· Written and maintained by Nonimo
Need to redact your driver’s licence before you send a copy? Pick your state or territory below and the tool opens for that card. The card number sits in different places by state: on the front in NSW and the ACT, on the back in most others, and on either side in Queensland.
Below: where each state and territory prints it, what it’s for, and how to send a copy without it. Each state also has two guides, one to cover the card number and one to watermark a copy.
Where the card number is, state by state
The Tasmanian Government keeps a page on finding your drivers licence card number for every state and territory. The table follows what each state’s own guidance says about its current card.
| State or territory | Where the card number is | Guides |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | Front, top right corner. Digital licence: in the footer | Cover it · Watermark a copy |
| VIC | Back. Top right corner on most newer cards; on some older cards, small print to the bottom right of the birth year | Cover it · Watermark a copy |
| QLD | Bottom right corner, labelled “Card number”, on the front, the back or both | Cover it · Watermark a copy |
| WA | Back. The licence number is on the front | Cover it · Watermark a copy |
| SA | Back, top right corner | Cover it · Watermark a copy |
| TAS | Back. The front has your name, date of birth and licence number | Redact it · Watermark a copy |
| ACT | Front, printed sideways along the left edge of the photo, starting with an A | Cover it · Watermark a copy |
| NT | Back, after the table of licence classes and conditions, on cards issued since November 2020 | Cover it · Watermark a copy |
Holding an older card? Queensland changed its design in 2019 and the Northern Territory in November 2020, so yours may not match the table.
What the card number is for
Your licence number identifies you as a driver and stays with you from card to card. The card number identifies the physical card in your wallet. Replace or renew the licence and the new card gets a new card number.
That difference is the point. Online identity checks run through the national Document Verification Service, and since 2022 Queensland and the ACT have had those checks ask for the card number as well as the licence number. The Queensland Government’s page on protecting your identity explains that both are verified this way, and the ACT has required the two to be checked together since 1 September 2022. Only the current card passes, so an old card number fails the check.
It also means a clear photo of the right side of your licence hands someone the full set an online check runs on. The card number is the field most people asking for a copy never need to see.
Before you send a copy of your licence
Ask which side the person needs, and send only that one. If your state prints the card number on the back, a photo of the front often does the job. If it’s on the front, as in NSW and the ACT, cover it on the copy.
Next, cover what the recipient has no use for. Your name and photo show who you are; card number, signature and often date of birth and licence number can go. For rental applications, the OAIC’s tenancy guidance suggests blanking out details an agent doesn’t need on a copy of an identity document.
Finally, watermark the copy with who it’s for and the month, so a stray file is easy to trace back to the application it came from. The state guides in the table above do both jobs from a photo or PDF of your licence, read in your browser, and the licence doesn’t leave your device. Sending a passport as your second ID? Redact an Australian passport copy the same way, code lines included. If you run a rental agency and handle a stack of these each week, see how Nonimo fits on our page for real estate agents.
Nonimo is the software that does this on your own computer: it redacts client names and IDs before your text reaches ChatGPT. No account needed, and the app does it without your files leaving your machine.
Common questions
Which states and territories print the card number on the front of the licence?
New South Wales and the ACT. A NSW card shows it top right on the front, and an ACT card prints it sideways along the left edge of your photo, starting with an A. A Queensland card may carry it on the front, the back or both. Everywhere else it's on the back.
Is a photo of just the front enough to keep the card number off a copy?
In Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, usually yes, because the number is printed on the back. In NSW and the ACT it isn't, because the number is on the front. On a Queensland card, look at both sides first. Wherever it sits, covering it on the copy is the simplest habit.
Can I find my card number without the plastic card in front of me?
Often you can. The NSW Digital Driver Licence shows it in the footer, the Service Victoria app shows it once you tap the eye icon, and the mySAGOV app lists it on the detail page of your digital licence. Your myVicRoads account shows it too.
Who actually needs my drivers licence card number?
Mostly organisations running an online identity check, such as a bank or phone company verifying your licence as you sign up. Those checks match the card number with your licence number. A property manager, employer or car hire desk looking at a copy can usually do their job without it, so it's a reasonable field to cover.
Does every Australian drivers licence have a card number?
Every state and territory now prints one on its licence card, but the position differs from one to the next. The Tasmanian Government keeps a page listing where to find it for each state and territory. If you can't spot it on an older card, your licensing agency's online account or digital licence app is the next place to look.
Why isn't the card number in the same place on every licence?
Each state and territory issues its own licence and designs its own card, so the layout follows that agency's design rather than a national one. That's why a picture of someone else's licence can point you to the wrong spot. Go by the table on this page or your own agency's guidance, and check both sides of your card.