghost-message) are transmitted and any transactional state changes are rolled back.
> 
> To prevent unnecessary retries, declare an [unrecoverable exception](/nservicebus/recoverability/index.md#unrecoverable-exceptions) or create a [custom recoverability policy](/nservicebus/recoverability/custom-recoverability-policy.md).

## Auditing vs. Forwarding

[Auditing](/nservicebus/operations/auditing.md) and Forwarding are very similar. Both send a copy of the processed message to another queue. The main difference is the intended usage scenarios.

Auditing is an implicit per-message operation configured at the endpoint level. An audit message is automatically enriched with additional [information regarding its processing](/nservicebus/operations/auditing.md#message-headers) for ingestion by [ServiceControl Audits](/servicecontrol/audit-instances/index.md).

Message forwarding is an explicit per-message operation from your handler, enabling additional custom processing for your system needs.

The forwarded messages do **not** contain the [audit message headers](/nservicebus/messaging/headers.md#audit-headers).