· Written and maintained by Nonimo
On an ACT drivers licence the card number is on the front. It’s printed sideways, running up the left edge of your photo, and it starts with the letter A. Canberra does this differently to Victoria and WA.
That matters when you send a copy: any photo of the front carries the number, and so does every scan an agent or employer keeps on file. Don’t mix it up with your licence number. That one stays the same through renewals. The card number is tied to the plastic you’re holding right now, and it’s the second half of what an identity check asks for to prove the card is current.
The tool above lets you redact it with a tap, and your licence number and date of birth too if you want. Your licence is handled in your browser and stays on your device.
How to redact the card number on your ACT licence
1. Photograph the front of your ACT licence
Snap it with your phone or choose a file you’ve already got: JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC and PDF are all fine. The tool knows the front of an ACT card and gives each detail it finds a chip of its own, the sideways card number by the photo included. Everything stays visible until you tap.
Asked for the back too? You can include it, but the tool doesn’t recognise the back of an ACT card yet. No chips appear for that side, so drag your own box with “Redact by hand” over whatever you’d rather keep private.
2. Pick the fields that should disappear
Nothing gets hidden until you choose. Tap “Card number” first. Add “Licence number” and “Date of birth” when the recipient has no use for them; “Address”, “Signature” and “Expiry date” have chips of their own. Each box on the preview switches on or off with a tap, and “Redact by hand” is there to drag out an extra box. The licence class and any conditions are left alone, always.
3. Save the redacted image
Pick PNG, JPG or PDF. The boxes are fused into the picture instead of floating over it as a layer someone could lift, and the saved file is stripped of metadata, so your camera details and location don’t go along for the ride. You’ll notice a watermark on the preview as well; our guide to watermarking an ACT licence suggests wording for it.
Where the card number is on an ACT licence
The ACT Government’s online form for updating your licence contact details asks for the card number and tells you where to look: along the left edge of the photo, starting with an A. The minister described it the same way in the ACT Legislative Assembly in October 2022, as vertical against your photograph and beginning with an A.
Because the characters read up the side of the photo, they’re easy to miss if you only scan across the card, so turn it a quarter. The leading A is the quickest way to tell it from your licence number.
That same Hansard answer explains why the number suddenly matters. Since 1 September 2022 the ACT has required both the licence number and the card number to be checked together, and a check fails if one is missing or they don’t match. Someone holding a clear photo of your front has both.
A NSW card also keeps it on the front, top right (our NSW card number guide), while a Victorian card prints it on the back. South Australia puts it on the back (our SA card number guide), and Queensland cards can carry it on either side (our QLD card number guide). A Tasmanian card has it on the back too (our TAS card number guide). Where the card number sits on each state’s licence is all in one table, Tasmania and the NT included.
Which fields to redact, and what to leave visible
Before you hit download, picture what the recipient will do with your copy. A property manager needs your name and face. A car hire desk wants to see the right licence class. Few of them run an online identity check themselves, which is where the card number earns its keep.
| Field on the front | Usual choice on a copy |
|---|---|
| Name and photo | keep showing, they identify you |
| Licence class and conditions | always readable, never boxed |
| Card number (vertical, by the photo) | redact it |
| Licence number | redact it unless a form wants it |
| Date of birth | redact it unless your age is being checked |
| Address | redact it if it’s already on the application |
| Signature | redact it |
| Expiry date | keep it if they must see the licence is current |
For a rental in Canberra, the OAIC’s guidance on tenancy says an agent covered by the Privacy Act is limited to personal information that is reasonably necessary, and that when agents copy a document they generally have to blank out a government identifier like a licence number. If your passport is also part of the application, strip the passport number and machine-readable lines from the photo page first. It takes about a minute, right in your browser, with nothing uploaded. Then put a watermark on the passport copy naming the agency and the month. Property managers sorting through a stack of applicants can see what Nonimo does for a whole agency on our page for real estate agents.
If a business holding your licence details reports a data breach, the OAIC’s page on responding to a data breach notification suggests asking the agency that issued the document for advice.
Got whole documents to clean up on a computer? The Nonimo app brings this same redaction to them, on Mac and Windows.
Common questions
Where is the card number on an ACT drivers licence?
On the front, which surprises people coming from Victoria or WA. It runs vertically along the left edge of your photo and begins with the letter A. The ACT Government's online form for updating your contact details describes it exactly that way, so if you're reading the card side on, turn it a quarter and it should line up.
How do I tell my card number apart from my licence number?
Look at the direction of the print and the first character. The card number reads up the side of your photo and starts with an A. Your licence number is printed the normal way across the card with your other details. They do different jobs: one identifies you as a driver for years, the other identifies this particular piece of plastic.
Why did I never need my card number before?
Because ACT identity checks only started relying on it recently. In the ACT Legislative Assembly in October 2022, the minister explained that since 1 September 2022 the ACT has required both numbers to be checked together. A check that is missing one of them, or where they don't match, fails, which is exactly why the card number is worth keeping off loose copies.
If I send only the front of my ACT licence, is the card number hidden?
No, and this is where the ACT differs from several other states. Because the card number sits next to your photo, a photo of the front shows it in full. Sending just the front hides nothing extra. If whoever wants the copy has no use for it, tap the Card number chip before you download, and the rest of the front stays readable.
When do I actually need to give someone my ACT card number?
Mostly when you type it into an online identity check yourself, such as when an organisation verifies your licence online. The ACT Government's own online form for changing your contact details asks for it too. Someone who only wants a copy to file usually has no use for it, so it's reasonable to ask before you leave it showing.
Does a replacement ACT licence come with a new card number?
Yes. A new card brings a new card number, and in October 2022 the ACT Government told the Legislative Assembly that a replacement is the step to take when both your licence number and card number have been exposed. Once the new card is issued, copies of the old one no longer match what's in your wallet.
Can the tool read the back of an ACT licence?
Not at the moment. For an ACT card it recognises the front only, which is where the card number, licence number, date of birth, address, signature and photo sit. You can still include a photo of the back, but nothing on it is marked automatically, so drag your own box over anything there you'd like hidden.
Is it worth hiding the card number on a Canberra rental application?
Usually, yes. Your face, name and licence number are what let a property manager match you to the form. The OAIC suggests considering masking details an agent won't need when you hand over a scan or photocopy of your ID, and of everything on the card, the card number is what an online check would ask for. If the form specifically requires it, leave it showing.