Document collection

How to Receive Documents for Translation Securely

The safe way to receive a document for translation is an end-to-end encrypted upload link the client opens without an account, encrypted in their browser and set to expire after the job. Here's the workflow, and why it matters most for certified and legal work.

The safe way to receive a document for translation is an end-to-end encrypted upload link the client opens without an account, where the file is encrypted in their browser before it reaches you. That keeps the source document out of email inboxes, isolates each client's file from the next, and lets the request expire once you've delivered. For certified, legal, and medical work, it's the intake that matches the confidentiality you already promise.

Why email and shared folders fall short for source documents

An email attachment is the default, and the weakest option. The scan sits in the client's sent folder, your inbox, and both providers' backups, searchable with no expiry. A shared Google Drive or Dropbox folder is a step up, but the provider holds the keys and can read the file, links get forwarded, and one client's folder is easy to expose to the next. Neither gives you a record of when a document arrived or a clean way to delete it afterward.

How the options compare

Method	Encrypted so only you can read it?	Client needs an account?	Isolated per client?	Expires / easy to delete?
Email attachment	No	No	No	No
WeTransfer / file link	No	No	No	Partly
Shared cloud drive	No	Sometimes	No	Manual
Encrypted upload request	Yes	No	Yes	Yes

How to receive documents securely, step by step

Ask for one document type per request. A birth certificate, a transcript, a court filing. Clear labels get you a legible scan the first time.
Send an encrypted link, not a request for an attachment. The client uploads from a phone or laptop with no account to create.
Encrypt on the client's device. The file should be encrypted in the browser before it's sent, so no server in the middle ever holds a readable copy.
Keep each client's document isolated, so one client's upload is never visible to the next.
Set the request to expire. Delete the source after delivery instead of leaving it in an inbox for months.

Why this matters more for certified and legal translation

When you sign a certificate of accuracy for USCIS, a court, or a university, your name is on how the document was handled as much as on the translation. Clients for this work are usually individuals sending one of the most sensitive documents they own, and many agencies sign an NDA before a translator even reads the file. Receiving that file over email works against the promise. As machine translation takes the routine work, the human, certified end of the market competes on this kind of trust, so the intake should hold up to it.

Where doconvoy fits

doconvoy gives you one encrypted request per document type. The client opens a page in your name, uploads without an account, and the file is encrypted in their browser before it reaches you, so doconvoy never sees a readable copy. You're notified when it lands, and the request expires on a schedule you set. See it applied to the field in secure document collection for certified translators.

Send clients one encrypted link to upload the documents you translate, no account, set to expire.

Receive translation documents securely

Common questions

What's the safest way for a translator to receive a client's documents?

An end-to-end encrypted upload link the client opens without an account, where the file is encrypted in their browser before it reaches the translator. It keeps the source document out of email inboxes and lets the request expire after delivery.

Is a shared Google Drive or Dropbox folder secure enough for translation source files?

It's better than email, but not private. The provider holds the keys and can read the file, links can be forwarded, and one client's folder can be exposed to the next. For certified or legal documents, an end-to-end encrypted request is safer.

How long should a translator keep a client's source document?

Only as long as the job needs. Good practice is to delete source files after delivery, and an intake link that expires on a set schedule does this without manual cleanup.