How documents reach Cosmos
The fastest way to send documents to Cosmos is straight through your platform chat or upload area, rather than by email. Documents sent through the platform are kept with your matter, so the team can find them later without searching across inboxes, and you can find them too.
What works
PDFs. A clear PDF is usually the easiest format for everyone, and is what most banks and registrars expect.
JPEG and PNG images. Useful for photos of physical documents, and fine if the image is clear and well-lit.
Word documents. Acceptable for editable documents, though signed or official documents should be sent as PDFs.
What does not work
Photos of a screen. A photograph of a document open on your laptop is rarely usable. The screen reflects, the text is rasterised, and corners are usually cropped. Either save the PDF directly, or photograph the physical document on a flat surface.
Cropped or partial pages. If a corner is missing, or the page edges are not visible, registrars and banks frequently reject the document. Make sure all four corners are visible.
Blurry or low-light photos. If you cannot read the document clearly yourself, a regulator certainly will not.
Heavily compressed images. Some messaging apps automatically compress photos to the point that text is unreadable. Send the original file rather than re-photograph the screen.
A few practical tips
Photograph documents in natural light if you can. Place them flat. Frame the whole page in the shot. For multi-page documents, use a PDF rather than separate images, because pages can get separated. If your phone has a scan-document feature, it is usually better than a normal photo.
What happens after you upload
Documents you send through the platform are received, logged against your matter, and reviewed by the team. If anything is unclear, missing, or cannot be used, you will hear back quickly with the specifics. Documents are stored securely. See How Cosmos protects your information, and Documents we need from you for the documents typically required.