📄 What Types of Documents Can Be Scanned? (Spoiler: Almost Everything!)

When it comes to going paperless, many organisations ask the same question:
“Can my documents be scanned?”

The answer is almost always: Yes!

At Data Solutions Group, we’ve spent over 20 years helping businesses, schools, councils, and healthcare providers across the UK digitise all sorts of paperwork—some you might expect, and some you probably wouldn’t.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through what types of documents can be scanned, why it matters, and how we make even the most complex files digital, searchable, and secure.

🗂️ Everyday Office Documents

Let’s start with the obvious ones. We regularly scan:

• Invoices and purchase orders

• Receipts and payment records

• Bank statements and tax files

• HR and personnel files

• Meeting minutes and contracts

These files often sit in ring binders, folders, or archive boxes. Our scanners handle thousands of pages per hour, converting them to PDF with OCR (Optical Character Recognition)—so you can search by name, number, or keyword.

👉 Learn more about OCR scanning

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🧾 Finance and Legal Records

Financial and legal departments often hold years' worth of records, much of which is subject to retention rules or regulatory audits. That’s why we scan and index:

• Payroll files

• Pension and audit reports

• Legal contracts, tenancy agreements, and case files

• Court bundles and property deeds

• Insurance policies and claims

We apply GDPR-compliant handling and offer certificates of destruction for peace of mind.

👉 Explore our GDPR compliance standards

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🏥 Medical & Care Home Files

From handwritten GP notes to care plans and medical charts, our scanning services are ideal for:

• GP practice records (suitable for EMR migration)

• Social care files and assessments

• Care home documentation and MAR charts

• Safeguarding reports and health visitor notes

These often contain sensitive personal data, so we follow ISO 27001 security protocols and ensure full confidentiality throughout.

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🏢 Property & Housing Files

Housing associations and property managers deal with a mountain of paperwork, including:

• Tenancy agreements

• Maintenance logs and repair reports

• Asbestos surveys and fire safety inspections

• Leasehold records

• RTB applications and complaint files

We scan everything into foldered, structured digital formats—making retrieval fast and audit-friendly.

👉 See our services for housing providers

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🏫 School & Education Records

Schools and academies across the UK rely on us to digitise:

• Pupil records and safeguarding files

• SEN documentation

• Staff HR files

• Attendance records and exclusion data

• Examination scripts and assessments

We follow DfE data retention guidance and handle files in line with safeguarding best practices.

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📐 Large Format & Specialist Materials

Not everything fits in a standard A4 scanner—and that’s okay! We also handle:

• Architectural drawings

• Site maps and blueprints

• Engineering diagrams

• Planning applications

• Artwork and posters

Our large format scanners digitise these up to A0 size, in high resolution, perfect for archiving or reproduction.

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📚 Books, Manuals & Bound Volumes

We can scan:

• Bound logbooks

• Training manuals

• Visitor registers

• Historical ledgers

• Rare or fragile books

We carefully de-bind, scan, and reassemble if needed—or scan bound using overhead book scanners for preservation.

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💡 In Summary: If It’s on Paper, We Can Scan It

Whether it’s a single folder or a warehouse of archive boxes, we have the equipment, expertise, and secure workflows to scan it—accurately and efficiently.

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✅ Ready to Digitise Your Documents?

Call us today on 01625 400250 or Request a Free Quote.
We also offer free sample scanning, so you can try us before you commit.

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Data Solutions Group – Secure. Compliant. Trusted by Organisations Across the UK.