How to Send a Fax From Gmail

See our email to fax guide for the shared addressing, payment and attachment rules. To compare browser, email and hardware options, read how to fax from a computer.

Send from your browser instead, or follow the Gmail steps below. Sending starts at $0.99 for up to ten document pages, with $0 if delivery fails. Instructions and gateway limits were checked on 8 October 2026.

Can Gmail send a fax without an add-on?

Yes, using an email-to-fax service. Gmail handles your message and attachments. The gateway converts those attachments to fax pages and places the telephone call. Your recipient can use a physical fax machine or an online fax number; they do not need Gmail or a SingleFax account.

An ordinary email address is not a fax number. Typing a number into Gmail's To field will not dial it. With this gateway, To identifies the service, Subject identifies the fax destination, and the attachments contain the pages.

You also do not need your own receiving fax number to send. Use a callback phone number or email on the cover sheet when appropriate. If the recipient will fax a reply, arrange a receiving number before transmitting and keep it active for the reply window.

What you need before composing

Prepare the final signed file, the recipient's current fax number and access to the Gmail inbox that will receive the payment link and result. You need an internet connection, but no modem, telephone cable or printer.

A PDF is usually the easiest format to inspect. Check the saved file rather than assuming a Word or Google Docs editing view matches its final pages. Include all required signatures, attachments and continuation sheets. Keep text dark, margins clear and pages in the intended order.

Get the fax number from the recipient's official contact page, form instructions or a current letter. A voice telephone number that appears alongside a fax number is a different destination. For IRS documents, use our official-number directory and check the form-specific routing rules.

Fax from Gmail on a computer, step by step

1. Compose a new message

Open Gmail and choose Compose. Use a new message rather than forwarding a long conversation with old attachments. This makes it easier to inspect exactly which files will become the fax packet.

Address it to send@fax.delivery. Check the spelling before sending. Gmail does not need a special fax setting, and you do not have to install a marketplace add-on for this workflow.

2. Put the destination in Subject

Enter the fax number with its country code. For example, +1 202 555 0123 illustrates the format for a US destination; it is a fictional example, not a number to use.

Do not add a telephone extension, an office outside-line prefix such as 9, or an international access prefix such as 011. Those belong to particular telephone systems, not this gateway's international number format. If the organization supplied an extension, ask for its direct fax number.

See what a fax number means for local and international formats.

3. Attach the actual document

Use Gmail's attachment control to select the file from your computer. SingleFax supports PDFs, Word documents and supported images, among other formats. Keep the set within ten files and the ten MB email limit.

Gmail's attachment limit and the gateway's limit are different. Google's attachment documentation explains that an oversized message can become a Drive link. That link is not the document payload the fax gateway needs. Download and attach the actual file, or use the browser upload for a larger packet.

If a cover sheet is required, attach a completed one in the intended order and review the resulting packet. A cover merged into a PDF is part of its document page count. SingleFax's web composer offers a generated cover excluded from billed document pages; that is a separate browser feature. Choose a cover sheet if you need department routing or a callback reference.

4. Send, then read the gateway reply

Choose Send after the attachments finish loading. Look for SingleFax's reply in the same mailbox. If it is missing, check Spam and your organization's email filtering, and confirm the message actually left Gmail's Outbox.

Review the destination, converted packet where presented, page count, price and payment terms. Stop and correct a wrong number before checkout. An email in Gmail's Sent folder proves that you sent an email; it does not prove that a fax was transmitted.

5. Complete payment and keep the result

Open the payment link and complete checkout. The fax transmission begins after this step. You pay $0 on failed delivery. A bank authorization can remain pending while the bank releases it; it is different from a captured payment.

Wait for the final result email. Keep the delivery confirmation with the signed document and any reference number. Delivery confirms a successful fax transmission, rather than the recipient's approval of an application or a promise that a staff member has reviewed it.

The email-to-fax product page explains the gateway in more detail. For Outlook, use the separate Outlook instructions.

Fax from the Gmail app on iPhone or Android

The gateway address, subject and payment process are the same on a phone. Compose a new message in the Gmail app, enter the address and destination, and use the attachment control to choose the saved document. Current Android attachment options include Files; older releases can show different labels. Select an actual file, not merely a link to a cloud document.

Save a scan before you start composing so it is easy to find. On iPhone, use the Notes or Files document scanner; on Android, Google Drive offers document scanning. Inspect the resulting PDF, including signatures and page order, before attaching it.

Keep the Gmail app available for the gateway reply, or open the same mailbox in a browser. Switching accounts between composing and checking the reply is an easy way to miss the payment link. On a shared phone, confirm you are using the intended sender's account.

Use the full iPhone guide or Android guide for scanning and browser alternatives. If mobile attachments are awkward, the phone hub compares the available routes.

Fax a file from Google Drive or Google Docs

Open the file in Drive or its editing app and export or download the document. For a Google Docs form or cover sheet, PDF preserves the finished layout more predictably than a link to the editable document. Open the download and check it before attaching it to Gmail.

Google's Drive attachment instructions distinguish links from attachments. A sharing permission that lets another person read a file does not turn that link into an email attachment. This is why changing a file to “anyone with the link” is unnecessary for this fax workflow: attach the actual export instead.

Our Google Drive fax guide covers the download-and-upload route. For reusable routing pages, see fax cover sheets in Google Docs.

Receive faxes in Gmail

Get a free US fax number for 24 hours, with no card required, and use your Gmail address for delivery. Give the sender that number, including country code when needed. Their fax arrives as a PDF you can open in Gmail on your computer or phone.

Choose the duration around the expected reply, rather than the time when you send the request. A free 24-hour number may be too short for a government agency or insurer to respond. A 30-day number costs $4.99. Ongoing options include monthly plans and a $97 lifetime number; lifetime includes starter credit rather than unlimited fax traffic.

Do not assume an expired temporary number still belongs to you. Keep it active while an office has it on file, and update your contact details if the number changes.

Free receiving requires a verified email, with one active free number at a time, up to three claims per rolling 30 days and 25 free inbound pages across those claims. Extra faxes may be held for payment to view. The free tier is not HIPAA; the $4.99 30-day product includes its first received fax, with additional receiving charged under its terms.

Does Google have a fax service?

Gmail, Drive and Docs help you prepare and email documents. In this workflow, SingleFax supplies the fax gateway. A Gmail address or Google account is not itself a receiving fax number, and Google Voice is not used to place or receive these faxes.

If you want a reply by fax, obtain a number from a fax provider rather than listing a voice or voicemail number as your fax destination. If an organization offers its own secure portal, follow its submission instructions; you may not need fax at all.

Is faxing from Gmail secure enough for medical records?

Ordinary email to send@fax.delivery is not SingleFax's HIPAA sending route. For protected health information handled by a covered entity or business associate, use HIPAA Secure fax on the web, starting at $6.50, with its electronic BAA and applicable safeguards.

Do not rely on a confidentiality sentence, Gmail login or PDF password to establish HIPAA compliance. Password-protected documents can also prevent fax conversion. Choose the appropriate service and submission process before attaching PHI.

Troubleshooting Gmail faxing

For a general sending checklist, read how to send a fax. Ready to proceed? Compose the gateway email, or upload the same document in your browser and review the quote before sending.