FileSeal is a UK-hosted secure document sharing service for recruitment agencies. You create an encrypted upload link in about 30 seconds, your candidate uploads a passport, right-to-work evidence, a DBS certificate or references without creating an account, and you download the files once before they are deleted from FileSeal’s servers. The free trial is 5 secure requests with no time limit and no card. Professional is £29 a month (£25 billed annually) and Teams is £59 a month (£47 billed annually) for up to 5 people including the owner, both plus VAT.
Prices and facts last reviewed: September 2026. Prices exclude UK VAT.
The Recruitment Compliance Nightmare
The Friday Afternoon Rush
Candidate starts Monday. You need passport, visa, and proof of address by end of day. They’re on their phone at the pub. Good luck getting a clean scan via email.
Global Candidate Pool
Candidates in different countries, different time zones, different levels of tech literacy. You need a single secure link that works everywhere, on any device.
GDPR & Right-to-Work
Home Office checks are getting stricter. You need clear audit trails showing when documents were received, how they were secured, and when they were deleted.
Secure Candidate Onboarding
From offer accepted to documents verified in minutes, not days
1. Send secure link
InstantGenerate a secure upload link and send it via text, WhatsApp, or email. “Please upload your passport using this secure link.”
2. Candidate uploads
Any deviceWorks on phones, tablets, laptops. Encrypted on their device. No app download, no registration. Even at the pub on a Friday.
3. Compliant & deleted
Audit trailDownload, verify, done. Uploads and downloads logged for right-to-work compliance. Documents auto-deleted. GDPR sorted.
Every Onboarding Document You Need
Right to Work
Passports, visas, biometric residence permits, share codes
Identity Verification
Photo ID, driving licences, national ID cards
Proof of Address
Utility bills, bank statements, council tax bills
Qualifications
Certificates, diplomas, professional registrations
DBS Checks
Disclosure certificates, enhanced DBS documents
References
Written references, employment verification letters
Start Details & Logins
Send a new starter their first login or a system access code as a one-time note
Why Recruitment Agencies Choose FileSeal
Right-to-Work Compliance
Clear audit trails showing when documents were received, how they were secured, and when they were deleted. Home Office ready.
Speed Advantage
Candidates upload from their phone in 30 seconds. No waiting for them to get home and scan. Perfect for Friday afternoon rushes.
Global & Multilingual
Works in any country, any language, any device. One secure link for candidates anywhere in the world.
Candidate Experience
Candidates appreciate professional security for their passport and personal documents. Better experience = better employer brand.
Ways an agency can collect a candidate document, compared
| How you collect it | Who can read the file | After the download | Record you can point to | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Email attachment | Every mail server and mailbox the message passes through | The attachment stays in both mailboxes until somebody deletes it | Nothing beyond your sent folder | Included with your mail account |
| WeTransfer or a similar transfer service | The provider holds the keys, so it can access the files | Kept for a fixed window whether or not anyone downloaded it | None on the free tier | Free tier, or a paid plan |
| A Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive link | The provider holds the keys, plus anyone the link reaches | The file stays in your drive until you remove it | Access logs on business tiers | Bundled with a storage subscription |
| An applicant tracking system | Your firm and the vendor, under their terms | Stored for the life of the matter | Usually, inside the system | Typically quoted per user on request |
| FileSeal | Anyone holding the link, and its key in Most private mode, can open it once. In the default Email them mode FileSeal holds the key too, so it can email a working link | Deleted from FileSeal’s servers after the one download | Uploads, downloads and collections logged against the request | £29 a month plus VAT, after 5 free requests |
See also: FileSeal compared with WeTransfer.
Frequently asked questions
What recruiters ask before switching from email.
How much does FileSeal cost for a recruitment agency?
The free trial is 5 secure requests with no time limit and no card. Professional is £29 a month (£25 billed annually) and Teams is £59 a month (£47 billed annually) for up to 5 people including the owner, both plus VAT. Teams suits an agency where several consultants collect documents, and extra seats beyond the included 5 are £10 a month each on request.
Do candidates need an account to upload their passport?
No. Clients upload from any device without creating an account or installing anything. They open the link, choose their files and upload. Nothing is installed and no password is set.
Does FileSeal help candidates tell a real request from a scam?
It gives you something better to send than a request for an emailed passport photo. The upload page carries your name, title, company and logo on paid plans, and the link goes to one place rather than asking a candidate to attach identity documents to an email. FileSeal does not verify identity or check documents for you.
Where are candidate documents stored?
The application, database and encrypted files are hosted in the UK: Vercel in London, Neon PostgreSQL in AWS eu-west-2, and Vercel Blob’s UK store. Supporting services such as email delivery and error monitoring run in the UK or the EEA, listed in the Data Processing Agreement at fileseal.uk/terms/dpa.
What happens to a passport scan after I download it?
Each link works once. Files are deleted from FileSeal’s servers after that download, and uncollected files are deleted when the link expires. Notes are wiped the moment they are opened, and the recipient keeps the copy they downloaded.
What record do I have that a candidate sent a document?
Uploads, downloads, collections and expiry clean-up are logged against the request. Separately, any signed-in account can download an activity report listing its requests with their status, expiry and download count. Creating a request is not itself logged, so this is a record of what happened to the documents rather than of every action in the account.