The fax header is the single line printed across the top of every page a fax machine or service receives: the date and time of transmission, the sender's fax number, the sender's name or company as they set it, and the page number out of the total. It is generated by the sending device, not typed on the page, and in the United States a sender is required to include identifying information on the transmitted pages. This page gives a fax header example, explains what each field is, and shows where it is set in an online fax account.
A fax header example, field by field
A typical header reads, left to right: the date and time the sending device started the page, the sender's fax number as programmed into the device or account, the sender's name or company name, and a page count such as page 2 of 5. On a received page it appears in small print in the top margin, above whatever was on the original. Because the sender's device generates it, a header that says a hospital's name with a number that does not match should prompt a phone call before anything is acted on. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act's rules require the sender's identification on faxed pages, which is why every machine and service insists the sender's line be filled in.
What is fax header in an online account
An online fax service prints the header from the account settings: the fax number on the account and the sender name you enter. Most vendors let each user set their own name so the header on a page sent by a nurse and one sent by the billing desk identify the right person while sharing one number. Set it once and check it on a test fax to yourself, because the header is what the recipient sees before the cover sheet, and a header reading the vendor's name or a personal name on a practice's faxes looks like a misdirected page. The date and time come from the service's clock, so check the time zone in the account settings as well.
A fax example, in order
A complete outbound fax in the order the receiver sees it: the header line generated on every page; a cover sheet as page one carrying the sender's details, the recipient's name and number, the page count, a subject that discloses nothing sensitive, and a confidentiality statement; then the document pages. On the sender's side the example ends with the transmission report: number dialled, pages, time, result, which an online service files in the sent log automatically. The free fax cover sheet on this site is the page-one part of that example; the header is the account setting; the report is the service's job.
Questions people ask about fax header example
Can I remove the fax header?
No, and you should not try. The sender's identification on the pages is required by the rules on faxing in the United States, and a page without it looks like junk.
Why does the header show the wrong name?
The sender name in the account settings is wrong or was left at a default. Change it in the account and send a test to yourself.
Is the header the same as the cover sheet?
No. The header is a one-line stamp on every page; the cover sheet is a full first page you write. A fax should have both.