How to Send a Fax via Email - Outlook

To fax through email via Outlook offers more ease and flexibility. Even without a fax machine, you can use your existing Microsoft Outlook account. Your inbox now lets you send faxes as easily as sending an email.

This guide shows you how to send a fax from email using Microsoft Outlook and other helpful tips for securely sending documents using your laptop, smartphone, or tablet.

Last updated: November 20, 2025

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Can I Send a Fax From Outlook?

Yes, it’s absolutely possible to send a fax from Outlook. Thanks to services like iFax, you can utilize your email to send faxes, integrating the traditional fax technology into your digital workflow.

Here’s how to do it:

Set up a Pro account on iFax.
In Outlook, choose New Email to create a new message.
Indicate where to send it by typing in [faxnumber]@ifaxapp.com..
The recipient’s fax phone number must be at least 10-digits with the country code and area code.
Add your cover page subject and message.
Attach the document to be faxed in one of the following formats: PDF, DOC, DOCX, JPG, or PNG.
Click the send button. Wait for the confirmation message to be sent to your email.

How to Send a Fax via Email – Outlook

In seven easy steps, here’s how to send a fax from Outlook. For it to work, you need a registered iFax account or another online fax service that supports faxing via email (i.e., Microsoft Outlook).

Your fax service will handle all the behind-the-scenes processes, allowing you to send a fax from email using Outlook.

Go to ifaxapp.com. Log in to your existing Pro account or sign up as a new user. Note: You need a Pro account to access the fax-by-email feature. Otherwise, you won’t be able to send and receive faxes directly via email.
Open your Outlook account and click New Mail to compose a new email message.
In the ‘To’ field, type the receiver’s fax number followed by ‘@ifaxapp.com’, as shown in the image below.
When entering your recipient’s local or international fax number in the To field, make sure it follows the correct format (e.g., 12121234567@ifaxapp.com).
You may also add a cover page comment in the message body, which will appear at the beginning of the fax. If you’re sending a confidential document, your cover page comment should include a fax disclaimer or confidentiality notice.
Next, upload the PDF, DOC, DOCX, JPG, or PNG document as an email attachment. Your document should not go over the 20MB file size limit.
Click Send. A confirmation message will appear in your Outlook inbox stating the status of your fax.

How To Receive A Fax Through Outlook

Receiving fax through Outlook is easy. The first thing to remember is that you must have an existing online fax service like iFax to make this work.

If you wish to learn how to receive faxes through Outlook, here’s what you need to do:

Set up an iFax account. In doing so, you’ll be assigned a fax number. You don’t need an existing phone line or a traditional fax machine, and there’s no need to connect to a fax server.
You may also port your current fax number to iFax for free. Here’s a separate guide on how to port your existing fax number.
Tell your sender to address the fax to the number you created using iFax.
Open your Outlook account. Here, you will see that your fax has been delivered to your email address inbox.
Open the message and view the attached file. Just like any email attachment, you may view your fax using your browser or default document viewer.

That’s it! Through Outlook, you can conveniently receive fax messages using only your phone, tablet, or computer. It’s also way faster than driving to the nearest fax center.Set up an iFax account. In doing so, you’ll be assigned a fax number. You don’t need an existing phone line or a traditional fax machine, and there’s no need to connect to a fax server.Open your Outlook account. Here, you will see that your fax has been delivered to your email address inbox.

Is It Safe to Fax From Email Using Outlook?

Yes, sending a fax with your Outlook email is safe if you also use an online fax service that provides encryption. Why is it necessary to use an internet fax service? While Outlook has an encryption feature for emails and attachments, it does not prevent recipients from forwarding your messages.

When you send a fax through iFax, your faxes are secured with 256-bit encryption, which is the same level of encryption used by banks and the military. This robust fax solution ensures that your data is adequately protected against cyber threats.

With encrypted fax messages, you can prevent the unauthorized viewing and sharing of confidential information. So even if there’s a breach, your encrypted data will only appear as gibberish to anyone who does not have access to your decryption key.

How to send a fax through Outlook safely

To send a fax through Outlook safely, the best way is to use a trusted email-to-fax service. It also helps to observe and implement precautionary practices such as verifying recipient fax numbers, checking delivery confirmations, and keeping digital records of your faxes. By following these steps, you can confidently fax sensitive documents using your Outlook account.

What Are the Benefits of Faxing With Outlook?

Sending a fax by email is way more convenient than doing so with a fax machine. If you use an email service like Outlook, you can fully utilize its electronic messaging capabilities to streamline your document workflows.

Here are some reasons why you should consider faxing using Microsoft Outlook:

Convenient

Faxing through Outlook enables you to send and receive faxes despite not having access to a dedicated faxing app or software. You can also fax from anywhere, using any device. So even if you’re away from the office, you can still send an important document without having to look for a fax machine.

Sustainable

Instead of wasting paper and other precious resources, you can switch to paperless faxing. Aside from helping the planet recover from extreme global warming, you can also minimize your operating expenses. Sending a fax by email contributes to a cleaner environment while ensuring the safety of your transmitted documents, making it a win-win solution.

Traceable

Another benefit of faxing through Outlook is that you can easily keep track of all your sent and received faxes. Just like your emails, you can manage and organize your faxes in a centralized online storage. You can also use audit logs to document your faxing activity.

Online faxing benefits professionals and business owners, particularly those who need to meet Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) standards.

Secure

Using Microsoft Outlook with iFax provides an extra layer of protection, as the former supports S/MIME and Microsoft 365 Message encryption. Encrypting an email in Outlook converts the plain text into scrambled ciphers. The only way for the message to be readable is if the recipient has a private key. This prevents unauthorized persons from accessing, altering, or sharing your confidential information.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to send a fax via Outlook for free

To fax from Outlook email accounts for free, you need a third-party online fax service that offers a free tier plan or trial period. iFax provides the best option with its free 3-day access to full Pro features, including seamless fax integration with any of your existing email services.

Can you send a fax from Outlook without installing the Windows Fax driver?

Yes, definitely. The easiest and quickest way to fax through Outlook without installing fax software or a driver is email faxing. You don’t need to set up or configure anything in your Outlook account. It’s like emailing a document, but to a fax number.

Many services, including iFax, offer email faxing.

How to send a fax in Outlook via Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 provides quick access to popular Office applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. From its app launcher or portal, open the Outlook application and follow the exact steps listed above in the “How to Send a Fax via Email – Outlook” section.

If you’d like to learn how to send a fax via email besides Outlook, these step-by-step guides can help:

iFax Is the Best Way to Fax via Email Using Outlook

Whether you’re looking to fax by email for occasional or business purposes, iFax is a trusted online fax service that delivers your documents safely and on time. Its “Email to Fax” lets you fax quickly and easily using any existing Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or other email services. In just a few clicks, you can also sync your fax folders to Dropbox or OneDrive.

With iFax, you have more reasons to fax: