FileSeal is a UK-hosted secure document sharing service for solicitors. You create an encrypted upload link in about 30 seconds, your client uploads ID, proof of address, mortgage statements, medical records or financial disclosure 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 small practice dilemma
You cringe every time you type please email me your medical records. It doesn’t feel professionally secure.
The Problem
Three risks you face every day
Enterprise Software Overkill
Clio starts at £69 per user per month, takes weeks to set up, requires training. You just need secure document transfer, not a full case management suite.
Client Confidentiality Anxiety
Every time you type “please email me your financial statements”, you know it’s not secure enough for the sensitivity of what you’re asking for.
Professional Negligence Risk
One client’s sensitive documents leaked from email. Your SRA registration is at risk. Your insurer wants evidence of security measures.
How It Works
Professional document collection in three steps
Create a secure link
No Clio setup needed“Please upload your documents using this secure link. It’s encrypted and professionally secure, much safer than email.”
Client uploads confidentially
No client accountsEncrypted with AES-GCM-256 on their device. Works on phones, tablets, laptops. No passwords, no registration, no training.
Download, verify, done
Auto-deletedUploads and downloads logged, for your PI file. GDPR compliance statements. Documents deleted after download.
Practice Areas
Works across every area of law
Family Law
Divorce papers, financial statements, child contact arrangements
Personal Injury
Medical records, accident reports, expert witness statements
Conveyancing
Property surveys, mortgage documents, identity verification
Criminal Defence
Evidence photos, witness statements, character references
Employment Law
Employment contracts, disciplinary records, HR documents
Commercial Law
Company accounts, contracts, due diligence documents
Case Logins & References
Send a portal login or case reference as a one-time note, not an email
Why FileSeal
Built for small practices,
not enterprise IT departments
Professional Negligence Protection
Clear evidence of security measures for professional indemnity claims. Uploads, downloads and collections logged against each request.
Simple Alternative to Clio
No months-long implementation, no staff training, no unused features. Just secure document collection that works immediately.
Client Trust & Professional Image
“Use our secure link” builds more trust than “just email it.” Clients appreciate proper security for their sensitive documents.
No Enterprise Complexity
£29/month vs £69+ for Clio. 30-second setup vs weeks of configuration. Perfect for solo practitioners and small firms.
Ways a solicitor can collect a client 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 |
| A case management system such as Clio | 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 ShareFile, FileSeal compared with Tresorit, FileSeal compared with WeTransfer.
Frequently asked questions
What solicitors ask before switching from email.
How much does FileSeal cost for a solo solicitor or small practice?
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. Professional covers unlimited secure requests for one person, so a solo solicitor or small practice pays a flat monthly fee rather than per document.
Do my clients need an account to upload their documents?
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.
Is FileSeal suitable for an SRA-regulated practice?
Designed for firms regulated by the SRA and FCA. FileSeal holds no regulator endorsement. A Data Processing Agreement is published at fileseal.uk/terms/dpa and incorporated into the terms, and any signed-in account can download a GDPR Compliance Statement describing the technical and organisational measures in place. Whether a given tool meets your obligations remains a judgement for your firm.
Where are my clients’ 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.
Can FileSeal read my clients’ documents?
It depends on the delivery mode, and FileSeal states both plainly. “Email them” is the default and lets FileSeal keep the key so it can email a working link. “Get a link”, labelled Most private, keeps the key only in the link, so FileSeal stores ciphertext it cannot read. Files are encrypted with AES-GCM-256 on the device before upload in either mode.
What record do I have that a client 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.
Resources
Security guides for solicitors
Document Security & GDPR Checklist
The complete compliance checklist for SRA-regulated practices.
GDPR Document Collection Guide
Fix your document collection in 15 minutes. Avoid fines up to £17.5 million.
Data Breach Response Guide
The 72-hour response plan when client data is compromised.