When was the last time your sent (or received) a fax?
Posted by Upstairs-Storm1006@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 300 comments
I remember faxing some documents when I bought a home in 2009. But since then I've done refinances, sold that one & bought other property and all the documentation was shared via email.
Has anyone used a fax in the last decade +?
AcanthisittaWhole216@reddit
I still have never figured out how to use the fax option on the machine
inbox-outbox33@reddit
I'm the same and I don't understand why you need this at all.
TigerMostFear96@reddit
Several times a year we have to remember this ancient technology
Mean-Math7184@reddit
About a year ago, when I was working at a bank. We used fax for security reasons.
ActuaLogic@reddit
It was so long go, I can't remember. But it was probably 10 years ago, and I'm pretty sure I was receiving faxes 15 years ago.
Lisztchopinovsky@reddit
Never
ExtremePotatoFanatic@reddit
I send faxes almost daily at work. I work as a pharmacy tech and a lot of offices still send faxes and take requests from pharmacies as a fax.
ChannelPure6715@reddit
CT State uses faxes at its agencies. If the intended recipient isn't available, it goes to a forwarding service. Its wild and antiquated, like most US politicians
Horizontal_Bob@reddit
Probably 5-6 years ago
Forward-Wear7913@reddit
I still have to do faxes online several times a year to submit information to government agencies and had to do it last year to submit a credit card dispute.
Decent-Caramel-2129@reddit
A lot of places, medical, government, assorted areas, still use fax. Like HEAVILY use fax. We still get fax spam even.
Asleep-Banana-4950@reddit
I used to sell document management software. Many customers, esp medical institutions with remote or affiliated clinics needed to send and receive faxes. Some insurance companies need a hand-written document (often a signature or initials) and don't accept scanned and emailed documents
Brrred@reddit
Sent one last week to a state government agency that requires docs to be submitted by fax.
Sure-Squirrel8384@reddit
When I bought a house in 2008. Offers and counter-offers were all done via fax because they wanted "wet" signatures and e-signatures were not sufficient.
Yup, everything is e-signature now. So much more efficient, and legible.
Bane8080@reddit
Yep, about a year ago.
SufficientComedian6@reddit
I’ve faxed some docs recently but it was through an email service. It was a credit card company requiring ID proof. Wouldn’t accept a pdf in an email so I faxed the pdf. So frikin stupid.
browneyedredhead1968@reddit
I work in a law office, medical records are either sent via mail or fax. No email. So we get faxes daily.
MollyOMalley99@reddit
Today. They're still more secure than sending a document by email.
Donohoed@reddit
About 6 hours ago. I work in a hospital ER and faxed the VA to have someone's records sent over. I send several faxes a week, usually
VegetableSquirrel@reddit
Yes. Pharmacies still use fax machines to transmit refill requests to doctors' offices. Doctos' offices and insurance companies use fax machine to communicate whether refills and payments for granted/covered.are granted
ComprehensiveCoat627@reddit
Yesterday. A lot of places still require faxes for sharing medical records
Many_Pea_9117@reddit
I work in a hospital and we fax stuff all the time every day.
Ananvil@reddit
Protip, no one reads it
sjcphl@reddit
I knew this would be the first comment.
People don't realize that hospitals and clinics use fax probably as their main method of sharing documents. Portals and, to a lesser extent, email have chipped away at it since Covid, but it's still huge.
twowrist@reddit
I’m surprised at this. At least two of the big hospital systems here are using Epic. So when we went to Dana Farber for a consult, they got all the records from Lahey electronically, as far as I know. I don’t what courier service they used for a sample of my husband’s tumor, but obviously neither fax nor internet.
I would have thought that most hospitals and physicians were exchanging info online by now.
Feminist_Hugh_Hefner@reddit
I'm at a medium sized practice, we're connected to our big regional medical center by an HL7 connection, but my office, for example, is in frequent contact with 40 or 50 smaller practices, insurance companies, vendors, etc I can't build and maintain pipelines for each of those.
For the price of a fax service I'm off the hook re compliance and I can instantly exchange documents with someone we've never worked with before.
Mountain-Bath-6515@reddit
We use Epic, but still fax to outside providers. We do it through Epic though, takes just a few seconds.
donner_dinner_party@reddit
Mass General asked me to fax something to them this last summer.
shanec628@reddit
I use MGB’s Epic daily. Not specifically for Dana Farber but I can see their records in patient’s charts. Epic uses CareEverywhere to help providers who are not in the same network to still view medical records from each other’s practices. I’m not sure specifically if this applies with DFCI and Laney, but it’s possible that’s how they were able to view the records.
TheOkaySolution@reddit
There are many EHR platforms that are not Epic, and secure electronic exchange isn't always possible. Also, medical records are not only transmitted between hospitals or providers. They often have to be transmitted to colleges/universities, insurance, government agencies, etc. EHR obviously cuts down on the need for faxes, but doesn't eliminate it.
Jdevers77@reddit
All but guarantee that both of those hospitals regularly fax medical records to smaller facilities all the time. Yes, between either internal clinics or other large connected hospitals they can probably share thing electronically but with the thousands of other PCPs, long term care providers, SNFs, etc they communicate with they are probably faxing.
The shift to electronic transfer has not been all that smooth. Every provider wants to do things their own way so that often means having 30+ usernames and passwords to their electronic records systems and STILL getting faxes all the time from other providers. Cue that xkcd comic where every new standard to “finally fix this mess and rule them all” just adds one more stupid standard to the list.
https://xkcd.com/927/
twowrist@reddit
Many of the small practices around here have united with the big hospital chains. My PCP is part of Beth Israel Lahey, my eye doctors are affiliated with Mass General, and MyChart lets me get the appointment schedules combined.
