A doctor’s office, an insurer, or a government agency wants a document by fax, and you may not have touched a fax machine in years. You can send a fax three ways today, and which one fits depends on what you have in front of you:
- From a fax machine, if you have one connected to a phone line.
- At a counter, in a print shop, an office-supply store, or a public library.
- Online, from your computer or phone, with no machine and no phone line.
Before you start: what you need
- The document: on paper for a machine or a counter, or as a file (PDF, Word, or a photo) to send online.
- The recipient’s full fax number, including the area code. Fax numbers look just like phone numbers, so check that you have the fax line and not the main office line.
- A cover sheet, if the fax is going to a big office. It tells the person at the other end who the pages are for. A fax cover sheet template takes a minute to fill in.
1. How to send a fax from a fax machine
Office fax machines and home all-in-one printers work the same way. They need a working phone line plugged into the jack marked “Line” on the back. Power alone is not enough.
- Load the pages. Use the document feeder on top for several pages, or the glass for a single page. A small page icon on the tray shows whether pages go face up or face down.
- Press Fax. On an all-in-one printer, this switches the machine out of copy or scan mode.
- Type the fax number on the keypad (dialing rules below).
- Press Start. Some machines call it Send, Black Start, or Mono Start. Pick black and white. The receiving machine almost always prints in black and white.
- Wait for the machine to finish. It dials, then makes a burst of screeching tones. That noise is normal: it means the two machines connected and are agreeing how to talk. Then the pages feed through one at a time.
- Keep the confirmation report (more on that below).
How to dial a fax number in the US
A fax machine dials the same way a phone does, so the same rules apply.
- For a local number, include the area code. Many US area codes now require all 10 digits even for local calls.
- For long distance, dial 1, then the area code, then the number. Toll-free fax numbers (800, 888, 877 and so on) work the same way.
- From an office phone system, you may need to dial 9 first to get an outside line. If the machine dials too fast after the 9, add a pause with the Redial/Pause key. It usually shows as a dash or a “P” on the screen.
- For an international fax, dial 011 (the US exit code), then the country code, then the number, usually without its leading zero (Italy is the common exception). The fax number format guide has examples by country.
How to read the fax confirmation report
The confirmation report, also called a transmission report, is a printed page with the date, time, number dialed, page count, and a result. If the result says OK, the pages reached the fax machine at the other end. Busy, No Answer, or an error code means the fax did not go through. Try again.
Many machines print it only when something fails, unless you turn it on. Look for a setting called Fax Confirmation, Transmission Report, or Transmission Verification Report. Keep it with your copy of the document. If an office says your fax never arrived, it is your proof.
2. How to send a fax at a store or library
If you do not have a machine, a counter will send the fax for you.
- Call ahead to check that the fax machine is working and the store is open.
- Bring the printed pages in order, the full fax number, and a cover sheet if you need one.
- Use the self-service machine or hand the pages to staff, depending on the store.
- Pay per page, and ask for the confirmation sheet before you leave.
The catch: you pay for every page, international faxes cost more, and the counter closes when the store does.
Where to send a fax in the US
The UPS Store, FedEx Office, Staples, and Office Depot all send faxes, and so do many public libraries. CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Target, and the post office do not offer public fax.
When we checked prices in October 2026, a local fax at the big chains cost $1.00 to $1.89 for the first page, with more for long distance. The first page of an international fax cost $3.00 to $7.99. Libraries often charge $0.25 to $1.00 a page. Prices vary by location, especially at franchised stores.
Each store guide has the prices we checked and what to expect at the counter: The UPS Store, FedEx Office, Staples, Office Depot, and the public library. If you were heading to a pharmacy, the CVS guide lists the nearest places that do fax. The full list is on our fax near me page.
3. How to send a fax online from your computer or phone
An online fax service dials the recipient’s fax machine over the internet for you. With pay per fax there is no account and no subscription: you pay for one fax and you are done.
- Open the fax form in any browser, on a computer or a phone.
- Choose the destination country and type the fax number. The form adds the country code and any dialing prefix for you.
- Enter your email address. That is where the confirmation goes.
- Upload the document. PDF, Word (DOC, DOCX), TIF, JPG, PNG, and Markdown files all work. Several files are combined into one fax.
- Add a cover page if you want one, typed right in the form.
- Preview the fax and check the price. The preview shows exactly what the recipient will see.
- Pay by card or PayPal, and send. Your card is charged only if the fax goes through.
When the fax is delivered, you get an email with a copy of what you sent. Save that email with your records. It is your confirmation report. With PayPerFax, the first 3 pages cost $2 and each additional page costs $0.75.
If the document is on paper and you have no scanner, use your phone. The Notes app on an iPhone and Google Drive on Android both have a document scanner. The guide to sending a fax from your phone walks through both, and there is a separate guide to faxing from an iPhone. For a file already on your desktop, see how to send a fax from your computer.
How to fax a document so it arrives readable
A fax is black and white and lower resolution than your screen.
- Send a PDF when you can. Text and signatures stay sharper than in a photo. Here is how to fax a PDF.
- If you photograph a page, shoot it straight on, in good light, with all four edges in the frame.
- Skip colored paper, highlighter, and very small print. They come out gray or blurry.
- If the page order matters, number the pages. Check the preview or the confirmation copy to make sure every page went through.
- If a form needs a signature and you have no printer, you can still fax without a printer.
Which way should you send your fax?
If you are standing next to a working fax machine, use it. Nothing is faster. If the document only exists on paper and you are passing a print shop or a library anyway, the counter makes sense.
For everyone else, sending online is the shorter road. For a one-page local fax a counter can be a little cheaper. For two pages or more, or anything long distance or international, online usually costs less, and you skip the drive, the line, and the store’s hours. You can send at 11 p.m. on a Sunday from your kitchen table, and you still get a dated confirmation.
When you are ready, open the fax form, upload the document, and type the number.