· Written and maintained by Nonimo
An Alaska driver’s license gets copied far more often than it gets shown: a landlord, a new employer, an insurance agent, a car rental desk or a bank may all want one. Each copy then sits in an inbox or a chat for years. A watermark across the card names the person or company you sent it to and the month you sent it, so a copy that shows up anywhere else gives itself away.
The tool above adds that watermark in your browser: add the front of your license, and the back if they asked for it, write who the copy is for and download it. The photo of your license never leaves your device.
How to watermark an Alaska driver’s license
1. Add the front, and the back only if it was requested
The tool has two zones, Front and Back. In each one, choose Photos to pick a picture you already took or Camera to take one now; on a computer you can also drop the file in. JPG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC (the iPhone’s photo format) and PDF all work. Lay the card flat on a dark surface for the picture. Leave the Back zone empty unless the request mentions both sides.
2. Write who the copy is for
The Watermark text field comes prefilled with a complete line, “For this application only”, followed by the current month and year. Keep it as is, or edit it to say who gets the copy and why. The Suggested text buttons offer COPY, Not valid as ID, For verification only or Do not copy or distribute, though a specific line protects more.
The panel called Customize your watermark holds the rest: Layout (Tiled, Diagonal or Horizontal), Font, Color, Opacity, Size and Angle. Reset settings puts everything back. To move the watermark, drag it on the card.
3. Download the watermarked copy
Each side has its own Download button, as PDF, PNG or JPG. With both sides in, Download both sides as PDF gives you a single page with the front above and the back below, each with its watermark. The text is burned into the image, and the new file carries no EXIF or GPS metadata, the hidden detail explained in removing metadata from PDFs and photos.
What to write on an Alaska license copy
Three things: who it’s for, what for, and the month. A line that names one apartment or one job exposes any other use of the copy; a generic COPY proves nothing.
For Spruce Lane apartment lease use only · October 2026
For new patient registration use only · October 2026
For new checking account use only · October 2026
For airport car rental pickup use only · October 2026
Two of them are everyday uses the DMV itself names. Its card types flyer gives the purpose of both Alaska cards as proof of driving privileges or identification for activities such as employment, car rental, voting, banking and shopping.
A new job works differently. Form I-9 is completed with your original, unexpired documents: the employer examines them in person or, if it uses E-Verify and offers the DHS alternative procedure, on a live video call after you send clear, unaltered copies. The employer may photocopy the card itself, but a watermarked copy stands in for none of that. On the USCIS list of acceptable Form I-9 documents, a driver’s license issued by a state is a List B document: it proves identity, and it goes with a List C document such as a Social Security card. The watermark is for the copies that simply get emailed and stored, like the ones above, or an employer’s own onboarding file when they ask for one.
Put the month, not just the year. If a copy you sent for an October lease shows up on a car loan in March, the date alone tells you it was reused.
What an Alaska license shows on the copy
Alaska licenses are issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles, part of the state Department of Administration. Its REAL ID page says Alaska has been REAL ID compliant since April 17, 2019, and that REAL ID cards display a star symbol in the top right corner. Standard cards share the same design but have no star and carry the notation “Federal limits apply.” The same page says a REAL ID card can also be marked “Limited Term,” which means its expiration date matches a temporary resident’s authorized stay in the U.S.
For most Alaskans the star is optional: the DMV says REAL ID is not mandatory with a non-commercial license, while commercial driver’s license holders who aren’t already compliant have to upgrade to REAL ID when their license expires. Since federal enforcement began on May 7, 2025, you need the star, a passport or another accepted document to board a domestic flight.
The card itself changed more recently. When it announced upgraded cards due in late fall 2024, made from 100% polycarbonate and laser engraved, the DMV said Alaska residents would be the first in the country to carry translucent polycarbonate licenses and ID cards. That announcement lists a translucent corner, semi-translucent windows, a secondary portrait that shows as a clear image when the card is held up to light, and ultraviolet ink on the front and back. A photo of the card lying flat on a table captures what you see in normal light, not what shows under UV light or with light behind the card.
None of that changes with a watermark: your name, photo, license number, the star or the “Federal limits apply” line all stay readable under it. Send the back only when asked.
What Alaska law says about license data
Alaska’s breach law defines personal information as your first name or first initial and last name combined with, among other things, your driver’s license or state ID card number, when the data is not encrypted or redacted. A breach there means unauthorized acquisition of that information, and the law spells out that acquisition by photocopying, fax or another paper-based method counts, not only a computer. A business, a government agency or anyone with more than 10 employees that owns or licenses that information must disclose a breach to each affected Alaska resident without unreasonable delay, unless, after an investigation and written notice to the attorney general, it finds no reasonable likelihood of harm. A watermark doesn’t encrypt or redact anything, so the full number stays on a watermarked copy.