I guess that’s not true elsewhere.
Enguye@reddit
For tumor samples, FedEx/UPS. The samples are embedded in wax blocks so they can go in normal mail.
therealdrewder@reddit
Inside system absolutely, between systems less so.
imthesqwid@reddit
The Insurance industry uses fax too
user_number_666@reddit
And finance.
LemurCat04@reddit
Because they’re secure.
user_number_666@reddit
They're really not, LOL.
I "fax" PDFs via a website. This is literally no more secure than me sending a PDF via email.
MacduffFifesNo1Thane@reddit
Not because of that. It’s because there was legislation, regulation, or court cases back in the 1980s that said a faxed signature was legally the same as a wet one.
CupBeEmpty@reddit
Legal profession, medical records, and insurance very often use fax (it is finally getting better). I work at the intersection of all three of those industries so shitty faxed documents are a near daily part of my job.
Foxy_locksy1704@reddit
Courts as well, when I worked for my state’s court system I received faxes regularly from jails, halfway houses, attorneys, rehab and medical facilities.
IxianHwiNoree@reddit
Yes, this. I send about two faxes a month.
AwesomeWhiteDude@reddit
At this point most fax machines aren't literal fax machines, just essentially encrypted email services with phone numbers instead of normal email addresses since actual analog phone systems no longer exist.
Big_Statistician2566@reddit
Not when used for legal/medical purposes. It is all POTS.
AwesomeWhiteDude@reddit
POTS does not exist anymore, all that tech was ripped out in the 90s and 00s. It is all done over the internet now.
Big_Statistician2566@reddit
100% is not.
AwesomeWhiteDude@reddit
Sure
Big_Statistician2566@reddit
Seriously? Take the L, dude. You are being white without the awesome.
We still have folks using dry pairs, for christ sake. Yes, the majority of the technology has changed from copper pairs to IP services. But, faxes that use IP stacks don't even use VOIP because the data channel isn't enough. They have very specific HIPAA compliant rules in which your provider has to both attest their compliance and do regular audit reviews. For that reason, it isn't common.
There are countless others in this post who have said basically the same thing.
So just accept you learned something new and stop being a dick about it.
Crowiswatching@reddit
True, to avoid data mining should they get sued.
breebop83@reddit
This, faxes were mostly sent automatically via our computer system but I worked for a mobile medical service and that was the only way we could send results. Occasionally there would be an issue with the facility receiving the fax so it had to be physically printed and manually faxed. I left the job a few years ago but am still in touch with some of my co workers and believe this is still the process.
ur_not_that_guy17@reddit
Had to fax my medical records before I graduated college so I could commission in the Navy. First and only time I've ever faxed something.
cat_prophecy@reddit
Which is often ironic since 90% of the time it's an e-fax that just ends up in someone's email anyway.
fshagan@reddit
Medical records are not sent by efax. Neither are tax records with the IRS. Fax machines are considered more secure than email/efax, because using a telephone line they are "point to point" and not stored on other servers as they traverse the Internet. Encrypted email is OK, but requires the use of either a portal or both sides of the transmission to be with the same provider to be "user friendly".
beyondplutola@reddit
Last week for me. My new doctor wanted me to fax over the enrollment forms. Since I can fax photographed documents from a phone app, I didn't literally fax on my end.
I work in public relations. Within my field, the last holdovers using fax were assignment editors at local broadcast TV news departments. They were requesting any releases or announcements be sent to them via fax up until the early 2010s or so.
captainstormy@reddit
Yep. I had surgery in August and had to take off for 8 weeks to recover. Had to fax documents to a couple of different places for the short term disability claim.
NotBradPitt9@reddit
I still fax my wife my family jewels during lunch hour just to keep things spicy
uhbkodazbg@reddit
Same here. I have accounts with different encryption services for some providers but it’s usually easier to just send/receive a fax.
Novel_Willingness721@reddit
This, but a lot more time has passed.
but I cheated. Most OSes still have a “fax” option you just gotta look for it.
sics2014@reddit
Can confirm. Work at a nursing home and sent 2 yesterday. And received probably 30+.
Ananvil@reddit
I work in an emergency department. There is a pile of faxes that literally pour onto the floor, to be tossed into the shred bin without ever being read. No one wants to sort through 200+ pages of nursing home bullshit to try to find the often omitted reason meemaw was sent to the hospital.
SimpleAd1604@reddit
Personally sent? Thousands of years ago. Had someone tell me my doctor should fax something to a certain number? Yesterday.
The-GarlicBread@reddit
Doctors offices, hospitals, pharmacies all use faxes.
Shot-Artichoke-4106@reddit
It's been a couple of years, but I needed to send some faxes when dealing with my mom's estate. Some financial stuff has to be faxed.
KikiCorwin@reddit
10 years ago
Cameront9@reddit
Using a fax machine? Probably a decade ago
syriina@reddit
Almost a decade ago lol. I worked in an ortho clinic and we had to fax medical stuff.
bangbangracer@reddit
Financial institutions, medical institutions, and certain record keeping things here still require it. So more recently than I probably should have. It wasn't me sending it, but my dentist had to fax another dentist for referred work like two weeks ago.
The last time I had to fax something was probably a month ago regarding my Grandma's will.
Freedom_891@reddit
Yesterday
bookishkelly1005@reddit
About 2 months ago to my insurance company.
