· Written and maintained by Nonimo
A Braddon apartment, a new contract role in Barton, a hire car for a weekend down the coast: Canberra asks for your licence often, and the copy you send tends to outlive the reason you sent it. A watermark naming the recipient and the month changes what that copy is good for. It still proves who you are to the person who asked. Anywhere else, the line across it says it was never meant to be there.
The tool above puts that line on in your browser. Give it a photo or scan of your ACT licence, type who it’s for, and save. Your licence never leaves your device.
Holding a licence from another state? See the pages for a QLD licence, an SA licence, a TAS licence or an NT licence.
How to watermark your ACT licence copy
1. Add the front of your ACT licence
Use your phone camera on the front, or choose a JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC or PDF already on your device. The front carries your photo, name and licence details, so it’s the side people almost always want. A sideways shot is fixed with “Rotate left” or “Rotate right”, and “Adjust crop” trims off the tabletop.
Someone wants the back too? Working on a computer, drop it into “Back” and “Download both sides as a PDF” gives you the pair in one file, each side carrying the same line.
2. Say who this copy is meant for
The line is waiting for you as soon as the card loads: “For this application only”, followed by this month and year. It works as it stands, but editing the “Watermark text” to name the recipient and purpose makes it stronger, or you can tap one of the “Quick picks” instead. Then decide how the text sits on the card: Diagonal, All over or Horizontal. Tips on choosing between them are further down.
3. Download your watermarked licence
Pick PNG, JPG or PDF. The words are fused into the picture instead of floating over it as a layer, and what you download has no metadata attached, so it says nothing about the phone you used or where you were standing. Sending a form or a payslip as well? Our guide on stripping metadata out of Word and PDF files deals with those.
What to write on your ACT licence copy
Think of whoever reads the copy a year from now. The line should tell them who got it, why, and when. “Copy” on its own tells them nothing. Lines like these suit the requests Canberrans run into.
Copy for Belconnen townhouse application only · October 2026
Copy for Barton contract role onboarding only · October 2026
Copy for Canberra Airport hire car desk only · October 2026
Copy for car insurance claim, broker file only · October 2026
Leave the month in. If a copy dated October 2026 surfaces a year from now on paperwork you never signed, the date alone shows it’s been recycled. And rather than resending an old file, make a new one for each request. It’s quick, and every copy you’ve handed out then traces back to exactly one place.
The insurance line is worth a thought if you’re claiming after a prang. A broker may pass your file to an insurer, an assessor and a repairer, and a line naming the claim keeps the copy tied to that job however far it travels.
Layout: where the line goes on an ACT card
Run the watermark through your details rather than along an edge. A band at the bottom of the card is easy to trim away, while a line through your photo and name stays put.
All over tiles the text right across the card, photo included. Pick it for anybody who files your copy away: an agent, a hire company, an app you’ve just downloaded. Diagonal sets one slanted line you can drag into position, and Horizontal runs a single straight line that keeps most of the card uncluttered, which is fine for someone you already know, such as your own employer’s HR team.
“Customise your watermark” lets you adjust size, opacity, font, colour and angle, and “Reset settings” returns everything to the starting look. Whatever you choose, keep every detail readable. The person who asked still needs to check that the licence matches you.
That also fits the OAIC’s guidance. For a rental, the OAIC’s tenancy guidance says an agent covered by the Privacy Act can only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary. A copy labelled for one application still lets the agent do their check, and it looks out of place if it ever turns up attached to something else.
If something does go wrong, the OAIC’s page on responding to a data breach notification suggests asking the issuing agency for advice and watching your accounts and credit report. A watermark won’t stop a breach, but the line on each copy tells you which business let yours go. And if your licence details are badly exposed, the ACT Government told the Legislative Assembly in October 2022 that a replacement card comes with a new card number.
Is your passport going in alongside your licence? Watermark that passport copy with a matching line. Sending a Medicare card instead? Watermark the Medicare copy and name the same application. Property managers who see dozens of applicant IDs a week can read what Nonimo does for real estate agents. Whole documents get the same care in the Nonimo app, for Mac and Windows.
Common questions
Which side of my ACT licence should I watermark?
The front, because that's where your photo, name and licence details sit, and it's the side almost every request is after. If someone also asks for the back, drop it into the Back zone and it carries the same line. Keep the wording identical on both sides so the pair is obviously one copy.
What should the line say for a hire car at Canberra Airport?
Name the desk or company, the booking and the month, for example Copy for Canberra Airport hire car desk only, followed by the month and year. A hire company may keep a copy on file after the car comes back, so a line tied to that one booking makes any later reuse look out of place straight away.
What's a good watermark for a Canberra rental application?
Name the property or agency, what it's for and the month, say Copy for Belconnen townhouse application only, followed by the month and year. The property manager can still match your face and name to the form, but the line looks plainly out of place anywhere else, which is what you want if the file is ever forwarded.
Should the watermark go across my photo?
It can, and for a copy going to someone you've never dealt with it's a good idea. Your face stays recognisable through a semi transparent line, and text that crosses the photo is far harder to trim off than text in a margin. All over does this for you; with Diagonal, drag the line until it runs over the photo.
Can I put both sides of my licence in one file?
Yes, on a computer. Drop the other side into Back and choose Download both sides as a PDF: one file, front and back, both carrying the watermark. On a phone, finish the front, save it, then repeat the steps for the back. A single PDF is often tidier for an employer or broker who files paperwork under your name.
How light should the watermark be?
Light enough that every detail underneath is easy to read, and strong enough that the words can't be overlooked. Customise your watermark lets you change opacity, size, colour, font and angle while you watch the preview. If the person checking your licence has to squint, turn the opacity down a touch and save a new version.
What happens if a company holding my licence copy has a data breach?
The OAIC suggests contacting the agency that issued the document for advice, and checking your bank transactions and credit report. A watermarked copy at least tells you which business the leaked file came from. The ACT Government has also said a replacement card carries a new card number, so copies of the old card stop matching.
How do I keep track of who has a copy of my licence?
Keep a short note each time you send one: the recipient, the date and the reason. If your watermark lines say the same thing, the note and the files match up. When a tenancy ends or a job application goes nowhere, that list tells you who to ask about deleting their copy.