· Written and maintained by Nonimo
A lease in Prospect, a rental car at Adelaide Airport, onboarding for a new job: somewhere along the way you’ll be asked for a copy of your licence. After you hit send, that image lives in an inbox or a tenancy system for months, maybe years. Write the recipient and the month across it, and a copy that drifts somewhere else still carries a record of where it started.
The tool above adds that line to your SA drivers licence in about a minute, reading the card in your browser so it doesn’t leave your device. Load a photo or PDF, check the line, save.
How to watermark your SA licence copy
1. Bring in the front of the card
Point your phone at the card, or reach for a file you’ve already saved in JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC or PDF. Many requests are satisfied by the front of a South Australian licence alone. When the back is wanted too, a computer gives you a “Back” zone and “Download both sides as a PDF” packages the pair as one file, while a phone handles them one at a time.
2. Name the recipient
There’s a line in place before you touch anything: “For this application only”, with the current month and year already added after it. It’s fine to keep, but adding who gets it and why makes it more useful, and the “Quick picks” give you other wording to start from. Under “Customise your watermark” you can switch between Diagonal, All over and Horizontal, change the font, colour, size, angle and opacity, and drag the line to wherever it crosses your details best.
3. Export and attach it
PNG, JPG and PDF are all on offer. The words are merged into the picture rather than sitting on a layer someone could delete, and the export leaves your phone model and GPS position behind. Attaching a Word file or PDF to the same email? Those carry hidden details of their own, and here’s how to clear metadata from Word and PDF files.
What to write on your SA licence copy
Three details do the work: the recipient, the reason and the month. “Confidential” by itself could sit on top of almost any misuse without looking out of place. A line tied to a single lease, job or hire booking stands out the moment the image turns up anywhere else.
Copy for Norwood rental application only · October 2026
Copy for Adelaide Airport rental car pick-up only · October 2026
Copy for payroll onboarding only · October 2026
Copy for mobile plan identity check only · October 2026
In South Australia the month is worth more than it looks. Consumer and Business Services’ tenant information fact sheet sets deadlines for an agent to destroy what you hand over: 30 days after the property is let if your application doesn’t succeed (or six months, if you agree), and three years after the tenancy ends if it does. A dated watermark makes it easy to work out when your copy should have gone. The same fact sheet lists things an agent can’t ask you for, among them your vehicle registration number and your reason for moving.
There’s a cap on numbers too. The SA Government’s guidance on choosing a tenant allows no more than two identity documents per application. If your passport is the other one, mark the passport copy with a matching line. If it’s your Medicare card, put the same line on your Medicare card copy. Agencies keen to tidy up their side of the process can read how Nonimo works for real estate agents.
Make a separate copy each time you’re asked. When each file belongs to one recipient, an image that turns up in the wrong place points straight back to who had it. Holding a Western Australian licence instead? The WA licence watermark guide suggests wording for that card. The QLD licence watermark page, the ACT licence watermark page, the TAS licence watermark page and the NT licence watermark page do the same for those cards.
Choosing a layout for an SA licence
Keep the line over your details. A watermark tucked along one edge disappears with the first trim.
“Diagonal” is where it starts: one line from corner to corner, and you can slide it so it crosses your name and licence number.
“All over” tiles the line across the entire card, photo included, so there’s no blank strip to cut away. Use it for an agency you don’t know yet, an online form, or a hire company that files its copies away.
“Horizontal” draws one flat line and leaves the rest of the card uncluttered. It suits a recipient you know well, say the bookkeeper at work or a long-standing accountant. In every layout the recipient can still read the card, and if a field looks crowded, turn the opacity down.
A watermark protects copies you send from today. If your details are already out there, the SA Government’s page on replacing a licence after a data breach explains how a new card brings a new card number. And for whole files on your computer, there’s the Nonimo app.
Common questions
What's a good watermark line for an Adelaide rental?
Name the place, the reason and the month. Something like: Copy for Norwood rental application only, followed by the month and year. A suburb or street pins the file to one application, so if the image ever resurfaces somewhere you never applied, the line shows exactly where it was supposed to go. A plain word like copy can't do that.
Is there a limit on ID documents for an SA rental application?
Yes. The SA Government's guidance on choosing a tenant says a prospective tenant can't be asked for more than two documents in each category: identity verification, ability to pay rent, and suitability. You can still offer more if you think it helps your application, but a watermarked licence will often be one of your two identity documents.
How long can an agent keep my licence copy if I miss out?
Not indefinitely. Consumer and Business Services says information from unsuccessful applicants must be destroyed 30 days after the property is let, or six months after you provided it if you agree to that. For a successful applicant, the limit is three years after the tenancy ends. A month in the watermark makes those dates easy to match.
Can I email a screenshot of my mySAGOV digital licence instead?
It isn't really built for that. The mySAGOV app shows a barcode that changes every 30 seconds, and the SA Government says a shake of the phone adds a time and date overlay to prove it isn't a screenshot. Both checks work when you show the phone in person. For a copy sent by email, a watermarked photo of the card is the usual route.
Will the agent still be able to read my licence?
Yes, provided the line isn't too heavy. The watermark runs over the card without hiding your name, photo or numbers, and the agent reads straight through it. Lower the opacity if a field looks crowded. A single horizontal line stays out of the way, while a repeating pattern suits recipients you've never dealt with.
Should the watermark name the agency or the property?
The property is usually more precise. One agency may manage dozens of rentals, and you might apply for several through the same office in a single week. A street or suburb in the line links the copy to one application. Add the agency name as well if there's room and you'd like both on the record.
What can I do if my licence copy is misused by an agent?
Raise it with the agency first, in writing. Consumer and Business Services says that if tenant information about you is handled in breach of the rules, you can apply to SACAT seeking compliance. If you think the licence details themselves are at risk, the SA Government lets you replace the card online through mySAGOV, which gives you a new card number.
Do I need to watermark the back of an SA licence?
Only when someone asks for it. A lot of requests stop at the front, with your name and photo. If both sides are needed, load the other side into Back on a computer and Download both sides as a PDF saves the pair as one file with the same line on each, so nobody can mistake them for two different copies.