StrawberryMilk817@reddit
Literally daily at work
Wrong-Day6752@reddit
December 23rd I had to fax a credit card preauthorization to a hotel was paying for An employee’s travel. They wouldn’t take it by email. Honestly the fist fax I’ve sent in 8 years.
underhand_toss@reddit
I am financial POA for a family member. I regularly need to fax my POA docs to whatever new institution I do business with (life insurance savings account, annuity, etc.).
andos4@reddit
2025 - I needed to send paperwork to a doctor who only accepts fax. The year before I needed to send documents to Wells Fargo through fax.
Caliopebookworm@reddit
I got a fax on Friday in the course of my job.
11B_35P_35F@reddit
Last week I sent one. As HR, im the o lybperson in the last 2 places ive worked that has had to deal with faxes due to state govt agencies and courts.
Street-Length9871@reddit
Yes. At least 5 times a year because a wonderful woman I work with in her 70's prefers them
Durham1988@reddit
Yep. It is still the standard in medical settings in the US because email is not considered secure enough to be HIPPA compliant but phone lines are. So, daily when I am at work.
TeamTurnus@reddit
Faxes are still commonly used for communication of patient records between hospitals if their electronic systems arent set up to talk to each other. Which is often the case.
TheOwlMarble@reddit
There was some government form that I had to fax 15 ish years ago.
ITrCool@reddit
When I worked IT for an EMR software corporation, they discontinued faxing slowly but surely on all printers. We were instructed that any new printers ordered were to be bought without fax boards in them. To replace it, electronic faxing was installed.
So users would scan at the printer (typical office copier/scanner/printer machines) and send said scan to@.com. A special server we had setup would take that scan, convert it into a traditional fax job and transmit it to the receiving end. Receiving faxes were the same way. The server would receive the fax, convert it into an email PDF, then email it to the destination mailbox as a PDF attachment.
Serrated_Banana@reddit
Every single work day - I woke in the pharmacy field.
come-join-themurder@reddit
Friday at work. Sometimes it's easier to fax something versus scanning it into the computer and emailing it.
heatrealist@reddit
In the 90s to send something to a sports radio show I was listening to lol. Back then my internet was on the old style analog modems that worked like faxes. I never called a radio show, but over the years I have sent faxes, texted, and now my local sports radio prefer twitch stream comments. Never had to use a fax for any other purpose.
splorp_evilbastard@reddit
Using an actual fax machine? Or does sending faxes from my computer to a fax machine count?
I sent from my computer to a actual fax machine when I bought my house in 2009.
There's one of my favorite tech support stories involving a fax machine.
I worked for an ecommerce company that had small, medium, and large businesses. Some of the customers were very inexperienced with technology.
In about 2009, a customer was having a problem and we asked for a screenshot. A few hours later, someone in HR gave me a fax printout that was sent to my attention.
Apparently, the customer took a picture of his monitor with his digital camera. Then, he printed out that picture. Then he faxed it to me.
cheekmo_52@reddit
A month ago. There are a number of local government offices that haven’t updated their technology in decades. I receive faxes in my email, but they still have fax machines.
emmnowa@reddit
I had to fax my signature on a form to apply for Medicaid
davyj0427@reddit
Work in the medical field, use it every day.
Sea_Dot8299@reddit
When asshole shitty US Healthcare insurance companies want to jerk you off with the runaround for a claim. Thats the only time I ever fax these days.
Savings_Pipe_8029@reddit
8 years
Kanya_Mkavry@reddit
I work for a company that supplies mostly independent business owners, and many of them are boomer/Gen x age. They are still paper catalog, fax the order, pay with a check people.
IwannaAskSomeStuff@reddit
I get faxes regularly from cemeteries (I make headstones). There aren't a lot of holdouts still faxing, but some folks still do!
DrywallAnchor@reddit
The place I was security at received a faxed threat in 2020.
No_Salad_8766@reddit
Never
Unique-Coffee5087@reddit
Yesterday.
Medicaid self-directed waiver program sometimes requires documents to be sent by fax or by filling out an online form. The website is often buggy and unreliable.
I use the pay-as-you-go service Interfax.net, which lets me put money into my account and then send faxes until it runs out. It's not a monthly subscription, so I can go for months without having to send a fax and not have to pay anything. My deposit is just waiting there. It's also set up so you can send an email to [phone number]@fax.tc, and the body text of the email will become the cover page while any attachment (.docx, .doc, .pdf, .jpg) is also transmitted in the fax message. They then email back a confirmation that the fax was completed.
TipsyBaker_@reddit
Every day at work
Mental_Internal539@reddit
I've never used a fax machine but my dentist and doctors still fax things to each other.
GreyHorse_BlueDragon@reddit
I’m a pharmacy technician so I sent several faxes today. Or more specifically, I triggered the system to send faxes. And we received several more than we sent.
JulesInIllinois@reddit
Last week.at the library & the week before to send a formal request to a financial institution.
rikityrokityree@reddit
Weekly. Digital , mostly.
Jezza-T@reddit
Work on Healthcare. I personally handle 50 or more faxes every single day.
Effective_Pear4760@reddit
Yep, I did too. Got laid off in November (who lays someone off the Friday before Thanksgiving?). But yeah. We used to fax all the time.
canonanon@reddit
Sent? Around a month ago. Don't remember the last time I received one though .
DocTarr@reddit
our entire medical industry revolves around fax machines
Fluffysharkdatazz@reddit
Never tbh
What___Do@reddit
Just a few months ago. I had to fax some stuff for an insurance dispute, the bastards. Luckily, my local library still maintains a fax machine. Yours might, too, if you need one.
