How to Get a Fax Number: A Complete Guide
Businesses and individuals need to obtain a dedicated fax number. Here’s why:
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A dedicated fax number is far more reliable and provides more secure document transmission than you get using a personal or shared phone number or fax line.
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Getting a dedicated fax number means that your business’ regular phone calls are not tied up by a fax which keeps your business running efficiently.
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It keeps your personal phone number private, which protects you from unsolicited calls.
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Depending on the industry you’re in, you may be required to have a dedicated fax number for legal or regulatory reasons.
Overall, a dedicated fax number can enhance your business or personal reliability, improve communication efficiency, and protect your privacy.
In this article, we’ll go over what a fax number is, how to get a fax number, why you need a dedicated online fax number, how to get a free fax number online, and answer some frequently asked questions about obtaining a fax number.
What Is a Fax Number?
A fax number is a telephone number that you use specifically for electronically transmitting documents. The fax machine converts your document into a series of tones that it transmits over the phone line to the recipient’s fax machine. Then, the recipient’s fax machine decodes these tones and prints a copy of your document.
It’s important to obtain a separate fax number for your business for several reasons. First, having a dedicated fax number conveys a professional and established image. A second reason to get a dedicated fax number is to keep your main business phone open for outside calls. Depending on your industry, you may also need a separate fax number for legal or regulatory reasons.
Why Do You Need a Dedicated Online Fax Number?
Instead of using a physical fax machine and phone number from a telecommunications provider, you can get an online fax number. Having a dedicated online fax number has the following benefits:
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You can go paperless, which helps reduce your company’s carbon footprint.
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It’s easy to set up and use your online fax number – you can often complete the process on your own. All you need is access to an online fax service or web browser.
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You can maintain clear channels of communication and trust with your customers who currently use a fax machine to send documents.
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Online fax numbers offer the same level of security and encryption as physical fax machines, so you can keep sending sensitive and personal information online.
Can You Get Free Fax Number Online?
Yes, you can get a free fax number online. Many of the popular online fax services, like eFax, offer free personal online fax numbers to members. Other services offer one-time use free fax numbers if you only need to send a few faxes at one time.
Depending on which subscription you choose, eFax offers a free local or toll-free fax number when you sign up.
How to Get a Fax Number Online?
You may be wondering, “How do I get a fax number online?” Getting a free fax number online is as easy as contacting an online phone service provider. In this section, we’ll discuss the steps to get a local fax number and even how to get an international fax number.
Getting a Free Fax Number Online
You can get a toll-free or local fax number online by using an online phone service provider. Nextiva and Grasshopper are two such services, and you can visit their website to get a free online local or toll-free fax number.
5 Steps to Get a Local Fax Number
To get a local fax number for your personal or professional use, here are five steps you can complete today to get started:
1. Determine if your regular business line is sufficient
As we discussed earlier, you can use your regular business or personal line for faxes, but that opens you up to a handful of problems. If you don’t mind tying up your phone line or exposing your phone number to outside entities, you can use your business line to send and receive faxes.
2. Assess your faxing requirements
Think about factors like how often you’ll send faxes, the volume of incoming and outgoing phone calls, and if you’ll need special features.
3. Select a fax service provider
Online fax service providers are becoming more popular as more services shift towards a digital approach. Online faxing is affordable and convenient and it’s a good choice for small businesses and individuals.
4. Select a local area code
Your online fax service provider should give you the option to select an area code. Make sure to choose an area code that is local to you or your target demographic.
5. Activate your fax number
Once you have selected an area code for your fax number, activate your new fax number with your service provider.
How to Get an International Fax Number?
To allow your business to send faxes to global recipients, you’ll need an international fax number. The process is similar to that of getting a local fax number, covered above. Instead of picking a local area code, though, you’ll need to choose the country code that matches the area where your target audience is sending and receiving faxes.
Here’s how to get an international fax number:
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Sign up for an online faxing service and check if they offer international faxing. Many services that offer local fax numbers also offer international fax numbers as an additional service.
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If you’re using a phone service for your business, contact them to see if you can add an international fax number. Just make sure you use the correct format and country code. For example, if you need to send faxes to and from the United Kingdom, your fax number must start with +44, which is the country code for the UK.
3 Alternative Methods to Obtain a Free Fax Number
If you’re looking for more ways to get a free fax number, here are three alternative methods to the ones we’ve already covered:
Google Voice or a Phone Service Provider
Instead of using a physical fax machine and phone number from a telecommunications provider, you can get an online fax number. Having a dedicated online fax number has the following benefits:
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Google Voice is a free service that you can use to obtain a free fax number. Since it’s free, it is a good option for small businesses, start-ups, and for personal use.
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Phone service providers that are local to your business offer fax numbers as an add-on service.
Toll-Free and Vanity Numbers
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A toll-free number allows you to make a phone call for free, including sending a fax.
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Vanity numbers are memorable phone numbers that spell out words or phrases, such as 1-800-CONTACTS. If your business sells a distinct product, vanity numbers can be a fun way to promote your brand.
Number Porting and Number Forwarding
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You can port an existing phone number to a provider that offers fax services, which can be a low-cost option if you have a phone number your customer base already knows.
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Additionally, you can set up call forwarding for your existing phone number. This sends incoming calls to a fax machine or online fax service. This flexible option may bring on additional fees.
Why Choose eFax to Get Online Fax Numbers?
When you’re looking for an online fax service provider, eFax is a clear winner. eFax is the leading provider of online fax services, offering convenient and reliable ways to send and receive faxes without needing a physical fax machine.
eFax offers these unique benefits:
Flexibility
With eFax, you can send and receive documents and images from anywhere you have an internet connection, using a web portal, mobile app, or email account.
Affordability
No matter your faxing needs, eFax has affordable membership plans to choose from. eFax scales with your faxing volume needs, so you can pick the plan that works for your business.
Secure and reliable
eFax uses data encryption and HIPAA compliance to protect your sensitive data in transit and at rest.
Integration-ready
eFax integrates with the productivity tools you already use like Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and CRM and accounting software.
Superior support
With 24/7 customer support available, eFax offers assistance when you need it to support your business and individual needs.
FAQs: Obtaining a Fax Number
You can get a fax number for free. A free fax number enables users to send and receive fax messages from fax machines or online via digital faxing services.
You can get a fax number for free through eFax, an online faxing solution. To get a free fax number through eFax, download our free app from your mobile phone’s app store and sign up for an account. eFax will then assign you a free fax number, which you can use to send and receive fax messages. You can also get a free fax number via local phone operators or through a VoIP service.
Printers can be used as fax machines by scanning a document into the printer and sending it as a fax message. Some printers will have a specific fax number included on the machine or in its settings or user manual. Other printers will include the fax number on every page they send and receive. Another solution for how to get a fax number for my printer is to use the number provided by an online faxing service to send and receive faxes.
Online faxing services enable you to use your mobile phone as a portable fax solution. When you sign up for an online faxing provider like eFax, you’ll be automatically assigned a fax number you can use to send and receive fax messages in the same way you share emails.
Your cell phone number can’t be used as a fax number, but you can easily send and receive faxes through a mobile app. For example, the eFax app is user-friendly and optimized for Android and iPhone users to make it simple to send and receive messages from your phone. eFax also provides access to cloud platforms like iCloud and Google Drive, making it easy to fax documents that have been saved online.