· Written and maintained by Nonimo
A Colorado 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 medical office 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 a Colorado 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 a Colorado 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 can’t.
For Elm Street apartment lease use only · October 2026
For new patient registration use only · October 2026
For auto policy quote use only · October 2026
For airport car rental pickup use only · October 2026
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 a Colorado license shows on the copy
Colorado licenses come from the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, part of the Department of Revenue. The DMV’s REAL ID page says a REAL ID compliant card carries a star on its front: a black star on the newer design and a gold star on cards from before 2020. Since federal enforcement began on May 7, 2025, that star gets the card through airport security.
Some Colorado cards have no star at all. Standard credentials, issued under the Colorado Roads and Community Safety Act, carry a black banner across the front that reads “NOT VALID FOR FEDERAL IDENTIFICATION, VOTING, OR FEDERAL PUBLIC BENEFIT PURPOSES.” Either way, a watermark leaves the banner or the star as readable as before.
The current design, which the DMV calls the Iconic Credential, became available on February 28, 2022. The DMV’s announcement describes Mount Sneffels on the front and Sprague Lake on the back, printed in rainbow color ink. The card body is 100% polycarbonate, and the text and photo are laser engraved, which is why the photo on a Colorado card is black and white. The back lists every one of the state’s 64 counties in microtext.
None of that changes with a watermark: your name, photo, license number and the star all stay readable under the line.
The back holds the magnetic stripe, which businesses use to check the card, plus your endorsements and driving restrictions. Send it only when asked.
Colorado law also covers what a business does with your license number once it has it. The Colorado Attorney General’s guide to data protection laws lists driver’s license numbers as personal identifying information. Under section 6-1-713, C.R.S., a business that keeps that information must have a written policy to destroy it once it is no longer needed, and section 6-1-713.5 requires reasonable security to protect it. A watermark still tells you whose copy it was if it leaks.
If that business also runs AI tools over customer files, the Colorado Privacy Act and the state’s AI law add rules of their own.
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 a Colorado license copy safely
Check who is asking first. The FTC’s warning about rental listing scams describes fake landlords who collect a picture of your driver’s license along with paystubs and other details, and then use them to steal identities. 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.
The Colorado DMV also warns about fake DMV websites built to steal personal information: renew or replace a license only on an official state of Colorado site.
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, the DMV’s lost or stolen license page explains what to do. The DMV does not place alerts on its records for lost or stolen licenses; you can report a stolen card to your local law enforcement agency. If you believe your license number is being misused, you can ask for a new one: file a police report, complete the Affidavit of Colorado Driver License or Identity Theft (form DR 2153), have your signature notarized and bring the documents to any Colorado driver license office. They can’t be mailed, emailed or faxed. 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, 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, Alaska, Vermont, Wyoming or DC. If you’d rather send a document without your home address, a watermarked passport card copy is the other option.
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 Colorado driver's license?
Who the copy is for, what it's for, and the month and year, for example: For Elm Street 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 Colorado license?
No. A watermark hides nothing; it is text laid across the card, and everything under it stays readable. The Colorado DMV says REAL ID compliant cards carry a star on the front, black on the current design and gold on older cards, and both count. Someone checking your copy will still see it, along with your name, photo and license number. Lower the Opacity if you want the line lighter.
Does a Colorado business have to protect a copy of my license?
Colorado law counts a driver's license number as personal identifying information. The Colorado Attorney General explains that businesses keeping it must have a written policy to destroy it once it is no longer needed and must use reasonable security to protect it. A watermark adds a second layer by showing who the copy was meant for.
Do I need to send the back of my Colorado license?
Only if they asked for both sides. According to the Colorado DMV, the back of the current card holds the magnetic stripe, your endorsements and your driving restrictions. 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 Colorado 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 Colorado 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 Colorado 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 Colorado license copy went to a scammer?
If you think your license number is being misused, the Colorado DMV lets you request a new number. File a police report, fill out the Affidavit of Colorado Driver License or Identity Theft (form DR 2153), have your signature notarized and bring both to a Colorado driver license office; they can't be mailed, emailed or faxed. If your details are already being misused, also report it at IdentityTheft.gov.