diff --git a/backend/src/routes/adminUploadLinks.ts b/backend/src/routes/adminUploadLinks.ts
index 71edd0c..d1f5b7c 100644
--- a/backend/src/routes/adminUploadLinks.ts
+++ b/backend/src/routes/adminUploadLinks.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@ import { Router, Request, Response } from 'express';
 import { pool, requireRow } from '../db';
 import { asyncRoute } from '../asyncRoute';
 import { generateToken, hashToken } from '../uploadLinks';
-import { trimTrailingSlashes } from '../utils';
+import { trimTrailingSlashes, isValidEmail } from '../utils';
+import { sendMail, MailOutcome } from '../mailer';
+import { renderTemplate } from '../emailTemplates';
+import { loadStoredTemplate } from './adminEmailTemplates';
 
 const router = Router();
 
@@ -27,7 +30,7 @@ const router = Router();
  * `token_hash` into every listing the moment somebody added a convenience.
  */
 const LINK_SELECT = `
-  SELECT id, label, revoked_at, submission_count, max_submissions, last_used_at, created_at
+  SELECT id, label, contact_email, revoked_at, submission_count, max_submissions, last_used_at, created_at
   FROM upload_links
 `;
 
@@ -44,6 +47,7 @@ const DEFAULT_MAX_SUBMISSIONS = 25;
 interface UploadLinkRow {
   id: number;
   label: string;
+  contact_email: string | null;
   revoked_at: string | null;
   submission_count: number;
   max_submissions: number | null;
@@ -51,6 +55,19 @@ interface UploadLinkRow {
   created_at: string;
 }
 
+/**
+ * What the mail tells the recipient about how much they may send.
+ *
+ * Words rather than a bare number for an uncapped link, so the sentence reads
+ * as a sentence instead of showing an empty space where a figure should be.
+ * An uncapped link is a deliberate choice the admin already had to make, so it
+ * is emailable like any other.
+ */
+function submissionsAllowed(maxSubmissions: number | null): string {
+  if (maxSubmissions === null) return 'as many items as you like';
+  return maxSubmissions === 1 ? '1 item' : `${maxSubmissions} items`;
+}
+
 router.get('/', asyncRoute(async (_req: Request, res: Response) => {
   const { rows } = await pool.query<UploadLinkRow>(`${LINK_SELECT} ORDER BY created_at DESC`);
   res.json(rows);
@@ -62,6 +79,11 @@ router.post('/', asyncRoute(async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
     return res.status(400).json({ error: 'a label is required' });
   }
 
+  const email = typeof req.body?.email === 'string' ? req.body.email.trim() : '';
+  if (email === '' || !isValidEmail(email)) {
+    return res.status(400).json({ error: 'a valid email address is required' });
+  }
+
   // Three cases, deliberately distinct. Absent means nobody decided, which
   // gets the bounded default. An explicit null means unlimited — a decision
   // someone made, visible in the request. A number is itself. Reading absent
@@ -80,10 +102,10 @@ router.post('/', asyncRoute(async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
 
   const token = generateToken();
   const { rows } = await pool.query<UploadLinkRow>(
-    `INSERT INTO upload_links (label, token_hash, max_submissions)
-     VALUES ($1, $2, $3)
-     RETURNING id, label, revoked_at, submission_count, max_submissions, last_used_at, created_at`,
-    [label, hashToken(token), maxSubmissions]
+    `INSERT INTO upload_links (label, token_hash, max_submissions, contact_email)
+     VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4)
+     RETURNING id, label, contact_email, revoked_at, submission_count, max_submissions, last_used_at, created_at`,
+    [label, hashToken(token), maxSubmissions, email]
   );
   const link = requireRow(rows, 'the upload_links INSERT');
 
@@ -91,7 +113,43 @@ router.post('/', asyncRoute(async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
   // outbound link is built from. Absent in local development, which yields a
   // relative URL the admin screen can still show and copy usefully.
   const base = trimTrailingSlashes(process.env.PUBLIC_URL ?? '');
-  res.status(201).json({ ...link, token, url: `${base}/submit/${token}` });
+  const url = `${base}/submit/${token}`;
+
+  // Awaited, and its outcome reported rather than swallowed. Every other sender
+  // in this codebase fires and forgets because nobody is waiting on the answer;
+  // here somebody is — the admin is looking at the screen, and whether they
+  // now have to send the link by hand is the thing they need to know.
+  //
+  // A failure does not roll the link back. The token is shown exactly once, so
+  // a rollback would leave the admin retrying and holding a different link,
+  // discarding work that succeeded for the sake of tidiness.
+  let outcome: MailOutcome = 'skipped-unconfigured';
+  try {
+    const template = renderTemplate('uploadLink', await loadStoredTemplate('uploadLink'), {
+      submitUrl: url,
+      label: link.label,
+      submissionsAllowed: submissionsAllowed(link.max_submissions)
+    });
+    outcome = await sendMail(email, template.subject, template.html);
+  } catch (err) {
+    // Reported, not thrown. The link exists and is usable; the admin needs to
+    // be told the mail did not go, not handed a 500 for a link that was made.
+    //
+    // An SMTP rejection also lands here and is reported the same way as an
+    // unconfigured environment, which is not strictly accurate — a fourth
+    // outcome would be a real distinction, but nothing consumes it and the
+    // admin's next action is identical either way: copy the link and send it
+    // by hand.
+    console.error(`[upload-links] could not email ${email}:`, err);
+    outcome = 'skipped-unconfigured';
+  }
+
+  res.status(201).json({
+    ...link,
+    token,
+    url,
+    mail: { sent: outcome === 'sent', outcome }
+  });
 }));
 
