· Written and maintained by Nonimo
Sooner or later, life in the Territory means sending someone a picture of your licence. A unit in Nightcliff, a season on a cattle station, a hire car out of Alice Springs: each one wants a copy, and each copy then lives in someone else’s inbox or property system for as long as they choose to keep it. Writing the recipient and the month across the card turns that file into one with a clear return address.
That’s what the tool at the top of this page does, inside your browser. Load a photo or PDF of your NT licence, finish the sentence that’s already on it, and download the result. Your licence never leaves your device.
How to watermark your NT licence copy
1. Open a photo or PDF of the card
A dark tabletop and daylight from a window give the cleanest shot. On a phone, the tool offers your camera straight away; on a computer, open whatever file you already have, whether that’s HEIC from an iPhone, JPG, PNG, WEBP or a scanned PDF. If the picture comes in sideways, “Rotate left” or “Rotate right” fixes it, and “Adjust crop” or “Use the whole photo” decides how much of the background stays in.
2. Write who the copy is for
There’s a line on the card before you type a thing: “For this application only”, with the current month and year after it. That’s usable as is, though it’s better to name the person or business and the reason in the “Watermark text”, or to begin from one of the “Quick picks” and edit it. Next, try the three layouts, “Diagonal”, “All over” and “Horizontal”, and drag the text until it crosses your details.
3. Download and send the marked copy
Pick PNG, JPG or PDF. The wording is flattened into the image, so there’s no separate layer for someone to delete in an editing app. Your phone’s hidden extras, like the camera model and GPS position, don’t make it into the new file either, and our guide to removing metadata from Word and PDF files explains the same problem in documents. Attach the marked copy, not the original.
What to write on your NT licence copy
The best lines are short and specific. Name who has it, say what it was handed over for, and finish with the month. A bare “COPY” protects nothing, because it looks just as at home on a fraudulent application as on a genuine one.
Copy for Unit 3 rental application, Nightcliff only · October 2026
Copy for car hire booking, Alice Springs Airport only · October 2026
Copy for station hand job application only · October 2026
Copy for tour guide induction, Katherine only · October 2026
For a rental, put the property in the line ahead of the agency. If you’ve applied for three places through the same office, only the address separates one copy from another. For work, name the role you applied for; for a hire car, the depot and the booking.
Leave the month in, too. A copy dated October that resurfaces the following year, attached to a phone contract you never signed up for, points straight back to the business you gave it to. Send each request its own fresh copy rather than recycling last month’s file.
Layout, and when the back goes in
“Diagonal” is the starting layout: a single slanted line you can drag across your name and licence number. “All over” repeats the wording in rows across the whole card, photo included, so no clean corner survives a crop. Reach for it with a private landlord found online, an app you’ve only just downloaded or anyone you’re unlikely to hear from again. “Horizontal” runs one level line and keeps the rest of the card uncluttered, a good fit for a payroll team you already know.
Inside “Customise your watermark” you’ll find size, opacity, font, colour and angle. Against the pale parts of the card, a darker colour with the opacity nudged up helps the line stand out while everything underneath stays legible.
Many requests stop at the front. The back of a current NT card is mostly a table of licence classes, expiry dates and condition codes, as the NT Government’s guide to the licence design shows, so an employer who needs to see what you can drive may ask for it. In that case, on a computer, drop it into “Back” and “Download both sides as a PDF” saves the pair as one file, each side marked with the same line.
Renting brings its own rules. NT Consumer Affairs’ guide to rental application documents names a driver’s licence as one primary identity document and asks agents to think about applicants’ privacy, including what could be exposed in a data breach. The OAIC’s tenancy guidance adds that an agency covered by the Privacy Act may collect only what is reasonably necessary.
Because a watermark sits over the card rather than replacing anything, the agent can still confirm you are who you say. The difference is that the copy now belongs to one application. Property managers who handle a steady flow of applicant ID can read how Nonimo works for real estate agents, and if your application asks for a passport as well, give the passport copy a watermark with the same wording.
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
What should the watermark say on a Darwin rental application?
The street or suburb, the purpose and the month, for example Copy for Unit 3 rental application, Nightcliff only. Add the month and year after it. If you're applying for several places through one agency, the address is what tells the copies apart. Should one ever surface somewhere else, the line itself shows it was only ever meant for that unit.
Does an NT agent have to accept a licence as my ID?
A licence is one option, not the only one. NT Consumer Affairs lists approved primary documents to verify identity, among them a driver's licence, a passport, a Proof of Age Card and photo ID from a recognised local Aboriginal authority. It also says photographic identification is ideal but not mandatory, so you may be able to offer another document.
How many ID documents can a Territory landlord ask for?
One primary document, under the approved list from NT Consumer Affairs. Your licence counts as one, as does a passport or a Proof of Age Card. Secondary documents, up to two, are meant for when primary ones aren't available. So a single watermarked licence copy will often cover the identity side of an application.
Can an NT agent ask for bank statements as well as my licence?
Only as a fallback. NT Consumer Affairs says bank statements are only permitted if no primary documents to show ability to pay, like payslips, are available. Whatever you send, give the licence copy a line naming that one application.
Should the watermark run across my photo?
Usually, yes. Text that crosses your face, name and licence number can't be trimmed off without spoiling the copy, whereas a strip along the bottom edge disappears with one crop. At a sensible opacity your photo stays perfectly recognisable underneath, and you can fine-tune that under Customise your watermark before you download.
Can I watermark the back of my NT licence too?
Yes. On a computer, drop it into Back and Download both sides as a PDF gives you one file, both sides carrying the same line. On a phone, finish the front, save it, then load the back as a second copy. The back of a current NT card holds the class table, so send it when someone asks to see your classes.
Should I put my own name in the watermark?
There's no need, because your name is already on the card. Spend the space on what belongs to this copy alone: who receives it, why, and the month. Writing more of your own details into the line only spreads your personal information further, which works against the whole idea of marking the copy.
Does a watermark stop the licence being checked properly?
It shouldn't. A watermark leaves every detail readable, so the agent or employer can still compare your face with the photo and read your name and licence class. If they need to verify the licence through an official check, they'll work from the details, not from how clean the image looks.