ReadTheReddit69@reddit
Two days ago for myself, FMLA and ahort term disability claim. I am a public librarian and people fax things every day - lots of government, legal, and medical forms.
cryptoengineer@reddit
Last spring, settling some matters with my mother's estate, I had to fax her death certificate to a brokerage. Took the documents down to Staples, and did it there.
cryptoengineer@reddit
In many circumstances in the US, a signature on a faxed document has a legal status that an email, even digitally signed, does not. The law hasn't caught up with the technology yet.
efflorae@reddit
I work at a library, so regularly (on behalf of others).
Gamer12Numbers@reddit
I have never sent or received a fax in my life at 32
Wise_Service7879@reddit
If you work with Japan you definitely need a fax machine. Or a virtual fax number.
SirFelsenAxt@reddit
2023
Needed some legal docs sent and that's how the recipient wanted them
Ok_Membership_8189@reddit
I use the fax regularly. But I’m in healthcare. Most of mine don’t involve a fax machine, but internet services.
SkyBerry924@reddit
Never in my 34 years of life
JohnEGirlsBravo@reddit
Last time I faxed was, like... 2020 or 2021 (and that was rare enough in my lifetime even then)
OneOldBear@reddit
I faxed a couple of medication lists in 2025. But I don't remember the last time I received a fax.
thelittleluca@reddit
I used Hello Fax a few years ago to “fax” something digitally
But I think the company was bought by Dropbox since…
I did think it was an odd requirement because why can’t I just email it?
165averagebowler@reddit
I had to send a fax a few months back because my old car that I had traded in on my current one was impounded. Apparently the records were not up to date or something because the court (in a neighboring state) reached out to me about the car. I had to fax them my sale documents to prove that I had no legal responsibility for the car anymore. I technically faxed the paperwork, but from my end I just scanned and sent them via an online free fax service.
kellym13@reddit
1 month ago. It had been at least 25yrs before that. Had to send some legal documents and email wasn’t safe enough apparently. Didn’t even know where I could do it. After I found a place I joked with the lady and asked if it was 1988 again. She says legal docs are frequently faxed as they cannot be edited or altered like email attachments can. I still don’t understand that explanation.
Karnakite@reddit
I’ve worked in real estate and we faxed documents about once a week. Usually records.
peter303_@reddit
In the 2010s when our work medical insurance claims.
I vaguely remember sending something on my printer+xerox+fax machine, but forgot the reason.
Practical-Ad6548@reddit
Never. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a fax machine
PuddleFarmer@reddit
A month and a half ago.
Submitting paperwork to the city/county.
Traditional-Job-411@reddit
Ugghhhh in accountant. The IRS is all I’m gonna say.
whatdoidonowdamnit@reddit
2021, but technically I didn’t send or receive the fax. My paperwork for my current apartment got faxed by someone else to someone else on my behalf.
VisualNo2896@reddit
A lot of rural counties courts still use fax. I was working as an ADA in rural Georgia in 2023 and had to fax things all the time. I don’t do criminal law anymore but still in Georgia, there are some counties that require either mail, walk in, or fax in filing.
grassesbecut@reddit
Dizzy_Lengthiness_92@reddit
I’ve sent 2 faxes and that was back in 2017. Brinks picked up my stores deposit and signed off that they did but it went missing this happened 2 times in 3 weeks. I had to fax the log they signed otherwise I’d have been fired. My boss was an idiot and asked me why I didn’t bring it to the bank myself like some stores do.
rededelk@reddit
Don't remember exactly but I had an E-Fax # back when. I think my last real estate transaction was done by faxing documents but? I've done that E-sign thing but always request hard copies
libertram@reddit
I think 2009?
maybach320@reddit
Couple months ago, medical records seem to be linked to faxes
moonchic333@reddit
My office got rid of real phone lines and the fax line around 2017. We weren’t using it often at all by then though.. only faxing documents to our home office.
Recently my dad needed to send something in to his medical insurance company and they only used fax! Nothing pissed me off more. No email option on 2026 should be criminal.
sootfire@reddit
I had to fax paperwork to the government when I was my friend's contact to get on disability benefits. Cost me $18 at Staples.
NattyBuck2025@reddit
Yesterday. I had to send sensitive information.
Rourensu@reddit
When I was teaching English in Japan 2016-2017 I would.
Tferretv@reddit
It was in the office, so it was at least six years ago. I had to fax some paperwork.
Jamie7003@reddit
I’m 45 and have never used a fax machine. Don’t even know how they work honestly. Email has existed since before I joined the workforce.
DrBlankslate@reddit
One of my doctors still requires paperwork faxed over. Last time I faxed it was about four months ago, I think. I have a print program that will fax things.
drakewouldloveme@reddit
Like 8 years ago when I worked at a bank auditing mortgage closing paperwork
dazzleox@reddit
2019 or so. The national labor relations board was only accepting faxes or originals handed to them in the federal building and I couldn't get in the federal building because my drivers license wasn't a Real ID.
I think during COVID they finally started to allow PDF emails?
GenericUsername19892@reddit
Never.
FrostyIcePrincess@reddit
2018
I volunteered at a free clinic for a while and I sometimes had to use the fax machine. That was the only time I had to use a fax machine though.
ThePickleConnoisseur@reddit
Never. I still don’t really know what it is
cohrt@reddit
dont think ive ever sent one in my life
ButItSaysOnline@reddit
About three years ago but I work in an industry where things are slow to change.
DrMindbendersMonocle@reddit
20 years ago I had to fax over some documents to an insurance company. That's the only time I used a fax in my life and Im in my late 40s
Low_Roller_Vintage@reddit
2009, when I worked at the post office.
infield_fly_rule@reddit
Two weeks ago. My doctor needed to send me my lab results. Only by fax. I still have one hooked up at my house.
