Bacteria have evolved to be prolific and efficient sharers of their DNA. Bacterial conjugation is a key mode by which they achieve this, and is an important route for the transmission and acquisition of antibiotic resistance genes. Although the role of the cell which transmits the DNA during conjugation, the donor, is well characterised, the role of the cell which receives it, the recipient, is not. Recent studies have highlighted an unexpected role for the recipient cell surface in determining the frequency by which conjugative plasmids are transmitted between bacteria, yet the mechanism underpinning this phenomenon remains undefined. Elucidating how recipient cells impact the transfer of conjugative plasmids will provide important insights into how DNA is shared amongst bacteria. Here, we have explored how the recipient surface modulates the conjugation efficiency of the IncP-family plasmid RP4, a broad-host range plasmid capable of replicating in almost all Gram-negative bacteria. Through the application of electron microscopy, transcriptomics, and single cell transcriptional studies, we have begun to decipher the mechanism through which the recipient cell surface shapes the movement of plasmid RP4. Our findings indicate a previously unknown role for the recipient cell surface in conjugation, and have important implications for how conjugative plasmids disseminate amongst bacteria.