The state’s records disposal law goes further on one point: there, a driver’s license number counts as personal information even without your name. A business or government agency disposing of records that contain one must take all reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access or use. The measures it lists include policies requiring paper to be burned, pulverized or shredded and electronic media destroyed or erased so the information cannot practicably be read or reconstructed, and the business has to adopt written policies on proper disposal.
Those rules govern what happens after a business holds your copy. A watermark works earlier: it ties each copy to the one place you sent it.
Where the watermark goes: Tiled, Diagonal or Horizontal
Across the data, never in a corner. A line along the edge can be cropped off in a second, and the copy is clean again.
Tiled repeats your line diagonally over the whole card, across the photo, the name and the license number. It leaves no clean strip to cut away, so use it for a landlord you haven’t met or anyone you won’t deal with again.
Diagonal and Horizontal place a single line, quieter and easier to read around. They suit an office you already know, such as your employer’s HR team. Drag the line until it crosses your name and license number, not the margin.
Sending an Alaska license copy safely
Check who is asking first. The FTC’s warning about rental listing scams describes fake landlords who ask for an application with a picture of your driver’s license, paystubs and other personal details. In an April 2026 scam alert about fake texts claiming to come from DMV offices, the Alaska DMV said it never requests payment or sensitive personal information by text message. When a request arrives through a listing site or a text from a number you don’t know, look up the landlord or the company on your own and reach them that way before you send anything.
Prefer the company’s own upload portal over email or a chat app, where the photo stays in both phones for good.
If a copy went to the wrong person and your details are being used, the DMV’s page on lost, stolen or compromised documents says to keep records of the fraud, file a report with your local law enforcement agency and get a copy, close accounts at risk and notify the FTC. Alaska law gives you the right to file that police report where you live: the local agency has to make a report and give you a copy even if the theft happened somewhere else. If the card itself is gone, the DMV lets you apply online for a replacement. IdentityTheft.gov builds a report and a recovery plan if your details are already being misused.
A license from another state works the same way, with its own details: see the pages to watermark a driver’s license from California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington, Arizona, Tennessee, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Maryland, Wisconsin, Colorado, Minnesota, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Oregon, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Utah, Iowa, Nevada, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Idaho, West Virginia, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming or DC. If you’d rather send a document without your home address, a watermarked passport card copy is the other option. When the request includes your Social Security card, you can watermark your Social Security card copy the same way.
For the rest of what Nonimo does, including a desktop app that redacts client names and ID numbers before text reaches an AI tool, start at the Nonimo homepage.
Common questions
What should I write on a copy of my Alaska driver's license?
Who the copy is for, what it's for, and the month and year, for example: For Spruce Lane apartment lease use only, October 2026. If the copy turns up on a different application, that line shows it doesn't belong there. A plain COPY fits any use, so it proves nothing.
Will a watermark hide the star on my Alaska REAL ID?
No. A watermark hides nothing; it is text laid across the card, and everything under it stays readable. The Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles says REAL ID cards display a star in the top right corner, while standard cards have no star and read Federal limits apply. Someone checking your copy will still see either one, along with your name, photo and license number. Lower the Opacity if you want the line lighter.
Does an Alaska business have to protect the license copy it keeps?
When it throws the copy away, yes. Alaska's records disposal law counts a driver's license number on its own as personal information, and a business or government agency disposing of records that contain it must take all reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access or use, and the measures the law lists include shredding paper and erasing electronic media so the number cannot practicably be read or reconstructed. That law governs what the business does with the copy; the watermark shows where the copy was meant to go.
Do I need to send the back of my Alaska license?
Only if they asked for both sides. The front already shows your name, photo, license number and whether the card carries the REAL ID star. If the back is requested, add it in the Back zone and use Download both sides as PDF: one page, front above back, each side watermarked.
Can I watermark my Alaska license on my phone?
Yes. The tool runs in your phone's browser. In the Front zone, tap Camera to take the picture or Photos to choose one, and HEIC pictures from an iPhone work as they are. Write the line, choose a layout, drag the watermark into place with your finger and download a PDF, PNG or JPG without installing anything.
Is my Alaska license uploaded anywhere when I use the tool?
No. Your license never leaves your device: the photo is read and watermarked in your browser, and nothing is sent to our servers or anyone else's. The file you download is a new image, re-encoded without EXIF or GPS metadata, so it doesn't carry your phone model or the place where you took the picture.
Will a landlord or employer in Alaska accept a watermarked license copy?
They should, because every detail on the card stays readable under the line. A property manager can check your name against the rental application. Form I-9 is a different matter: it's done with the original card, not a copy. The watermark only makes the copy hard to pass off for some other purpose.
What do I do if my Alaska license copy went to a scammer?
The Alaska DMV's advice for compromised documents starts with a police report: file one with your local law enforcement agency and keep a copy. Alaska law says the agency where you live has to take an identity theft report and give you a copy, even if the theft happened elsewhere. Then report it at IdentityTheft.gov. If the card itself is lost, the DMV lets you apply for a replacement online.