SunGreen24@reddit
Yesterday. I work in a library and we have a fax machine for patron use - but none of them can ever figure it out and we do end up doing it for them. I send several a week.
Old-Wolf-1024@reddit
About a week ago…..sent
WowsrsBowsrsTrousrs@reddit
We bought this house in 2018. Buying a house and getting a mortgage still involves faxing documents between lender, title company, agent, and buyers.
StrangeSequitur@reddit
Every 120 days I have to fax a form to the city of Evanston, IL to release them from any liability that might arise from them placing rodent bait stations in the area around a residential property.
Just did that this week, so I've got four months until the next Rat Fax Day.
user_number_666@reddit
Last week - I sent it using an online service.
mhoner@reddit
Yesterday. We get a lot of faxes at work.
Anthrodiva@reddit
Recently, medical records
zelda-hime@reddit
When I was applying to grad school in 2020, I needed to fax my transcript request to one of my schools.
Also I just helped someone send a fax at the library I work at two weeks ago.
alwaysboopthesnoot@reddit
Buying a house a decade or so ago. Been awhile.
But my medical records were faxed recently to another provider. I didn’t send or receive that fax myself, though.
GreenBeanTM@reddit
I’m 24 so literally never 😂 the only person I’ve ever known to send or receive faxes was my grandpa.
kludge6730@reddit
Sometime in the last century.
Greywoods80@reddit
Maybe back in around 2001. Most places don't have fax machines anymore.
caffeineaddict03@reddit
Still use em regularly at my job
2PlasticLobsters@reddit
I haven't used a fax machine in more than a decade, but more recently have sent some electronically. It's often the best way to communicate with medical offices. That's aprtly because of their privact issues. But it's also because some of them are hard to reach by phone, long wait times &/or absurd vmail trees that make no sense & have no option for what I need.
witchy12@reddit
Never. I’m 26.
TravelHippo@reddit
Yesterday. The IRS still requires fax over email. As an accountant I have to send in duplicate copies atleast once a month
javiergoddam@reddit
We still used it in the mid 2010s sometimes. I forgot where but we used it.
Zealousideal_Draw_94@reddit
They still have them at work, but 95% of the time we get junk faxes in the middle of the night trying to sell us something.
We do from time to time need it for tax exempt paperwork or international travel documents.
AccountantRadiant351@reddit
Every tax resolution practice has an efax service, because the IRS still requires things be faxed.
handcraftedcandy@reddit
I use a fax machine pretty regularly at work to send medical follow ups to our work clinics. Before this job I don't think I had ever sent a fax in my life.
queenofthegrapefruit@reddit
I used to work in auto finance. There were a few lenders that would not use anything except fax. The irony was that our "fax" system was still over email. So you sent a fax by sending it to an email using a special extension and everything came back to a specific inbox that the whole department shared.
Plenty-Hair-4518@reddit
When I work we use faxes usually. Sometimes it's a digital fax and sometimes its paper but two years ago the clinic I was at I had to fax several things every day. Very common in medicine as others have said.
Marchwal@reddit
Decades.
shr2016@reddit
Faxed a prescription to a pharmacy about 20 minutes ago
Professional_Self296@reddit
I asked a company for a copy of their blueprints to be put into a share point, the poc said they were going to fax and required the information for our building. I had to do a lap around the building to see if we actually had a fax machine. Apparently our printer does and we had to contact central IT, because no one knew how it worked or what the number was. That was about five months ago
Big_Statistician2566@reddit
It is very common for HIPAA compliance as it is one of the last types of data communication that isn't as susceptible to data leakage.
Then-Yam-2266@reddit
Earlier this year. I worked for AutoNation buying cars and they still fax stuff multiple times for ever. Single. Deal. It took fucking hours to get shot processed.
blueboxtravelagency@reddit
A lot of banks still require faxed documents especially for release of i formation to a third party because they want a physical signature. I used to fax banks multiple times a week for the job I had last year
Fire_Mission@reddit
I had to fax some medical thing a couple of years ago. Went to Office Depot to send it.
maxsmom0821@reddit
January 11, 2026
Kestrel_Iolani@reddit
About six years ago. Someone sent a five page solicitation to our printer that had a fax setting. We sent them a black page.
purplishfluffyclouds@reddit
Not that long ago. Maybe a year or so? But I use online fax services now.
mab220@reddit
About a month ago I had to fax in some state tax documents to close an account for our business. It was the first time in probably 20 years I have personally done one, but when we’re working with state governments it’s not unheard of.
AdFuzzy1432@reddit
Yesterday. Faxzero.com has Senators' and Congress members' fax numbers preloaded. You can send 5/day for free. I love annoying them by wasting their fax paper to express my views.
MarionberryPlus8474@reddit
I work with both retirees and teachers, sometimes they have a fax machine to send documents, and it’s faster than the mail and some people either don’t have a scanner or can’t figure out how to encrypt email attachments. On my end it’s electronic, faxes come to me as emails and I send them that way. But I did that last week.
AnotherCatLover88@reddit
Every work day 😬
hisamsmith@reddit
Yes. All the time for medical reasons.
easy_Money@reddit
I'm nearly 40 and I honestly don't think I've ever sent or received a fax
Altruistic-Cow-1553@reddit
Even when they were a thing, I still probably haven't sent more than 10 in my life. Blue collar just didnt use them for much.
as1126@reddit
I sent a FAX to a hospital so I could get a Calcium Test Score test scheduled.
