Free fax cover sheet

A good cover sheet answers four questions at a glance: who the fax is for, who sent it, how many pages to expect and what it is about.

Leave out anything private. The cover page is the one page everyone near a shared fax machine can read; the details belong on the pages behind it.

Offices that receive many faxes sort them by the cover page. These habits help yours reach the right desk:

• Keep it to one plain page: dark backgrounds and large logos print as black blocks and slow the fax down.
• Name a person or a department, not only the company.
• Count the pages after you add the cover page, so the recipient can tell if one is missing.
• Give a phone number for questions. A fax sent with FaxJet comes from FaxJet’s line, so the recipient can only reach you through what you write.
• Use the recipient’s language when you can: the sheet’s labels come in nine languages.

Medical practices, pharmacies, insurers, law firms, banks, schools and government offices receive many faxes on one machine. A cover sheet tells them where yours goes, and many ask for one in their instructions.

Faxes with health or financial information usually carry a confidentiality notice on the cover. A notice doesn’t make a fax secure or compliant by itself: the rules depend on who sends and who receives. FaxJet doesn’t sign business associate agreements, so check with the recipient before you fax records that require one.

Paste this into the message field, or adapt it:

“This fax is meant only for the person or office named above and may contain private information. If you received it by mistake, please tell the sender at the number above and destroy the pages.”

A cover sheet is a short form: it routes the fax and lists the pages. A cover letter is a full letter that explains what you are sending and why, such as a note to an insurer about a claim.

Most faxes need only the sheet. When you have more to say than two sentences, send the cover sheet first and put your letter right behind it, as the first page of the document.

The PDF works on any fax machine too. Print it on plain white paper and put it on top of your pages. Count every sheet, cover included, before you write the page count.

Faxing the same document to several offices? Make one cover sheet for each recipient, since the To line changes, and keep a copy of each one with its fax receipt.

Sending with FaxJet? Switch on Add a cover page and fill in the same fields: FaxJet puts the sheet in front of your document and counts it as a page. It is written in the language of the page you send from. See how to send a fax from a computer or from an iPhone.