· Written and maintained by Nonimo
A rental application, a new job, a bank account, an accountant setting up your tax return: sooner or later someone asks for a copy of your passport, and that copy sits in their inbox, their shared drive or their tenancy platform long after you have moved in. A watermark written across it says who the copy was for, what for and when. If it ever turns up somewhere else, the line itself shows it was never meant for them.
The tool above adds the watermark to your Australian passport copy in your browser: add a photo or PDF of the photo page, write who it is for and download the copy. Your passport never leaves your device.
How to watermark a passport copy
1. Add a photo or PDF of the photo page
Drop the image into the tool, or choose it on your phone, where the camera or your photos open. It takes JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC (the format iPhones save in) and PDF. If the shot is crooked, crop and straighten it, or rotate it, before you go on. The tool reads it in your own browser.
2. Write who the copy is for
The Watermark text box comes with a suggested line, “For this application only”, with the month and year already filled in. Leave it, edit it to add the recipient and the reason, or start from the Quick picks, then pick a layout: Diagonal, All over or Horizontal. There are example lines and advice on each layout further down.
3. Download the watermarked copy
As PNG, JPG or PDF. The watermark is burned into the pixels and the image is saved again from scratch, so the file has no EXIF data, no GPS location and nothing else from the original. What you can’t see in a file matters too, as with the metadata hidden in Word and PDF files. Send that copy, not the original photo.
What to write on an Australian passport copy
Three things: who, why and when. The more specific the line, the more it protects you. A generic “copy” or “confidential” fits any misuse; a line that says the copy is only for one rental application flags every other use, to anyone who looks at it.
Copy for Mill Lane rental application only · October 2026
Copy for new starter onboarding only · October 2026
Copy for opening a savings account only · October 2026
Copy for my tax agent, 2025-26 return only · October 2026
Rental applications are one of the most common places a passport copy ends up. In the 100-point check banks use, a passport is a primary document worth 70 points, and agents run their own points lists, so it is often the first document people reach for. Victoria has set limits: Consumer Affairs Victoria says an agent can request no more than two identity documents from a set list, and a passport is on it. If the second one is your licence, watermark your Victorian licence copy with the same line. If it’s your Medicare card instead, the Medicare card version of this guide uses the same line. The OAIC’s tenancy page adds that agents may only collect what is reasonably necessary. Agencies handling those copies can read how Nonimo fits a real estate office. If the application also wants your licence, there are watermark pages for QLD, SA, ACT, TAS and NT licences.
Add the month as well as the year. A copy dated October that reappears months later on an application you don’t recognise is one more sign that someone has reused it.
Where the watermark goes on the R series photo page
The watermark goes diagonally, across the details, never in a corner. A corner crops off in a second, and then the copy says nothing at all. The tool has three layouts, and it is worth choosing by who is getting the copy.
All over repeats the line diagonally across the whole photo page, over your name, the passport number and both photos: the main one and the second colour photo in the clear window that the R series, issued since September 2022, carries on its polycarbonate page. It leaves no clean strip to cut out, so use it for a real estate agent, an app you have never used or anyone you won’t deal with again.
Diagonal, the default, is one line across the page that you can drag over your details. Horizontal is a single straight line, more discreet, that leaves the rest easy to read. It suits a copy for someone you trust, such as your tax agent or the HR team at work. An older P series passport is still valid until it expires, and the same advice applies to it.
Either way the watermark leaves everything readable: the recipient can still check who you are. That is why there is rarely a good reason to ask for a copy without one. And for whole files full of names and ID numbers, there’s Nonimo for Mac and Windows.
Common questions
What should I write on a watermarked passport copy?
Who the copy is for, what it is for and the month, for example: Copy for Mill Lane rental application only, followed by the month and year. The more specific the line, the more useful it is, because if the copy turns up anywhere else it says where it came from. A vague word like copy or confidential protects very little.
Where should the watermark go on a passport copy?
Diagonally across the details, over your name, the passport number and the photo. A watermark in a corner or along the margin can be cropped out in seconds, and then the copy is clean again. The All over style repeats the text across the whole photo page, so there is no clear strip left to cut away.
Can a watermark be removed from a passport copy?
It depends on how it was added. A watermark sitting on a separate layer, as some PDF editors do it, can be deleted. One burned into the pixels and repeated over the details means retouching the whole image, and the edit usually shows. The tool on this page burns the watermark into the image when you download it.
Can I watermark my passport copy on my phone?
Yes. The tool works in your phone's browser: when you add the passport, the camera or your photos open, and it takes iPhone HEIC photos as well. Write the line, pick a layout and download the copy as PNG, JPG or PDF on the same phone. There is nothing to install and nothing to pay.
Does the watermark change my original passport photo?
No. The tool makes a new copy and leaves the photo you added untouched on your device. Send only the watermarked copy, and once the application is done, delete the original photo from your camera roll if you no longer need it, especially if your photos sync to the cloud.
Will a real estate agent accept a watermarked passport copy?
A watermark leaves every detail readable, so the agent can still check your name, photo and expiry date. If someone insists on a clean copy, ask why. The OAIC says agents should only collect what is reasonably necessary, and in Victoria an agent can ask for no more than two identity documents from a set list.
Is a watermarked passport copy safe to email?
It is safer than a clean copy, but it does not remove the risk. The file stays in your sent items and in the recipient's inbox for years. Check the request is genuine before you reply, send it only to the address you expect, and ask the recipient to delete it once your application has been processed.