PowerfulFunny5@reddit
Last year I had to fax some document. I used a fax app that had a few free pages
4Q69freak@reddit
A couple of years ago, our District Manager needed something faxed and none of the younger people I work with knew how to send a fax.
Reverend_Bull@reddit
RodneyBarringtonIII@reddit
Sent? Last week. Received? Yesterday.
I work for the state government. We don't actually rely on old technology, but we still have fax capabilities because there are a lot of people who refuse to provide sensitive information via email.
Coyoteatemybowtie@reddit
I think the last time I sent or recieved a fax was roughly 2013 for sending a PO to fairly small niche company.
tavikravenfrost@reddit
The last time was in 2020 before the shutdown for the pandemic. In my job at the time, I received a lot of traffic from federal contractors who were conducting background investigations. For whatever reason, they weren't permitted to do anything via email, except for the handful of them who were granted access to a particular secure email platform that the federal government uses. They had to either show up in person or send a fax. When I received a fax, I either had to call them to relay the information verbally, or I had to fax it back. Unless someone specifically wanted it verbally, then I always chose the fax option.
Ok-Answer-6951@reddit
Last year, had to do a background check for a national organization coaching youth sports. They wanted an actual paper copy of the form I had filled out on their website. So instead of them just printing it, I had to print it and go to a UPS / copy store to have it faxed to them 🤷♂️
ken_NT@reddit
About 10 years ago, just started a job and had to fax my onboarding documents to the main office
SnooChocolates2750@reddit
Yesterday. Plenty of trucking companies still require billing paperwork to be faxed over instead of emailed, even though the machines are essentially just emailing each other using a phone number.
OhNoBricks@reddit
I used faxing on January 5th at a library. They’re digital now.
YoshiandAims@reddit
2020? Something like that.
pseudonym7083@reddit
Something for work but that had to have been at least 10 years ago.
anneofgraygardens@reddit
Like a year ago, I had to fax my bank some signed paperwork when there was a security breach on my account. It had been so long that I wasn't sure I remembered how to do it. Fortunately my office still has a fax machine for some reason so I did it at work.
ReshinaLynn@reddit
At the office about two months ago. It was some insurance thing.
bibliophile222@reddit
Yep! I occasionally sent and received faxes for work as recently as 2018.
glowybutterfly@reddit
I might have done it once as a kid in the 90s.
Justmakethemoney@reddit
Oh god…13-14 years ago? It was a job application that they’d inexplicably only accept via fax
MangaMaven@reddit
I receive hundreds of faxes every week day. It's a secure way to share medical documents.
trae_curieux@reddit
In 2023...was faxing ER discharge papers to my primary care physician's office.
SufficientProject273@reddit
3 days ago. contrary there are many places that still use fax
MarianLibrarian1024@reddit
I work in a public library and help people send faxes several times a day.
WyndWoman@reddit
2019
Fax were a secure way to send documents. I sent a form to my local SSA office.
Trouble-Every-Day@reddit
In healthcare faxes are still common. Under HIPAA guidelines, any patient information has to be sent using secure encryption. Or you can just send it by fax, as long as the fax machine is kept in a room that has a door with a lock on it. Fax machines often turn out to be the cheaper option.
This isn’t as true as it was a few years ago, as modern EMR systems can handle this, but it does happen.
MortimerDongle@reddit
I've never sent or received a fax.
Traditional_Entry183@reddit
13 years ago. I worked in a store that sent faxes as a service.
I haven't done one for personal use since I was in college in the 90s.
therealbamspeedy@reddit
Just this month, medical forms for a leave of absence.
Of course, I, like most individuals do not own a fax machine, so I have to depend on the hospital or my place of employment use their fax machine to send the documents. (3rd party company that approves/denies LOAs sent me the forms to my email, I print them but I had to send it to the hospital 2 hours away, so used company fax to email them to hospital for them to fill out the forms they needed to and then they faxed them to the 3rd party).
If it was something not related to work or the hospital, so I could use their machines, I have no idea how I would get something faxed to someone, and I would think that company is woefully behind the times.
Much-Leek-420@reddit
A month ago. Unfortunately, the medical field as well as financial institutions are stuck in the dark ages. That’s how they accept documents.
I was exasperated on the phone with a medical insurance rep. “Where can I email this?” says I. “Ma’am, we only accept fax or through the mail,” says she. “Do you know how long it’s been since anyone had a fax machine in their home?” says I incredulously.
Ended up sending it with my husband to his work (engineering corp) to fax because there was a deadline that snail mail couldn’t meet. He had to go dig around in their old equipment storage to find a fax machine. Even HR was surprised the fax number still worked.
Draconuus95@reddit
Honestly. I’m just surprised I was the first person to have such extensive documentation to require that many pages. I mean this was a 40k+ student university that was over a century old. The chances I was the straw that broke the camels back on that policy are so tiny.
Person7751@reddit
i faxed something this week
AlarmedWillow4515@reddit
My insurance forced me to FAX documentation in a year ago in order to get reimbursed.
Any-Investment5692@reddit
3 years ago for some goverment paperwork.
ketamineburner@reddit
Yesterday.
gardengrowsgreen@reddit
I had to fax a permit application to the Grand Canyon for a backpacking trip in 2021.
gardengrowsgreen@reddit
An office job I had back in 2011, first and only time ever sending a fax.
_pamelab@reddit
ArkansasTravelier@reddit
As a 29 year old I’ve never sent one or heard of anyone since being in adulthood needing to send one, however I have had jobs with fax machines that were no longer in use.
No-Assistance476@reddit
Yesterday.
river-running@reddit
I worked at an office for about a year from '23-'24 that still faxed occasionally.
