How to receive faxes online

Updated October 25, 2026 · PlusFax team

Get a fax number that delivers to your email as a PDF. How online fax numbers work, local versus toll-free, porting your existing number, and what a plan should include.

How an online fax number works

A fax number is a phone number that a fax machine answers. With an online service the machine is ours: the number is routed to our carrier, the carrier answers each call, receives the pages and converts them to a PDF, and the PDF is delivered to your dashboard and your email. To the person sending, nothing is different. They dial the number from any fax machine or service in the world and get a normal confirmation.

Because the number has to be answered around the clock, receiving is a subscription rather than a one-off purchase. Every PlusFax monthly plan includes a dedicated number, a monthly page allowance and fax-to-email; compare them on the pricing page.

Setting it up

1. Choose a plan by how many pages you expect to receive a month. Extra pages are charged per page, so a smaller plan is fine if you are unsure.
2. Pick your number. Choose an area code and the number is live within seconds. Add it to your letterhead, website and email signature like any phone number.
3. Choose where faxes go. They always appear in your dashboard; by default they are also emailed to your account address as PDF attachments. Add colleagues' addresses if several people should receive them.
4. Test it. Send yourself a fax from the Send a fax page and watch it arrive.

Local or toll-free?

A local number in your area code is what most businesses want: it looks familiar to the people who fax you and it is included in every plan. A toll-free number (800, 888 and similar) is free for the sender to call from a landline and reads as national; it suits companies that take faxes from the whole country. Ask us through the contact page if you need one.

Keeping your existing fax number

If you have had a fax number for years, you can usually move it rather than change it. This is called porting. You stay with your current provider until the port completes, then calls to the number arrive with us instead. Porting takes from a few days to a few weeks depending on the losing carrier, and you will need a recent bill showing the number and the account holder. Contact us with the number and the current provider and we will check whether it can be moved before you change anything.

What arrives, and where

• A PDF per fax, all pages in one file, named with the sender's number and the time.
• An email with the PDF attached and the sender number and page count in the subject, so you can search for it later.
• A dashboard entry with the same PDF, kept until you delete it, downloadable at any time.

Received pages count against the plan allowance at the same rate as sent pages. Nothing needs to be printed, and no computer needs to be on: the carrier receives the fax whether or not you are at your desk.

Replying

Reply from your email: attach a PDF and address it to the sender's fax number at your fax domain, as explained in the email-to-fax guide, or upload it in your dashboard. Either way the fax goes out from your own number, so the recipient's machine shows it as coming from you.

Privacy and retention

Incoming faxes land in your account and inbox rather than in a tray where anyone can read them. They stay until you delete them, and deletion removes the PDF from our servers. For medical or legal practices, the security guide covers HIPAA, Business Associate Agreements and the safeguards that apply.

Common questions

• Can several people share the number? Yes. Add their email addresses for delivery; everyone sees the same dashboard.
• Can I receive from abroad? Yes. Any fax machine in the world can dial your number with your country code in front.
• Is there a limit on faxes? Only the monthly page allowance, after which pages are charged individually. The number of faxes is not limited.
• What if I cancel? The number is released at the end of the paid month. Download anything you want to keep before then.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• How to send a fax from Gmail or any email account · How email-to-fax addressing works, which attachments are accepted, and how incoming faxes land in your inbox.
• Is online fax secure? HIPAA, encryption and what to look for · How online fax compares with a machine, what HIPAA requires, and the questions to ask a provider.
• How to send a fax online · The four steps from a PDF on your screen to a confirmed delivery, and what to check before you press send.
• Why did my fax fail, and how to fix it · Busy, no answer, no fax tone, partial pages: what each one means and what to do next.