Retain faxes and proof of sending

Archiving is your responsibility

An online fax service routes; it does not file. At Faxeroo, the uploaded file lives only for the duration of the send, then deletion follows. Only the PDF receipts, if you have opted in, remain accessible on the tracking page. When a dispute arises, only your filing will make the difference.

The rule of the game: every important fax must be reproducible on its own, even for someone who was absent. A colleague, accountant, or lawyer should be able to open the file and identify the contents, recipient, date, and outcome.

PDF/A: a format built to last

A basic PDF can depend on absent fonts, remote assets, or a password. The ISO 19005 specification behind PDF/A removes those dependencies: fonts are embedded, encryption is banned, and external calls are forbidden. Fifteen years on, the rendering stays identical.

Mainstream office suites export to PDF/A from their save options. For fax, archive the transmitted file as-is; any later conversion should happen alongside the original, to rule out any accusation of tampering.

Sensitive records: record the SHA-256 hash of each file in a text file within the folder. Change a single byte, and the hash changes.

File names that sort themselves

A good name sorts without thought: date first, in YYYY-MM-DD, then the correspondent, the subject, and the document type — '2026-04-17_mutuelle-flandre_attestation-soins_envoye.pdf', for example, then '…_accuse-transmission.pdf'. Banish spaces, accents, and exotic characters, which corrupt copies from one system to another.

Place all items from one transmission in a folder that shares a root name, with the reference shown on the receipts. File by year, then by correspondent; this scheme suits most SMEs. For larger volumes, move to a document management system.

Retention periods: Belgian benchmarks

No retention period is specific to fax: its lifespan follows that of the document it carries. Invoices and purchase orders follow accounting rules; a notice period follows the timeframe for contesting it; a patient record follows healthcare sector rules.

For reference: the Belgian Code of Economic Law generally requires ten years of retention for accounting books and records; VAT regulations likewise provide for a long period for invoices. In civil matters, many contractual actions are subject to a ten-year statute of limitations, unless shorter periods apply.

Changing durations, numerous exceptions: check the rule that applies to you with the FPS Economy, the FPS Finance, or your accountant.

Personal data: only what's strictly necessary

Names, numbers, health or financial data: a fax file almost always contains plenty. The GDPR requires keeping only what's necessary, for as long as necessary, protected from unauthorized eyes. The Data Protection Authority publishes helpful recommendations on these points.

In practice: access limited to the people concerned, a destruction date set at filing time, actual deletion when due — backups included. The draft or duplicate kept 'just in case' has no place: every unnecessary copy adds to the burden.

At least two copies, or it doesn't count

A single copy on one disk is not an archive. Start with the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, at least two storage technologies, with one kept offsite. An encrypted online vault, supplemented by an external drive stored off-premises, covers most needs.

Reopen a few folders at random, once or twice a year: it's the only way to know whether your files remain readable, intact, and findable when the time comes.