Eric848448@reddit
Fall of 2022 I think? I got a letter from the IRS about my tax return and faxed my response so it’d be processed sooner. I did it from a UPS store and paid like $20!
twowrist@reddit
I was applying for Medicare back in 2021, when the Social Security offices were still limited for in-person appointments, so I faxed some of my paperwork in.
The joys of a multifunction printer.
TheEvilOfTwoLessers@reddit
Couple of months ago. Test fax. I work in IT for one of the fields that still use that tech.
Last time I sent one that actually was important to me? More than 20 years ago I’m sure.
r2d3x9@reddit
A faxed document is considered secure and legal while an email is not.
vinyl1earthlink@reddit
I faxed a bid to an auction house last October. I didn't win the item.
Welpe@reddit
Me personally? I don’t think ever actually. But I mean, I have so many medical problems that I am personally responsible like a never ending stream of faxes totaling in the thousands across two decade.
Js987@reddit
I’m a lawyer who works in a field of law that requires contact with medical records, I send and receive many dozens of faxes daily.
Crayshack@reddit
Never. It's a technology that I've never had cause to interact with.
The closest I've come is an issue with my grad school where they wanted me to bring some documents into the financial records office in person, but I'm in a remote program and live over a thousand miles away. Faxing was their first alternate solution, but when I said that I don't have access to a fax machine, they gave me an email address to send things.
qu33nof5pad35@reddit
Almost 3 years ago.
jonesdb@reddit
Government paperwork. Had to send them copies of my DL and social security card.
Fax seemed safer than postal service. Had to go to a public library to send a fax though.
Roborana@reddit
In my office we deal with various government agencies that have us fax them fairly regularly.
MotherOf4Jedi1Sith@reddit
This past week. I work in the Healthcare industry and too many organizations still insist on using faxes to communicate.
CraftFamiliar5243@reddit
taking a picture of a document seems adequate now. Doctors still use fax because it is more secure and harder to fake.
GroundsKeeper2@reddit
Sent a digital fax (sent email to fax machine) 2 days ago.
rattlehead44@reddit
The other day I was at the lab to get bloodwork done and they had me call my nephrologist’s office to have them fax over the Labwork. Does that count? I didn’t actually fax it myself.
Help1Ted@reddit
I was about to say that doctors still seem to use them regularly. I had an appointment recently and they called me the day before and were waiting on my bloodwork to be faxed from my primary doctor.
Adventurous-Time5287@reddit
I got made fun of by an employer around a year ago for asking them to fax something to my doctor to fill out. It was bullshit, I had to make an appointment to get the paper filled out.
invictus21083@reddit
I do it occasionally now with my job but it's very much like sending an email at this point.
Apocalyptic0n3@reddit
I am in my mid 30s and have never sent or received one.
Subvet98@reddit
A couple years ago my daughter passed and I had to fax her death certificate to the insurance company
AntaresBounder@reddit
I have never sent nor received a fax. I’m 50. Also never sent nor received a telegram…
ZaphodG@reddit
I had court, legal, and trust things I had to do by FAX dealing with my mother when she ran out of money in memory care. I cut the cord years ago so I had to set up an online FAX account.
There are things where I can’t paste my signature JPG into a PDF and email it.
rawbface@reddit
FanSerious7672@reddit
Never have probably never will. I'm 35.
Usual-Ad6290@reddit
Yesterday
xczechr@reddit
Last week as part of my job.
ZetaWMo4@reddit
About 20 years ago
RHS1959@reddit
The Home Depot still has fax machines at some of the specialty desks, and some vendors still ask for purchase orders and some documentation be faxed, so I’ve used one a few times in that context in the last five years
AcanthaceaeOk3738@reddit
Directly? Probably 2007 or so.
But FWIW I’m fairly confident that people more recently have given me documents that were previously faxed, or people faxed things that I gave them.
gregrph@reddit
Multiple times a day both sending and receiving. I work in a pharmacy and we send and receive faxes to from doctors offices for new prescriptions, refill requests and prior authorization requests. Most of this is done electronically computer to computer although there are still offices that don't have EMR! Even some that do don't use their full capabilities. I've had offices tell me that they don't get computer generated faxes or electronic requests and to manually fax them. I call b.s. to that because our computer will say that the request was successfully received whether it was fax or electronic.
We also transfer prescriptions back and forth between pharmacies multiple times a day. Intra-company transfers are all electronic both ways. Inter-company we can now do electronically!!!! That cuts down on a TREMENDOUS amount of work although many other companies haven't implemented that yet. In that case our computer still sends out faxes.
And to do all of the faxing, the computer still needs to be connected to a physical fax machine, not a modem. We rarely use the physical dax machine to send faxes and mostly receive junk faxes on it.
BusyBeinBorn@reddit
I send faxes a few times a year using my HP printer, but I’ve never had a phone line in my adult life so I’ve never been able to receive one.
FrznFenix2020@reddit
My cat attempted to send a fax last week. We don't have a landline so: Trasmission Failed.
Pet_Ator@reddit
I fax daily at work. In healthcare it’s sometimes mandatory and almost always the fastest and easiest way to share medical records, prescriptions, test results, insurance billing info, etc with other providers.
Kindly_Green_6218@reddit
10 years ago I had a job where I had to fax things to doctors' offices and pharmacies on a regular basis.
Ok-Growth4613@reddit
32 years on this earth and never used one. Ive had a check book either
molten_dragon@reddit
I can't remember the last time. It might have been in the 90s.
Financial_Month_3475@reddit
Local government still uses it for pretty much everything.
Hoosier_Jedi@reddit
Faxed a tax document to the IRS two years ago. Still handy if you’re an expat. I might do it again this year.
