You asked for the insurance scope and it came back as a PDF. It has the line items, the quantities, and the prices the adjuster used, so the numbers are right there. The problem is that the file is a report, and Xactimate does not open reports. It opens its own project file, the .esx. Until the scope exists as an .esx, you cannot edit it, price it against your list, or send it back through the claim workflow.
This walkthrough covers the whole path: what the carrier's PDF really is, the three ways contractors close the gap between a PDF and Xactimate, the conversion step by step, what comes back in the file, and how to import and verify it before you build the job or write a supplement.
What an insurance scope PDF actually is
The carrier builds the scope inside Xactimate, then exports it as a PDF to send to you. That export is a snapshot. It shows each line item, the quantity, the unit, and the printed price, and it is the document the claim is priced from. What it cannot do is open, edit, or import. A PDF is read only, and Xactimate will not accept it, so the scope has to be rebuilt as a native .esx before the software can work with it.
That distinction matters because it is the whole reason a converter exists. You are not reformatting a document. You are rebuilding an estimate, structures and all: the folder tree, the line items with their quantities, the trade and activity codes where they can be matched, the F9 notes, and the claim header.
The three ways to close the gap
There are three practical routes from a scope PDF to a working estimate, and only one of them is fast.
- Ask the adjuster for the original .esx. It costs nothing and it sometimes works, but carriers frequently decline to share the project file, and in a busy storm season the reply may never come.
- Re-key the scope by hand. Open the PDF beside an empty project and retype every line, quantity, and code. CapOut's own guide (capout.ai, dated 2026-02-28) puts manual re-entry at roughly 30 to 45 minutes for a 20 to 30 line scope and two to four hours for a loss over 100 lines, with a typo available at every keystroke.
- Convert the PDF. Upload the scope, let the tool map each line to a Xactimate SEL code where one matches, and download an import-ready .esx. This is what the PDF to Xactimate converter does, and the conversion itself takes about two minutes.
Key Insight: When you re-key a scope, you are the conversion. That is fine on a short file and a liability on a long one, because every mistyped quantity or code has to be found later, by eye, against the carrier's document. The point of a conversion is to keep the carrier's numbers on the lines and leave your attention for the review.
Convert the insurance scope to Xactimate, step by step
- Get the cleanest copy you can. Use the final, signed scope rather than a draft, make sure the pages are in order and not rotated, and note where the priced scope starts if the file bundles an original and a supplement.
- Upload the scope. A standard insurance-estimate PDF converts directly, and a scope XML export is also accepted and converts more cleanly. A single file can carry 1,000+ line items, and the free plan includes 5 conversions a month with no card.
- Review what comes back. The .esx opens as a working estimate. Folders, levels, and rooms organize the way Xactimate expects, each line carries its quantity and unit, lines that matched a SEL code carry the code, and lines that did not match keep the price printed on the PDF and are flagged for your eye. F9 notes travel with the lines they explain.
- Read the completeness report. On a dashboard conversion, a rule-based completeness check runs against the finished scope and lists what the carrier's document left off, with the code or standard behind each flag. Nothing is added silently. You decide what belongs in your estimate or your supplement.
Import the file into Xactimate
Open Xactimate and import the .esx the way you would any project file. The software may ask you to reprice the estimate the moment it opens. That prompt is expected, and it is the design: the file carries no price-list identity of its own, so your copy of Xactimate applies the price list loaded on your machine. Matched lines price from your regional list, and a flagged line still carries the price the carrier printed. If the prompt surprises you, the free reprice check explains what it does before you import, and the reprice explainer covers why the totals move.
For the full import walkthrough, from where to drop the file to how to review the flagged lines, see the complete PDF to Xactimate ESX guide and how PDF to ESX conversion works.
Verify the file before you send it
A conversion is not done when the download finishes. Run the finished .esx through the free ESX validator to confirm the structure will import: required sections, the shape of the trade and selector codes, and line totals. Then spot-check the flagged lines against the PDF, because those are the places the reference could not ground a code and kept the carrier's price instead. Both checks are quick, and both are cheaper than finding a problem after you have already built the job on top of the estimate.
What the conversion does not do
It does not invent a price and it does not invent a code. Where a line matches the reference, the code rides on the line; where it cannot be verified, the PDF price stays and the line is flagged. It does not change the scope numbers, and a scope over the line cap is refused with a clear message rather than quietly truncated, so nothing disappears between the PDF and the file. Xactimate remains the destination. ESXPress produces the import-ready .esx that your own licensed copy opens, and it is independent of Verisk and Xactware.
Where the supplement comes in
A faithful conversion of an incomplete scope is still an incomplete estimate. This is where the completeness check earns its keep: while a straight converter stops once the PDF has been transcribed, ESXPress identifies and restores what the carrier omitted, and shows the citation behind each flag so you can put it in a supplement with its reasoning attached. The insurance supplement guide walks that workflow, and the commonly missed line items list is the short version of what tends to be missing.
Start with one scope
The fastest way to judge the workflow is on your own file. Convert one carrier scope, read the completeness report, and import the result. Start free, 5 conversions a month with no card, and your first conversion takes about two minutes. Convert a scope now.