In some rare cases, GovWell may return an error when you try to upload a PDF file in a file upload field – whether in a form or within a live record. This article breaks down the potential reasons a file upload may fail, so you can troubleshoot the issue and successfully upload your file.
🚨 Potential Issues and causes
1. File is too large
Files over 1 GB are rejected at upload time. If you try to upload a file over this limit, you will see a "Files have a max size of 1 GB" error.
2. Unsupported file type
To ensure platform security and consistent file handling, GovWell only supports the following file types:
PDF
JPEG / JPG
PNG
If you try to upload a file type that doesn't match the above, the upload will be blocked and you will see a "File type not supported" error.
3. Password-protected PDF
Password-protected PDFs – those that require a password to open – are detected and blocked before uploading. When this happens, you will see a "You may not upload a password-protected PDF" error.
4. Corrupt or invalid PDF
Files with a .pdf extension that aren't valid PDFs are detected before uploading, and the platform will return a "This PDF file appears to be corrupted. Please try a different file" error.
Common examples of corrupt or invalid PDFs include:
Renamed file extension: A Word document, Excel/CSV spreadsheet, or image that has been renamed to end in
.pdf. This is the most common cause of a "corrupted" file error.
Incomplete download: A PDF downloaded from an email or website where the download was interrupted, resulting in a truncated or corrupt file.
"Print to PDF" from a browser: Some older browsers or printer drivers can produce malformed PDFs when using the "Print to PDF" option.
Scanning software: Some scanner apps – particularly older or free ones produce files that claim to be PDFs but contain structural issues.
File corrupted during email transfer: Email servers can occasionally corrupt attachments, especially larger ones.