How to Send Large Files to Government Agencies and Public Institutions via Email

You need to submit a 60MB environmental impact report to a government agency. Their portal is down. Their generic email address bounces files over 10MB. You try attaching it to a Google Drive link — the agency's firewall blocks it. You upload to WeTransfer — their IT policy prohibits staff from downloading from unknown external links. You call their office and they say to "just email it."

SendSplit bypasses these barriers by delivering your file as standard email attachments — no external links, no cloud storage sign-in, no portals. The file lands directly in the official inbox as a series of standard attachments that any email system can receive.

Why Government Email Systems Reject Large Files

Public sector email infrastructure is typically more restrictive than corporate systems, for legitimate security reasons:

  • Aggressive size caps — government Exchange servers are commonly set to 10MB or even 5MB per message; some agencies set limits as low as 2MB for inbound external email
  • External cloud storage blocked — Google Drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer, and most public file-sharing services are blocked at the network perimeter by default in many government environments
  • Link scanning and quarantine — security gateways strip or quarantine emails containing URLs from unfamiliar domains, meaning your WeTransfer or OneDrive link never reaches the inbox
  • Attachment type restrictions — some agencies block specific file types (ZIP, EXE, macro-enabled Office files); PDF and plain document formats pass most reliably
  • No portal access for submitters — official submission portals often require prior registration, which may not be available to external parties

Why Standard Email Attachments Are the Safest Path

Every government email system, no matter how locked down, must accept standard SMTP email with normal attachments — otherwise the agency cannot receive any external correspondence. This makes standard email attachments the most universally accepted delivery method:

  • No external URLs that get blocked or quarantined
  • No third-party platforms that IT departments prohibit
  • No sign-in required on the recipient's side
  • Full delivery into the official inbox, with normal email logging and audit trails
  • Compatible with every email client government staff actually use (Outlook, Lotus Notes, webmail)

How SendSplit Works for Government Submissions

SendSplit splits your large file into parts small enough to pass through any government email system, then sends each part as a standard attachment via SMTP. No links, no portals, no external platforms involved in delivery.

  1. Open sendsplit.com/upload-to-send in any browser
  2. Upload your file (PDF, ZIP, DOCX, XLSX — up to 200MB)
  3. Choose 10MB splits — the safest setting for government and institutional email servers
  4. Enter the agency's official email address
  5. Click send — each part arrives as a numbered attachment in the official inbox

The recipient opens their email client and sees a series of messages with standard attachments, each clearly numbered. They download all parts and extract the archive. No accounts needed on either side. No external links to click.

File Types That Work Best for Government Submission

  • PDF — the universally accepted format for official submissions; passes all content filters; preserves formatting exactly
  • ZIP archives — widely supported; bundle multiple supporting documents into one submission package
  • DOCX / XLSX — accepted by most agencies for editable submissions; avoid macro-enabled formats (.xlsm, .docm) which may be blocked
  • JPEG / PNG images — for photographic evidence, site survey images, or scanned documents
  • DWG / PDF drawings — for planning applications, infrastructure submissions, and permit applications

Use Cases: Who Sends Large Files to Government?

  • Environmental consultants and engineers submitting impact assessments, survey reports, and remediation plans to regulatory agencies
  • Architects and urban planners sending planning applications, design drawings, and compliance documentation to municipal authorities
  • Healthcare providers transmitting patient data requests, audit documentation, and regulatory filings to health authorities
  • Legal professionals filing evidence bundles, court submissions, and discovery documentation to judicial offices
  • Contractors and procurement vendors submitting tender documents, technical specifications, and proposal packages to public procurement bodies
  • Researchers and academics submitting grant applications, ethics approvals, and research data to public funding bodies and regulatory committees

Tips for Government Email Submissions

  • Always use 10MB splits — do not use 20MB or 25MB for government recipients; assume a 10MB per-message cap unless you know otherwise
  • Use PDF wherever possible — convert Word and Excel documents to PDF before uploading; PDF is universally accepted and avoids macro-blocking
  • Include a cover email — send a brief introductory email first explaining that the submission will arrive as a series of numbered attachments; this prevents the recipient from discarding the split emails as spam
  • Reference the submission in each part's subject line — SendSplit labels each part automatically, but follow up with a summary email confirming the number of parts sent
  • Retain proof of sending — keep the SendSplit confirmation and your sent email records as evidence that the submission was made on time
  • Password protection for sensitive submissions — for personal data, medical records, or legally privileged documents, use SendSplit's optional password encryption; share the password via a separate channel

Stop losing submissions to blocked portals and bounced attachments. Try SendSplit — deliver files up to 200MB to any government inbox as standard email attachments that bypass size limits, firewalls, and cloud storage restrictions.