How to send a fax internationally from Canada

Get the number in the right format

From a Canadian phone, overseas numbers are dialled with 011, then the country code, then the local number. The United States and many Caribbean countries share Canada's +1 country code, so those are dialled like a long-distance call within Canada.

Whatever you are using, collect the full number with its country code before you start. Ask the recipient for it in international format, which starts with a plus sign. Two common traps:

• Leading zeros. Many countries, such as the United Kingdom, write domestic numbers with a leading 0 that is dropped after the country code. A London number written 020 xxxx xxxx becomes +44 20 xxxx xxxx.
• Missing city or area codes. A number copied from a local letterhead may leave out a code the recipient never needs to dial at home.

What international pages cost

Plan pages are used differently depending on the destination. A page faxed to Canada, the United States or the United Kingdom uses 1 plan page. Countries where calls cost more use more plan pages per page, up to 55 for the most expensive destinations, such as China. Faxes you receive from abroad count once per page, regardless of where they came from.

On the Personal plan you get 200 pages a month, with extra pages at $0.10 each; on Business, 500 pages with extras at $0.07. A failed attempt uses no pages, so a retry does not cost twice.