Can I Fax Something Through Email? Yes — Here's How

By David Thompson · Published August 2, 2025 · Updated September 15, 2026 · 11 min read

Yes — you can fax something through email. You don't need a fax machine, a phone line, or any special hardware. All you need is your regular email account (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or any other) and an email-to-fax service that bridges the gap between the internet and the traditional phone network.

This guide explains exactly how it works, walks you through the steps in Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo Mail, and helps you pick the right approach for your situation.

What Is Email to Fax?

Email to fax is a service that lets you send and receive faxes using ordinary email, with no fax machine or phone line required. (It's also written email-to-fax.) To send, you email your document to the recipient's fax number at your provider's gateway domain, like 12125550147@send.mfax.to. To receive, faxes sent to your virtual number arrive in your inbox as PDF attachments.

In other words, your everyday inbox becomes a two-way fax line. It works with any email provider — Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or iCloud — and the recipient's machine prints a standard fax, with no idea it began as an email.

How Email-to-Fax Works

Email-to-fax is a bridge technology that connects the internet to the traditional telephone network. Here is what happens under the hood when you send a fax through email:

1. You send an email to a special address like 12125550147@send.mfax.to with your document attached.
2. The service receives your email and checks that the sender is allowed to fax on that account.
3. Your document is converted from PDF (or DOCX, JPG, etc.) into a fax-compatible format — typically Group 3 or Group 4 compression.
4. The signal is transmitted over the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or via the T.38 fax-over-IP protocol to the recipient's fax number.
5. The recipient's fax machine prints the document, just as it would for any other fax.
6. You receive a status email once the fax is delivered — or a failure notice if it isn't.

The whole process typically takes a few minutes, depending on document length and the recipient's line.

What You Need to Fax Something Through Email

Faxing through email requires very little setup:

• An email account — Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, or any other
• An email-to-fax service — with mFax, that is an mFax Business organization; the send.mfax.to gateway is included on every Business plan
• Your document — saved as PDF (strongly recommended) or another supported format
• The recipient's fax number — including country code (e.g., 1 for US/Canada)

That's it. No fax machine. No phone line. No special software.

How to Fax Something Through Email: Step by Step

How to Fax from Gmail

Gmail is the most popular email client for faxing because it's free, browser-based, and accessible from any device.

1. Log into Gmail in any browser or the Gmail mobile app — using the address you sign in to mFax with.
2. Click Compose to open a new email.
3. In To, enter the fax number address: 12125550147@send.mfax.to
4. In Subject, enter a brief description of the document (it becomes the cover-sheet subject).
5. Click the paperclip icon to attach your PDF.
6. Click Send.

Tip: save 12125550147@send.mfax.to as a Google Contact named "Dr. Alvarez — fax" and Gmail will auto-complete it next time.

For a full walkthrough including screenshots and Gmail-specific tips, see our complete guide to sending a fax from Gmail.

How to Fax from Outlook

The process in Microsoft Outlook (desktop, web, or mobile) is identical:

1. Open Outlook and click New Email.
2. In the To field, enter 12125550147@send.mfax.to.
3. Add a subject and attach your PDF.
4. Click Send.

Outlook-specific tip: if your organization runs Microsoft 365 with Exchange, create a shared contact for each fax number you use regularly with the @send.mfax.to address pre-filled. Your whole team can then fax from the address book without memorizing the format. See our Outlook fax guide for detailed setup instructions.

How to Fax from Yahoo Mail

Yahoo Mail works the same way — there's nothing special about the email client. The fax gateway only cares about the sender, the recipient address format and the attachment.

1. Compose a new email in Yahoo Mail, signed in with the address you use for mFax.
2. To field: 12125550147@send.mfax.to
3. Attach your file and click Send.

This method also works with Apple Mail, ProtonMail, Zoho Mail, and any other email client that supports attachments. Our Yahoo Mail fax guide has the details.

Can You Receive a Fax by Email?

Yes. The reverse also works — incoming faxes can be delivered directly to your email inbox as PDF attachments.