 /**
diff --git a/backend/tests/integration/emailTemplates.integration.test.ts b/backend/tests/integration/emailTemplates.integration.test.ts
index bd07bce..a665464 100644
--- a/backend/tests/integration/emailTemplates.integration.test.ts
+++ b/backend/tests/integration/emailTemplates.integration.test.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ describe('GET /api/admin/email-templates', () => {
       'favoriteWithdrawn',
       'intakeDraft',
       'passwordReset',
+      'uploadLink',
       'verification'
     ]);
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/integration/intake.integration.test.ts b/backend/tests/integration/intake.integration.test.ts
index bc212f4..3b21868 100644
--- a/backend/tests/integration/intake.integration.test.ts
+++ b/backend/tests/integration/intake.integration.test.ts
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ async function storedFiles(): Promise<string[]> {
 async function issueLink(label = 'Sarah', maxSubmissions?: number | null): Promise<string> {
   const res = await request(app)
     .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
-    .send({ label, ...(maxSubmissions === undefined ? {} : { maxSubmissions }) });
+    .send({ label, email: 'sarah@example.com', ...(maxSubmissions === undefined ? {} : { maxSubmissions }) });
   expect(res.status).toBe(201);
   return res.body.token as string;
 }
diff --git a/backend/tests/integration/intakeCeiling.integration.test.ts b/backend/tests/integration/intakeCeiling.integration.test.ts
index 3c06cf5..6e125dc 100644
--- a/backend/tests/integration/intakeCeiling.integration.test.ts
+++ b/backend/tests/integration/intakeCeiling.integration.test.ts
@@ -20,7 +20,9 @@ afterAll(async () => {
 });
 
 async function makeLink(): Promise<string> {
-  const res = await request(app).post('/api/admin/upload-links').send({ label: 'ceiling spec' });
+  const res = await request(app)
+    .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
+    .send({ label: 'ceiling spec', email: 'sarah@example.com' });
   expect(res.status).toBe(201);
   return res.body.token;
 }
diff --git a/backend/tests/integration/uploadLinks.integration.test.ts b/backend/tests/integration/uploadLinks.integration.test.ts
index 6b7c31b..112cb5f 100644
--- a/backend/tests/integration/uploadLinks.integration.test.ts
+++ b/backend/tests/integration/uploadLinks.integration.test.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ describe('issuing an upload link', () => {
   it('returns the token exactly once, at creation', async () => {
     const created = await request(app)
       .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
-      .send({ label: 'Sarah' });
+      .send({ label: 'Sarah', email: 'sarah@example.com' });
 
     expect(created.status).toBe(201);
     expect(created.body.label).toBe('Sarah');
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ describe('issuing an upload link', () => {
   it('stores the digest rather than the token', async () => {
     const created = await request(app)
       .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
-      .send({ label: 'Estate sale box 3' });
+      .send({ label: 'Estate sale box 3', email: 'sarah@example.com' });
 
     const { rows } = await pool.query<{ token_hash: string }>(
       `SELECT token_hash FROM upload_links`
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ describe('issuing an upload link', () => {
   it('refuses a non-positive submission cap', async () => {
     const res = await request(app)
       .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
-      .send({ label: 'Bad cap', maxSubmissions: 0 });
+      .send({ label: 'Bad cap', email: 'sarah@example.com', maxSubmissions: 0 });
     expect(res.status).toBe(400);
   });
 
