diff --git a/IONFileTransferLib/Helpers/IONFLTRFileHelper.swift b/IONFileTransferLib/Helpers/IONFLTRFileHelper.swift
index 46e9340..974a9c8 100644
--- a/IONFileTransferLib/Helpers/IONFLTRFileHelper.swift
+++ b/IONFileTransferLib/Helpers/IONFLTRFileHelper.swift
@@ -39,4 +39,26 @@ class IONFLTRFileHelper {
     func mimeType(for url: URL) -> String? {
         return UTType(filenameExtension: url.pathExtension)?.preferredMIMEType
     }
+    
+    /// Remove duplicate slahes (file separator '/') from local file URLs
+    ///
+    /// The only exception being the slashes indicating the scheme (e.g. 'file://')
+    ///
+    /// - Parameter url: The file URL.
+    /// - Returns: The file URL with duplicate slashes removed
+    func removeDuplicateSlashes(for url: URL) -> URL {
+        var urlStringWithoutDuplicateSeparators = url.absoluteString.replacingOccurrences(
+            of: #"(?<!:)/{2,}(?!/)"#,
+            with: "/",
+            options: .regularExpression
+        )
+        if (url.absoluteString.contains(":///")) {
+            // the regex may ommit a slash after ://, which is incorrect because it breaks in case of an absolute file path
+            urlStringWithoutDuplicateSeparators = urlStringWithoutDuplicateSeparators.replacingOccurrences(of: "://", with: ":///")
+        }
+        if let finalUrl = URL(string: urlStringWithoutDuplicateSeparators) {
+            return finalUrl
+        }
+        return url
+    }
 }
diff --git a/IONFileTransferLib/Helpers/IONFLTRInputsValidator.swift b/IONFileTransferLib/Helpers/IONFLTRInputsValidator.swift
index 33f2a18..82540fe 100644
--- a/IONFileTransferLib/Helpers/IONFLTRInputsValidator.swift
+++ b/IONFileTransferLib/Helpers/IONFLTRInputsValidator.swift
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ class IONFLTRInputsValidator {
     ///
     /// - Parameter url: The file `URL` to check.
     /// - Returns: `true` if the URL is a valid file URL, `false` otherwise.
-    func isFileURLValid(url: URL) -> Bool {
+    private func isFileURLValid(url: URL) -> Bool {
         guard url.isFileURL else { return false }
         return true
     }
diff --git a/IONFileTransferLib/IONFLTRManager.swift b/IONFileTransferLib/IONFLTRManager.swift
index 79511f3..8eb565c 100644
--- a/IONFileTransferLib/IONFLTRManager.swift
+++ b/IONFileTransferLib/IONFLTRManager.swift
@@ -110,8 +110,9 @@ public class IONFLTRManager: NSObject {
     /// - Returns: A configured `URLRequest` for the download operation.
     /// - Throws: An error if validation or directory creation fails.
     private func prepareForDownload(serverURL: URL, fileURL: URL, httpOptions: IONFLTRHttpOptions) throws -> URLRequest {
-        try inputsValidator.validateTransferInputs(serverURL: serverURL, fileURL: fileURL)
-        try fileHelper.createParentDirectories(for: fileURL)
+        let updatedFileURL = fileHelper.removeDuplicateSlashes(for: fileURL)
+        try inputsValidator.validateTransferInputs(serverURL: serverURL, fileURL: updatedFileURL)
+        try fileHelper.createParentDirectories(for: updatedFileURL)
         return try urlRequestHelper.setupRequest(serverURL: serverURL, httpOptions: httpOptions)
     }
 
@@ -130,9 +131,10 @@ public class IONFLTRManager: NSObject {
         uploadOptions: IONFLTRUploadOptions,
         httpOptions: IONFLTRHttpOptions
     ) throws -> (URLRequest, URL) {
-        try inputsValidator.validateTransferInputs(serverURL: serverURL, fileURL: fileURL)
+        let updatedFileURL = fileHelper.removeDuplicateSlashes(for: fileURL)
+        try inputsValidator.validateTransferInputs(serverURL: serverURL, fileURL: updatedFileURL)
         
-        guard FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: fileURL.path) else {
+        guard FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: updatedFileURL.path) else {
             throw IONFLTRException.fileDoesNotExist(cause: nil)
         }
         
@@ -141,7 +143,7 @@ public class IONFLTRManager: NSObject {
             request: request,
             httpOptions: httpOptions,
             uploadOptions: uploadOptions,
-            fileURL: fileURL,
+            fileURL: updatedFileURL,
             fileHelper: fileHelper
         )
     }
diff --git a/IONFileTransferLibTests/Helpers/IONFLTRFileHelperTests.swift b/IONFileTransferLibTests/Helpers/IONFLTRFileHelperTests.swift
index 5cd5aa8..acac4eb 100644
--- a/IONFileTransferLibTests/Helpers/IONFLTRFileHelperTests.swift
+++ b/IONFileTransferLibTests/Helpers/IONFLTRFileHelperTests.swift
@@ -53,4 +53,25 @@ final class IONFLTRFileHelperTests: XCTestCase {
         
         XCTAssertNil(fileHelper.mimeType(for: unknownURL))
     }
+    
+    func testRemoveDuplicateSlashes_withoutDuplicates() {
+        let inputURL = URL(fileURLWithPath:"/path/to/file")
+        let expectedURL = URL(fileURLWithPath:"/path/to/file")
+        
+        XCTAssertEqual(fileHelper.removeDuplicateSlashes(for: inputURL), expectedURL)
+    }
+    
+    func testRemoveDuplicateSlashes_withDuplicatesInEnd() {
+        let inputURL = URL(fileURLWithPath:"/path/to/file//")
+        let expectedURL = URL(fileURLWithPath:"/path/to/file/")
+        
+        XCTAssertEqual(fileHelper.removeDuplicateSlashes(for: inputURL), expectedURL)
+    }
+    
+    func testRemoveDuplicateSlashes_withDuplicatesInSeveralPlaces() {
+        let inputURL = URL(fileURLWithPath:"//path///to/file//")
+        let expectedURL = URL(fileURLWithPath:"/path/to/file/")
+        
+        XCTAssertEqual(fileHelper.removeDuplicateSlashes(for: inputURL), expectedURL)
+    }
 }