When you sign up for an email-to-fax service, you receive a virtual fax number (a real phone number connected to the fax network). When anyone sends a fax to your virtual number, the service:

1. Receives the incoming fax signal
2. Converts it to a PDF or TIFF file
3. Emails the file to your registered address as an attachment

You can then open, download, print, or forward the fax — all from your inbox. No fax machine required.

What File Types Can You Fax Through Email?

With mFax Business the gateway accepts the same files as uploading in the app — up to 60 pages per fax and 20 MB per file:

Recommendation: Always convert to PDF before faxing. It guarantees the recipient sees exactly what you intend — correct fonts, margins, and page layout. If you're scanning paper first, our scan and fax guide shows how to get the cleanest result.

Is Faxing Through Email Secure?

Email-to-fax security depends on the provider you choose. Here's what to look for:

With mFax Business, an emailed fax leaves over the same encrypted transport as a fax sent from the app and lands in the same audit trail, and every Business plan comes with a signed BAA. One habit worth keeping: put sensitive content in the attachment, not in the subject or body — the email leg from your inbox to the gateway is governed by your email provider, not by the fax service. See our HIPAA compliant fax guide for a full checklist and our analysis of whether online fax is truly secure.

Free Email-to-Fax Options

Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo have no built-in fax button, so faxing from email always runs through a fax service. A few third-party services let you do it for free within tight limits. mFax is not one of them: its email-to-fax gateway is part of mFax Business, from about $9/mo, and emailed pages count against your plan like any other send.

Free limits change often, so check the provider's current terms before you rely on one. Whatever you pick, plan around three things:

• Page caps. Allowances are daily, monthly or one-time — once they run out, you wait or pay.
• Country coverage. The no-account options only reach US and Canadian numbers.
• No BAA. Free tiers don't come with a signed Business Associate Agreement, so never send patient records through them. Every mFax Business plan includes one.

Only have one fax to send? The mFax app is the quicker route — it's app faxing, not email: upload the PDF and send in under 2 minutes, free for 7 days. For a wider roundup, see our best free online fax services.

Email-to-Fax vs. a Dedicated Fax App: Which Should You Use?

Both approaches work well. The right choice depends on your workflow.

If your practice or office already works out of a desktop inbox and the documents are PDFs, email-to-fax is the most frictionless option — no extra app, no new interface for anyone to learn, and every send from every colleague ends up in one history.

If you have one fax to send, or need to scan a paper document with your phone camera, the app is the better fit. It lets you fax from your phone in under 2 minutes, whether you're scanning a contract on the go or uploading a saved PDF.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Even though email-to-fax is straightforward, a few things can go wrong. Here are the most common issues and how to fix them:

Still stuck? Our guide on fax not going through covers the most common causes and fixes, and how to fax from a computer covers the alternatives if email isn't an option.

Common Questions About Faxing Through Email

Does the recipient need to do anything special?

No. The recipient's fax machine receives a standard fax signal. They don't need to know — or care — that you sent it from an email. It prints exactly like any other incoming fax.

Can I fax to international numbers through email?

Yes. Include the full international dialing code in the fax number, without the leading + or 00. For example, a UK number +44 20 7946 0958 becomes 442079460958@send.mfax.to. See our international faxing guide for country-specific dialing formats.

Can my whole team fax from their own inboxes?

Yes. With mFax Business, every member of the organization sends from their own login address, and all of those faxes land in the organization's shared history. There are no shared credentials to hand around and no sender list to maintain — inviting someone to the organization is the whole setup.

Do I get a cover page when faxing by email?

With mFax Business the email subject becomes the cover-sheet subject and the body becomes the note; leave both empty and no cover page is added. For professional templates, use our free fax cover sheet generator.

Summary

Faxing something through email is straightforward:

1. Set up an email-to-fax service (with mFax, an mFax Business organization)
2. Prepare your document — PDF is safest, Office files and images are converted
3. Compose a new email to [fax number]@send.mfax.to — digits only, country code first
4. Attach the file, use the subject and body as your cover page (or leave them blank), and send
5. Wait for the status email

No fax machine. No phone line. No special equipment. Your regular inbox is all you need.