· Written and maintained by Nonimo
To redact a passport copy is to black out what the person receiving it doesn’t need: the signature, the place of birth, the issue date, often the number and date of birth, and the two code lines at the bottom that repeat them. What stays visible is enough to show who you are; what is covered no longer travels with the copy.
The tool above reads the photo or PDF of your Australian passport in your browser, recognises the photo page and puts a chip on each field. Everything starts visible: tap a chip to cover that field with a black box, tap it again to bring it back. Your passport never leaves your device. It covers rather than blurs, because a blur can sometimes be read and a solid box burned into the image leaves nothing underneath.
If the copy is going to an agent or a bank, you can also write who it is for and the month across it, as our guide to watermarking a passport copy explains.
How to redact a passport copy
1. Add a photo or PDF of the photo page
Take a photo with your phone or drop in a scan, as JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC or PDF. Crop, straighten or rotate it if it came out at an angle. The tool finds the fields on the Australian photo page and puts a chip on each.
2. Tap the fields you want covered
Each field has its own chip, and one tap covers it. Cover the passport number, your date of birth or your name, and it is also covered where it repeats in the two code lines at the bottom. To black out both lines completely, or anything else on the page, use Redact by hand: drag over it, undo, or start again.
3. Download the redacted copy
As PNG, JPG or PDF, one page at a time, with the boxes burned into the image and without the original photo’s metadata. Check the preview before you save: if a box has missed anything, cover it by hand.
What to cover on an Australian passport, field by field
The photo page of the R series passport, issued since September 2022, holds more than most people notice. The recipient almost always needs your name and photo, often the expiry date; the rest depends on what the copy is for.
| field | where on the photo page | what to do |
|---|---|---|
| Family name, given names | centre | keep: it is what they check |
| Photo, and the second colour photo in the clear window | left, and the window | keep, unless no one needs your face |
| Date of expiry | centre | keep: it shows the passport is current |
| Passport number | top right | cover, unless they need it |
| Date of birth | centre | cover, unless they need it |
| Place of birth, date of issue | centre | cover |
| Holder’s signature | right | cover |
| The two code lines (MRZ) | bottom | each field you cover is covered here too |
The OAIC’s tenancy page puts it plainly: an identity document may carry personal information an agent doesn’t need, so think about blanking it out on the copy. The same page says that an agent copying a document with a government related identifier must generally blank the identifier out, and the OAIC’s APP guidelines name Australian passport numbers among their examples of one.
Why the passport number and the code lines matter
Your passport number, name and date of birth are what an online identity check uses. The government’s Document Verification Service checks those details against the Australian Passport Office’s records, so a copy with all three in clear text is worth far more to a scammer than one without them. The two code lines at the bottom, set out in ICAO Doc 9303, repeat the lot. Cover the number and leave the lines, and the number is still there.
What still has to show, depending on who asks
Redacting doesn’t mean covering everything. A real estate agent checking a rental application wants to match your name and photo, and in Victoria Consumer Affairs Victoria limits them to two identity documents from a set list. An employer checking your right to work, or a bank under its identity rules, may need the number: ask before you cover it.
Before you show a passport to a chatbot, to understand a field or fill in a form, go further and tap every chip until nothing points to you. What a chatbot keeps from an uploaded photo depends on the provider and the plan, so assume it may stay. If it is a licence rather than a passport, the VIC licence card number guide and the NSW licence card number guide show where that card’s numbers sit, and for a statement or contract in PDF, see how to redact a PDF.
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 I redact on a passport copy?
Whatever the recipient does not need. Most people cover the signature, the place of birth and the issue date, and often the passport number and date of birth. Your name, photo and expiry date usually stay, because they are what a real estate agent or employer checks. Ask what they need before you cover the number.
What are the two lines at the bottom of my passport?
The machine readable zone, or MRZ: two lines of 44 letters, numbers and chevrons set out in the international standard ICAO Doc 9303. They repeat your name, passport number, nationality, date of birth, sex and expiry date in a form a scanner reads in one go. Covering the number above while leaving these lines shows it anyway.
How do I cover the passport number?
Tap the passport number chip in the tool and a solid black box covers it, top right of the photo page. Its characters in the two code lines at the bottom are covered at the same time, because they repeat the number. Tap the chip again to show it, or use Show everything to uncover the whole page again.
Is it better to blur or black out a passport?
Black it out. A light blur can leave digits readable, especially on a sharp photo, and you can't always tell from your own screen. The tool lays solid boxes and burns them into the image when you download, so the saved file has nothing underneath: no layer to delete and no annotation to peel off.
Do I need to redact the second photo on an R series passport?
If you are covering your face, yes. The R series photo page has a small colour photo in a clear window as well as the main one. In the tool the photo chip covers both. If a recipient needs to see your face, leave the photo chip off and cover the other fields instead.
Is my passport uploaded to a server to be redacted?
No. Your passport never leaves your device: it is read and redacted in your browser. The file you download, as PNG, JPG or PDF, has the boxes burned into the image and none of the original photo's metadata, such as GPS location or phone model. Nothing needs installing and it costs nothing.
Can I redact a passport on my phone?
Yes. Open this page in your phone's browser and add the passport from the camera or your photos, including iPhone HEIC files. Tap the chips to cover fields, or use Redact by hand and drag your finger over anything else. Then download the copy on the same phone, ready to attach to an email or an application form.
Can I show a redacted passport to an AI chatbot?
Better to show it a copy where nothing points to you. Tap the remaining chips one by one (name, photo, passport number and dates) until everything about you is covered. The chatbot still sees the layout of the page and its labels, which is enough to explain a field or help fill in a visa or travel form.