Proof that your fax was delivered
Two PDF documents, what is written on them, where their value ends and how to present them.
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Each fax can come with two PDFs: one issued and e-mailed when you confirm the request, the other, a transmission receipt, once the receiving machine has accepted the fax. Ordering them costs €2.99, and the charge applies only if the fax is delivered. Between them they record that a fax to a given number was requested and completed at a stated time. They do not show that a person read it.
How and when you receive them
You can add the receipts at the time of sending and, provided the fax has not failed, from its tracking page. You pay by card through Stripe. Initially your card is only authorised for €2.99, which includes 20% VAT because the service is run from France. With a document of two pages or more, you also pay the €3.99 sending fee. A single-page fax stays free.
The request receipt is e-mailed to you once you confirm through the link in your confirmation e-mail. It describes the situation at that moment: the request is recorded and validated, and the fax is waiting to be sent. Nothing has been transmitted yet, and the footer of the document says so.
The transmission receipt exists only once the fax has been delivered. It reaches you as an e-mail attachment and may also be downloaded from the tracking page. This is the moment the amount is actually taken from your card. If the line is busy, nobody answers or the far end does not respond like a fax machine, the authorisation is released and an e-mail lets you know.
Content of each PDF, field by field
The two receipts share one A4 layout. Just the title, the key sentence, the date displayed and the footer differ.
| Field | Request receipt | Transmission receipt |
|---|---|---|
| Key sentence | When the request was recorded (date and time), the fax subject, and the fact that it is queued | Fax subject, date and time of the completed transmission |
| Sender | Name and e-mail address entered in the form | Identical |
| Recipient | Name, number as entered and destination country | Identical |
| Reference | A unique identifier for the fax | The same identifier, which ties the two documents together |
| Status | Status when the request was validated | Final status: delivered to the receiving machine, or transmitted without any reply from the machine |
| Submitted at | Date and time the form was submitted | Identical |
| Time zone | Central European Time, the zone being printed beside the time | Identical |
| Footer | Reminder that the document only confirms that the request was accepted | Statement by the issuer, CaptainFax |
What the transmission receipt records
During a fax call, the two machines first agree on a speed and a resolution, then the receiver acknowledges the pages it gets. When this exchange ends normally, our system records the “delivered” status, and the receipt reproduces it with the date and time.
The document therefore establishes three things: a named sender requested a fax, a call to the stated fax number was completed, and it took place at a particular date and time. Where a deadline is at stake, the time is often what matters most.
One status deserves attention: transmitted, no reply from the machine. All pages were sent, but the far end never returned its closing confirmation. A receipt is issued nonetheless, because the transmission did happen, and it shows that status unchanged. Read the Status line before you file the document.
What it cannot establish
The receipt says nothing about what happens once the line is closed: who collected the pages, whether the tray had any paper, whether the recipient's system redirected the fax to a mailbox. Nor does it prove that the number is held by the person you wanted to reach; it simply repeats the number as you typed it.
It does not contain your document either. The uploaded file is deleted after sending, so unless you kept the original, the receipt proves that a fax with a certain subject was sent, not its content. The subject, printed on the cover sheet and on both receipts, is what ties the records together.
Using the receipts if the fax is disputed
Whether you are replying to a supplier, a landlord or an administration, hand over a coherent set instead of one page: the document you sent, the transmission receipt, the request receipt, and anything showing the number was right, such as the letterhead, a contract, or a capture of the official web page as it stood that day.
Leave the receipts unaltered, and store the original files with the e-mails that delivered them, because an e-mail's arrival time supports the timestamp. Mention the receipt reference in your letter or submission so each record points to the same transmission.
How much weight such evidence carries depends on the jurisdiction and the circumstances. A transmission report may be accepted as evidence in some cases and set aside in others, and a receipt gives no legal guarantee. This is general information, not legal advice: if a lot is at stake, consult a lawyer.
Fax receipt or registered letter?
A registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt shows that an envelope reached an address and somebody signed for it. A fax receipt shows a quasi-instant technical exchange between two machines. The two prove different things, and neither can stand in for the other when a law, a contract or an authority's instructions call for a specific method of notification.
If the rules call for a registered letter or delivery in person, use that. Fax remains useful when speed matters, to send a document ahead of a posted original, or when the recipient asks for fax in writing.
Questions about receipts
- What happens if the fax fails?
- You pay nothing for the receipts: the €2.99 authorisation is released and an e-mail confirms it. If you send the fax again, you can choose the option again for the new transmission.
- Will the recipient know I ordered receipts?
- No. The receipts go only to your e-mail address. The recipient receives the cover sheet generated from the form followed by your document, with no hint of the option and no advertising.
- Why is the time not in my time zone?
- Receipts use Central European Time, the time of the country where the service is run, and the zone is printed next to every time. To convert it to your local time, add or subtract the difference, for instance one hour behind in the United Kingdom or six hours ahead of New York.
Keep exploring
A few pages that go well with the one you just read.
- Where your document is safe, where it is exposed, and your options.
- Little data collected, short retention, and clear guidance on faxing personal information.
- Brief, straightforward answers to what people wonder before they send a fax, while it goes out, and once it is done.
- Three prices in total. You know what you pay before you confirm anything.
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