@@ -59,7 +59,9 @@ describe('issuing an upload link', () => {
   // safe. An unbounded link should be something asked for, not something that
   // happens when nobody thought about it.
   it('bounds a link that was created without a cap', async () => {
-    const res = await request(app).post('/api/admin/upload-links').send({ label: 'Sarah' });
+    const res = await request(app)
+      .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
+      .send({ label: 'Sarah', email: 'sarah@example.com' });
 
     expect(res.status).toBe(201);
     expect(res.body.max_submissions).toBe(25);
@@ -68,7 +70,7 @@ describe('issuing an upload link', () => {
   it('allows unlimited when it is asked for explicitly', async () => {
     const res = await request(app)
       .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
-      .send({ label: 'Always on', maxSubmissions: null });
+      .send({ label: 'Always on', email: 'sarah@example.com', maxSubmissions: null });
 
     expect(res.status).toBe(201);
     expect(res.body.max_submissions).toBeNull();
@@ -79,7 +81,7 @@ describe('revoking an upload link', () => {
   it('stamps revoked_at and reports it in the listing', async () => {
     const created = await request(app)
       .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
-      .send({ label: 'Temporary' });
+      .send({ label: 'Temporary', email: 'sarah@example.com' });
 
     const revoked = await request(app)
       .post(`/api/admin/upload-links/${created.body.id}/revoke`);
@@ -94,7 +96,7 @@ describe('revoking an upload link', () => {
   it('is idempotent, keeping the original timestamp', async () => {
     const created = await request(app)
       .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
-      .send({ label: 'Temporary' });
+      .send({ label: 'Temporary', email: 'sarah@example.com' });
 
     const first = await request(app).post(`/api/admin/upload-links/${created.body.id}/revoke`);
     const second = await request(app).post(`/api/admin/upload-links/${created.body.id}/revoke`);
@@ -108,3 +110,99 @@ describe('revoking an upload link', () => {
     expect(res.status).toBe(404);
   });
 });
+
+describe('emailing the link to its recipient', () => {
+  const original = { ...process.env };
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    process.env = { ...original };
+  });
+
+  it('refuses to create a link with no address', async () => {
+    const res = await request(app)
+      .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
+      .send({ label: 'Sarah' });
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(400);
+    expect(res.body.error).toMatch(/email/i);
+  });
+
+  it('refuses an address that is not one', async () => {
+    const res = await request(app)
+      .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
+      .send({ label: 'Sarah', email: 'not-an-address' });
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(400);
+    expect(res.body.error).toMatch(/email/i);
+  });
+
+  it('stores the address on the link', async () => {
+    const res = await request(app)
+      .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
+      .send({ label: 'Sarah', email: 'sarah@example.com' });
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(201);
+
+    const { rows } = await pool.query<{ contact_email: string }>(
+      `SELECT contact_email FROM upload_links WHERE id = $1`,
+      [res.body.id]
+    );
+    expect(rows[0]?.contact_email).toBe('sarah@example.com');
+  });
+
+  // The point of the whole change: QA blocks delivery by design, so a link that
+  // was not actually emailed must not be reported as though it was.
+  it('says the mail was not sent when SMTP is not configured', async () => {
+    delete process.env.SMTP_USER;
+    delete process.env.SMTP_PASSWORD;
+
+    const res = await request(app)
+      .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
+      .send({ label: 'Sarah', email: 'sarah@example.com' });
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(201);
+    expect(res.body.mail).toEqual({ sent: false, outcome: 'skipped-unconfigured' });
+  });
+
+  it('says the mail was not sent when the address is not allowlisted', async () => {
+    process.env.SMTP_USER = 'user';
+    process.env.SMTP_PASSWORD = 'password';
+    process.env.MAIL_ALLOWLIST = 'someone@example.com';
+
+    const res = await request(app)
+      .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
+      .send({ label: 'Sarah', email: 'sarah@example.com' });
+
+    expect(res.status).toBe(201);
+    expect(res.body.mail).toEqual({ sent: false, outcome: 'skipped-blocked' });
+  });
+
+  // A send that could not happen must never cost the admin the link, because
+  // the token is shown exactly once and a rollback would hand them a different
+  // one on the retry.
+  it('still returns a usable link when the mail did not go', async () => {
+    delete process.env.SMTP_USER;
+
+    const res = await request(app)
+      .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
+      .send({ label: 'Sarah', email: 'sarah@example.com' });
+
+    expect(res.body.token).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(res.body.url).toContain(res.body.token);
+    expect(res.body.mail.sent).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('lists the address, and tolerates a link that has none', async () => {
+    await pool.query(`INSERT INTO upload_links (label, token_hash) VALUES ('Older link', 'digest')`);
+    await request(app)
+      .post('/api/admin/upload-links')
+      .send({ label: 'Newer link', email: 'sarah@example.com' });
+
+    const res = await request(app).get('/api/admin/upload-links');
+
+    const older = res.body.find((row: { label: string }) => row.label === 'Older link');
+    const newer = res.body.find((row: { label: string }) => row.label === 'Newer link');
+    expect(older.contact_email).toBeNull();
+    expect(newer.contact_email).toBe('sarah@example.com');
+  });
+});