How to send a copy of your passport or ID card safely

Landlords, agencies, clubs, employers and online shops all ask for "a copy of your passport". Sending a phone photo by email or chat is quick, and that is exactly why it goes wrong. The file keeps circulating long after the purpose is over.

This guide covers why ID copies get misused, what official bodies recommend, which organisations need the full document, and how to prepare a safer copy with DocPro on your device. It is general information, not legal advice. For an official procedure, follow what the receiving organisation asks.

Why ID copies get misused

A passport or ID card shows your name, date of birth, photo, document number and often other numbers. Action Fraud explains that fraudsters need "enough information about someone's identity", such as name, date of birth and addresses, and then use it to open bank accounts, take out credit, sign up for phone contracts or obtain official documents (Action Fraud).

Rental scams are a common route. Scamwatch in Australia reports scammers "requesting copies of identity documents such as passports, bank statements or payslips", sometimes through a fake tenant application form, which can lead to further scams or identity theft (Scamwatch). IDCARE describes impersonation scams where the scammer asks the victim to send a copy of a driver licence or passport before money moves (IDCARE). In France, DossierFacile advises never to send documents to a landlord before a visit, because the recipient could use them to impersonate you (DossierFacile blog).

What official bodies recommend

• Ask first. The French Interior Ministry's Ma Securite site says to check who is asking, to be wary of pressure, to send nothing if unsure, and never to share data in an exchange you did not start (Ma Securite).
• Mark the copy. The same page says to put on the copy the date, the recipient and the reason ("la date ; le destinataire ; le motif") and points to the free Filigrane Facile service. France Travail describes it as a free service that adds a semi-transparent text to JPG, PNG or PDF files, with no account, and says files are deleted right after download (France Travail).
• Mask what is not needed. The Dutch government's KopieID app lets you black out details the recipient does not need, such as the citizen service number (BSN), the photo or the signature, and add a watermark with who the copy is for, why, and the date (Rijksoverheid). An older Rijksoverheid notice gives the same advice for paper copies: make the BSN unreadable, including in the number series at the bottom, write that it is a copy, write which organisation or product it is for, and add the date (Rijksoverheid, 2014).
• Send only what is asked. In the Netherlands, only a few organisations may ask for a copy, such as government bodies, banks, notaries, casinos, life insurers and your employer. Other businesses may copy or scan your ID but must hide the photo and the BSN. Hotels and campsites may only note the type of document (Rijksoverheid).
• Keep it away from your phone and bin. Northern Ireland's nidirect advises sharing personal details only when it is your decision, and shredding paperwork you no longer need (nidirect).

When the full copy is required

Masking is not always welcome. Some organisations must see everything, and a masked copy may be refused. No official page read for this guide forbids masking, but several say the whole document must be readable.

• Banks. The CNIL, the French data regulator, answers "Oui" to whether a bank can copy your ID, because banks must verify identity under anti-money-laundering rules, and says banks keep the copy for five years from the end of the relationship (CNIL).
• UK landlords. Right-to-rent guidance asks landlords to make "a clear copy of each document in a format which cannot be manually altered". For passports, specific pages are copied, including those with the photograph, date of birth, nationality, expiry date and signature (GOV.UK). Masking those fields would defeat the check.
• Immigration applications. Sweden's Migrationsverket says all information in the passport must be clearly visible on the copies, including the signature and the numbers at the top and bottom of the page (Migrationsverket).
• Watermarks can also be a problem. France Travail warns that some organisations may refuse a watermarked document if the mark makes it hard to read or covers a QR code.

Even then, the receiver should collect only what it needs. The Australian privacy regulator tells businesses covered by anti-money-laundering rules that the law does not require them to keep scanned copies of identity documents and that they should take reasonable steps to destroy or de-identify copies (OAIC). It is reasonable to ask how long a copy will be kept.

Common mistakes

• Drawing a black box in a photo or PDF editor that keeps the text underneath. Use a real redaction, as explained in how to redact a PDF for real.
• A watermark so faint, or placed so cleanly, that it can be cropped out, or one that covers the number the receiver needs.
• Masking fields on a copy that a bank, landlord or authority needs in full.
• Leaving location and camera data inside the phone photo.
• Leaving the original photo in chat history, the camera roll and cloud backups.
• Uploading the ID to a random online tool. A watermark service that stores files defeats the purpose.

How to do it with DocPro

All tools run in your browser, and files are not uploaded. The order matters: clean the photo, put it in a PDF, black out what is not needed, add the mark, then lock the mark into the page.

1. Clean the phone photo. Open Remove photo metadata, add the photo, review what was found, then press "Remove metadata" and download the cleaned photo. This removes location, camera and date data. Do this before step 2, because Images to PDF stores a JPG as it is.
2. Make a PDF. Open Images to PDF, add the cleaned photos (front and back each become a page), choose "A4" or "Fit image" under Page size, and press "Create PDF". See also the JPG to PDF page.
3. Mask what is not needed. Open Redact PDF, choose the PDF, and in "Draw boxes" mode drag a box over each number or field the receiver does not need. A photographed ID has no selectable text, so boxes must be drawn by hand. Leave the "Remove document metadata (author, title, dates and software)" option ticked, press "Redact and save PDF", and download. Pages with boxes become images, so the covered content is gone.
4. Add the mark. Open the watermark tool, choose the redacted PDF, keep "Text" selected, and type the text in "Text" (up to 80 characters), for example: Copy for Smith Lettings, rental application only, 28 Oct 2026. Pick "Tiled" so the mark repeats across the page, lower "Opacity" until the ID stays readable, and press "Add watermark".
5. Lock the mark in. Open Flatten PDF, tick "Also bake in annotations (turns every page into a picture)", keep 170 dpi, and press "Flatten PDF". The watermark is drawn as text in the PDF, so this step turns every page into a picture and makes the mark harder to remove. Compress PDF also re-saves pages as pictures.
6. Check the result at full size. Name the file after the recipient, send it only to them, and delete the original photo and the working files when the request is finished.

If the recipient asks for the full document, skip step 3 and still add the mark in step 4, as long as it does not cover any field. If they ask for a particular file size, see how to compress a PDF for upload limits. Readers in France or the Netherlands can also find local notes in the French and Dutch guides.

What DocPro cannot do

• A watermark does not stop a determined fraudster with image-editing skills. France Travail says the same about Filigrane Facile, and that it does not prove a document is authentic.
• DocPro does not decide which fields you may or must mask. That depends on the receiver and the law that applies to them.
• It cannot recall a copy once it is sent. Ask the receiver how long it will keep the copy and request deletion afterwards.
• It does not replace an official tool where one exists. In the Netherlands the KopieID app is the government's own option, and in France Filigrane Facile is free and does not keep files.
• Redaction needs a check by eye. Read the result at full size before sending.

If the ID is lost or you think it is being misused, contact the issuing authority and the police in your country.

Frequently asked questions

What should I write on a watermark for an ID copy?

The recipient, the reason and the date. The French government's Ma Securite site lists "la date ; le destinataire ; le motif". An example is: Copy for Smith Lettings, rental application only, 28 Oct 2026.

Should I black out my passport number?

Only if the receiver does not need it. A bank, a UK landlord doing a right-to-rent check or an immigration authority may need every field to be readable. If the copy is optional, mask what is not needed and ask what the receiver requires.

Is a watermarked ID copy safe to send by email?

It is safer, not safe. The mark ties the copy to a recipient and a purpose, but it does not stop a skilled fraudster. Send only to people you have checked, and ask for the copy to be deleted when finished.

Is my ID uploaded when I use DocPro?

No. The tools in this guide run in your browser and the files stay on your device.