Mega_Dragonzord@reddit
I work in a hospital, the soon to be most recent time will be later today.
VisibleSea4533@reddit
10 years ago give or take
sluttypidge@reddit
Nearly daily at my work.
jrice138@reddit
I don’t think I’ve ever done either
20ears19@reddit
Truck stops have fax machines. I use them fairly often. I really don’t want to carry a printer in my truck for the few times a year I need one.
thewags05@reddit
The laser time I used one was when I worked at one, but that was almost 20 years ago.
NYC_DILF@reddit
Pretty often. I am a real estate attorney and many banks will only provide payoff statements for mortgages via fax. That is my most common use. I also sometimes use fax to transmit wiring instructions since it is more secure than email.
supern8ural@reddit
I had to fax docs to LinkedIn ~5 years ago to get them to stop charging me for my ex's subscription. I had to do it at work and the fax machine was powered down LOL
Also, fuck LinkedIn.
Severe-Reality5546@reddit
Almost 30 years ago. I was doing some business travel and the process to get it approved was arduous. The approval required signatures from management who were geographically distant. I faxed them the travel authorization request, and they faxed back a signed copy of the travel request. By the time all the travel paperwork got submitted, the travel authorization was practically illegible.
jimmythevip@reddit
I have never faxed anything in my life. I’m in my mid 20s so I suppose that makes sense. Everything has been email for me.
Josephcooper96@reddit
Ive never touched a fax machine and didnt believe they still existed or were a myth until a couple years ago
Huge_Monk8722@reddit
Both Yesterday
FishAroundFindTrout9@reddit
A couple months ago. Had to send a form into the bank and they required it be sent by fax. But didn’t have to go find a fax machine. Our copiers at work have an e-fax option.
jackfaire@reddit
Early 10s? I think. I worked for an insurance company where I had to redact and then fax some forms.
TheBimpo@reddit
The last company I worked for still received orders from customers as late as 2020. We had a lot of rural and small town businesses that we supplied. I would imagine they are still doing so.
Mangledpie@reddit
I work in a hospital - we get faxes daily
AnnieB512@reddit
I worked in a medical office about 6 years ago and we used faxes.
CommercialWorried319@reddit
Myself? 2001 when I did hotel work.
Stuff I needed faxed someplace? During COVID for some government paperwork and the local offices were at a standstill
Rj924@reddit
I use the fax machine at work to scan documents to my email. I fax patient results as part of my job, but its electronic.
ToxDocUSA@reddit
It has been less than 10 years for sure, but barely, I can remember sending one in mid 2016.
I'm pretty sure I've sent a couple in the intervening years but don't remember the specific details.
I've also given directions for a fax to be sent on my behalf a couple of times per year most of the last 10 years, but in a situation where I don't know (or care) if the document was actually faxed vs just being emailed. They just refer to it still as a "fax doc." In context I'm pretty sure they are actually faxed.
Due_Consequence4811@reddit
My office switched to e-fax a couple years ago. We still send and receive faxes but now it’s done on our computers.
amanda52002@reddit
Last time I had to go on medical leave from work. Doctors offices still use faxes. Email would’ve been a lot easier on me.
Cheap_Coffee@reddit
Maybe 10 years ago? Last time I bought a house.
Carinyosa99@reddit
I sent faxes last year, but they were all efaxes. Now, as for an actual fax machine, I haven't sent or received fax since I last worked in an office, which was 2009.
FreakinB@reddit
The IRS still uses fax for certain forms, so I’ve used it for work here and there. Usually there’s also a mail or phone option for those same forms, but nothing electronic. In those cases, fax is easiest.
Other than that, not at all.
bustermagnus@reddit
Just recently! Pennsylvania's healthcare marketplace website is nearly nonfunctional, and every other method to deliver documents to them (document uploader, e-mail, etc.) was totally inoperable. It also took them several months to verify the documents, leaving me completely uninsured through all of January. That was the first fax I had ever sent in my life as someone in my late 20s. Never lose your benefits in PA.
Such-Mountain-6316@reddit
Around that same time. I was an in-store demonstrator. The shipping companies loved to destroy our kits, leaving us with no cups, plates, napkins, etc. on which to serve the food (they arrived crushed or opened). I had to get some instruction papers faxed.
I always thought they dropped the box from three levels up and drove the Hyster over it for fun. It certainly looked like that.
RecommendationAny763@reddit
I run a small eBay business and annoyingly the only way to respond to our credit card disputes is by fax. So I have to maintain a subscription to an online fax service. So I just upload the documents online and hit send.
omnipresent_sailfish@reddit
2019 and even I still can’t believe it. I was adopting a dog from someone on hospice and the dog’s veterinarian didn’t have email (?!) so they could only fax the dog’s records to the vet I used.
GulfofMaineLobsters@reddit
Couple days ago to renew the USCG documentation for my boats.
ilovemischief@reddit
I tell our system to send things out via fax every day. Some places are just old school and still won’t give us an email for documents to be sent to.
andmewithoutmytowel@reddit
When I was getting my home loan, I had to get the bank to fax some paperwork, that was 2022. The last time before that was a long time ago.
Turbowookie79@reddit
20 years at least.
JointAccount24601@reddit
A couple of years ago I worked at a UPS store and sent faxes for people maybe once every two weeks.
StarMan-88@reddit
Yes, a few years ago at work, because apparently some companies still prefer fax and thankfully my job offers a printer/scanner/copier/fax we can use.
dangleicious13@reddit
When I was working for an engineering firm during summer break in college in either 2007 or 2008.