Faxing a university or college
Admissions offices sort thousands of files: your application number decides where the page lands.
Canadian universities and colleges manage applications through online systems — OUAC for Ontario universities, ontariocolleges.ca for Ontario colleges, EducationPlannerBC, or the institution’s own portal. Some registrar’s and admissions offices still accept a fax for supporting documents such as a medical note for a missed exam, a deferral request or a reference letter. Official transcripts are another matter: most institutions only accept them sent directly by the issuing school or through an electronic exchange. Read the office’s published instructions first, then head the cover page with your student or application number.
Why a university or college still takes faxes
Registrar’s offices receive documents from high schools, other universities, doctors and sponsors in many countries, and some keep a fax line for those senders. Graduate departments sometimes accept a faxed reference letter when a referee cannot use the portal.
For students, fax can meet a short deadline — documentation for a deferred exam, for example — when the institution allows it. The transmission report shows when you sent it.
Where to find the right number
- The admissions or registrar’s pages of the institution’s website, which list the accepted ways to submit each type of document.
- Your offer letter, portal messages or the academic calendar, which set out deadlines and contacts.
- The office itself, by phone or email, to confirm that fax is accepted for that document.
What the cover page should say
- The institution, faculty or department, and the office (admissions, registrar, graduate studies).
- Your full name, date of birth and student or application number.
- The program and term and, for an exam, the course code and date.
- The subject and the total page count.
The record to keep
Keep the transmission report, the PDF and any acknowledgement from the office. If a deadline is disputed, the date and exact content of what you sent are your strongest evidence.
Other channels, sometimes better
The applicant or student portal
Uploads go straight to your file, and you can see what is still missing.
Electronic transcript exchange
Many institutions exchange official transcripts electronically; request them through the school that issued them.
Credential assessment
For studies completed abroad, an evaluation by a service such as WES or ICAS may be required; follow the institution’s instructions.
Other recipients
- Health data on paper again: the number must come from the plan, not from a search engine.
- For a lost card, call; for paperwork, a clearly referenced fax may still be welcome.
- A repair request in writing protects you; a notice to end a tenancy has rules of its own.
- Court paperwork leaves no room for guesswork: the office’s own number, the case reference, a dated record.
Faxing a public body
In this section
- Faxing an organisation
- A repair request in writing protects you; a notice to end a tenancy has rules of its own.
- Court paperwork leaves no room for guesswork: the office’s own number, the case reference, a dated record.
- Diplomatic missions handle a flood of requests: a clearly labelled fax is far more likely to be dealt with quickly.
Where to go next
Hand-picked pages to help you prepare, send or prove your fax.