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For legal documents, fax wins on proof of transmission. A fax confirmation page shows the number dialed, the time, and the page count, a cleaner trail than an email's sent folder. Email wins on clarity, since a scan keeps resolution and color. The right choice depends on what the court, agency, or other side accepts, so check their rules first.
This is general information, not legal advice.
A fax confirmation page is a machine-generated record of a completed call: number, time, page count. An email's sent folder proves you sent something, not that it arrived readable, and headers can be spoofed or stripped by servers along the way. Courts and agencies that still run fax intake lines often accept the confirmation page as filing proof, which is why lawyers keep fax in the toolkit for deadline-sensitive documents.
Clarity, color, and searchable text. A scanned contract keeps signatures, stamps, and marginal notes legible in a way a black-and-white fax pass cannot match. Email also carries the full document as a file, so the other side can print a clean copy instead of working from a degraded fax printout. For documents where every word matters and both sides have email, the scan is usually the better record.
Email also keeps a searchable record: the file name, the sent date, and the thread stay attached to the document, while a fax printout needs manual filing to be findable later. For a long contract with many exhibits, that searchability matters when someone needs one clause months later. The trade is that email attachments can be altered before forwarding, so a scan proves less about the exact version sent.
Many courts, agencies, and firms state an accepted method in their instructions: fax only, email only, or either. Follow that instruction even if you prefer the other method, because a document sent the wrong way may not count as filed. Where both are accepted, fax for the proof trail on deadline day and email for the clean readable copy, and send both with a note saying so.
LetterAgent's fax service is in testing, with activation still in progress. You describe the fax to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and pay once through Stripe. It handles US and Canadian fax numbers only, and it cannot receive faxes. For a filing deadline, use the route the court or agency states in its instructions, and keep the confirmation page.
| Method | Proof of sending | Clarity | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fax | Confirmation page with number, time, page count | Black and white, lower resolution | Deadline filings, proof of transmission |
| Scanned email | Sent folder and headers, weaker proof | Full color and resolution | Clean copies, detailed documents |
| Both | Strongest combined record | Best of both | High-stakes filings where both are accepted |
Ready to fax it? Fax with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is sent.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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