How do I send mortgage or rental documents as one PDF?

A mortgage lender, a broker or a letting agent sends you a list: payslips, bank statements, ID, proof of address, maybe tax forms. Some are PDFs from your bank's website, some are photos on your phone, and one is a screenshot. They want it all back, complete and readable, through an upload portal with a size limit or by email.

Getting the pack right the first time saves days, because every missing or unreadable page means another round of emails before anyone looks at the application.

What is usually on the list

The list your lender or agent sends is the one that counts. These are typical examples of what gets asked for:

Rental applications usually ask for less: ID, proof of income, and sometimes recent bank statements and references.

Two rules that prevent most follow-up requests

Send every page, even the blank ones. Statements often say "page 3 of 4" at the bottom. If page 4 is missing, someone will ask for it, even when it is a blank page or the bank's terms. Do not crop the edges off either: account names, dates and page numbers live there.

A downloaded statement beats a screenshot. A screenshot of a banking app usually lacks your name, the account number and the date range. Many lenders and agents ask for the PDF statement you can download from online banking, so get that if you can.

Step 1: turn photos into PDF pages

Payslips and letters that only exist on paper need photographing. Lay each page flat in good daylight, hold the phone straight above it, and fill the frame with the page.

Then open JPG to PDF and add the photos, up to 30 at a time. Put them in order by dragging the cards or with their arrows, choose Letter or A4 with the image fitted to the page, and create the PDF. The PDF is built on your phone and the photos are not uploaded. iPhone HEIC photos can go in as they are; a set that includes one is converted on our server and deleted as soon as the PDF is built.

Make one PDF per document: one for the payslips, one for the passport or driving licence, front and back together.

Step 2: merge in the checklist's order

Open Merge PDF, add the PDFs, and use the arrows on each card to put them in the same order as the checklist you were sent. The person reviewing your application then reads your file alongside their list without hunting. Merge PDF works in your browser, so the files are never uploaded, which is worth something when they are bank statements.

If a statement asks for a password when it opens, Merge PDF refuses it with a message. Remove the password with Unlock PDF first; you need the password the bank gave you.

One PDF or several?

• The portal has a slot for each document type: make one PDF per slot. Bank statements in one file, payslips in another.
• You are sending it all by email: one PDF in the checklist's order is the easiest thing to receive, or a few PDFs grouped by type if a single file would be too big.
• Either way: never send a dozen separate photos.

Name files so they explain themselves: "J Smith bank statements Jul to Sep 2026.pdf" survives being saved into a case file; "scan_003.pdf" does not.

Step 3: check the size

Merging does not shrink anything; the merged file is about the size of all the parts added together. If the portal or email has a limit, run the finished file through Compress PDF. Recommended keeps every page clear on screen, and To a size takes the exact limit in KB, such as 10000 for 10 MB. Statements downloaded from a bank are mostly text and stay sharp; it is the phone photos that shrink.

After compressing, open the file and read the smallest print on a payslip. If you can read it, so can they.

Should you black anything out?

For a mortgage lender, no. The lender needs the account numbers and the transactions to assess the application, and a statement with parts hidden is likely to be sent back.

For a landlord or letting agent, ask first. Some applicants hide individual spending lines and keep the name, address, income and balance visible. Some agents accept that and some do not. If you do it, use real redaction, because a black highlight or a drawn box usually leaves the text in the file, where anyone can copy it out. Why blacked-out text in a PDF can still be read shows the difference.

Send it to the right place

A complete set of ID, payslips and bank statements is exactly what an identity thief wants. Upload through the lender's own portal, or email the agent at an address you have confirmed yourself. Be wary of anyone who asks for the full pack before you have viewed a property or checked that the agency is real.

Before you send

1. Every document on the checklist is there.
2. Every page of every statement is there, including blank ones.
3. Names, dates and account details are readable at the edges.
4. Files are in the checklist's order and clearly named.
5. Each file is under the portal's size limit.