· Written and maintained by Nonimo
A Kentucky 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 picture of 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 Kentucky 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 across the picture.
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 Kentucky 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 doesn’t.
For Maple Avenue 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 is the exception. Form I-9 is completed with your original, unexpired documents: your employer generally examines them in your physical presence, or, if it is enrolled in E-Verify, over a live video call under the DHS alternative procedure, where you first send clear, unaltered copies and then show the same originals on camera. The employer may make its own copies of what it reviewed, and a watermarked picture has no place in any of it. The line is for the copies that simply get emailed and stored: a landlord, an insurer, a car rental desk, a medical office, or an employer’s onboarding file when HR asks for one. 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. A Green Card is a List A document and covers both on its own; for the copies of it that do get emailed, here’s how to watermark a Green Card.
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 Kentucky license shows on the copy
Kentucky licenses are issued by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) at its Driver Licensing Regional Offices. According to a KYTC fact sheet, that work moved to the Cabinet from the circuit court clerks after HB 453 passed in 2020, and the transfer was completed on June 27, 2022.
In KYTC’s words on its REAL ID page, with federal enforcement in effect as of May 7, 2025, Kentucky licenses, permits and ID cards “without a black star cannot be used at airport security checkpoints for U.S. commercial air travel.” That is about the card on its own: the KYTC fact sheet above notes that other REAL ID-compliant credentials, such as a U.S. passport or a U.S. military ID, also work, and TSA’s REAL ID page covers the rest of the accepted list.
In September 2018, ahead of the cards it began rolling out in 2019, KYTC put out an announcement of the new license design. At the time it described a grayscale portrait laser engraved into the card, a background of Kentucky symbols such as the state seal and the goldenrod in intricate repeating patterns, an image of the Capitol with a 3D appearance, and a duplicate photograph over a gold look-through window that turns clear when backlit. It also said standard credentials would carry the text “Not For REAL ID Purposes”, and that cards would stay horizontal for drivers 21 and older and vertical for those under 21.
None of that changes with a watermark: your name, photo, license number and the star, or the lack of one, all stay readable under the line. The same announcement said duplicate photos and information would appear on both sides of the card, so send the back only when asked.
There is one more reason to think about what a copy gives away. When KYTC launched Kentucky Mobile ID in January 2026, it pointed out that the app lets you share only the information a transaction needs, such as withholding your address when proving your age. A photo of the physical card shares everything printed on it, every time.
What a Kentucky business does with your copy
Once you send a copy, it becomes part of someone else’s records. Kentucky’s customer records destruction law, KRS 365.720 to 365.730, covers what happens when a business throws those records out. The Attorney General’s small business compliance guide explains that a business disposing of records with personal information about customers must shred, erase or otherwise make that information unreadable, whether on paper or on a hard drive. Its list of covered details includes photographs, driver identification numbers, addresses and dates of birth, and a customer injured by a violation may sue in state court.
That law is about disposal, not about who sees a copy in the meantime. Until then, the watermark is what ties it to the one purpose you sent it for.
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 picture, 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 Kentucky 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.
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 Kentucky Attorney General’s identity theft page says to act quickly: report it to the Attorney General’s office through its online scam complaint form, contact your local police and get a copy of the report, place a fraud alert or a security freeze with the credit reporting agencies, and review your credit report. IdentityTheft.gov builds a report and a recovery plan if your details are already being misused. If the card itself is lost or stolen, KYTC’s update and replace page says eligible drivers may be able to request a replacement online in a verified myDrive account, by mail or in person at any regional office.
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, 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 Kentucky driver's license?
Who the copy is for, what it's for, and the month and year, for example: For Maple Avenue 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 black star on my Kentucky license?
No. A watermark hides nothing; it is text laid across the picture of your card, and everything under it stays readable. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says a Kentucky license, permit or ID card without a black star cannot be used at airport security checkpoints for U.S. commercial air travel, so on its own a starless card won't get you on a domestic flight. Someone checking your copy will still see whether yours has the star, along with your name, photo and license number. Lower the Opacity if you want the line lighter.
What happens to my license copy when a Kentucky business throws it out?
Kentucky's customer records destruction law, KRS 365.720 to 365.730, says a business disposing of customer records must shred, erase or otherwise make the personal information unreadable. The Attorney General's guide to that law lists photographs and driver identification numbers among the details it covers, and an injured customer may sue.
Do I need to send the back of my Kentucky license?
Only if they asked for both sides. When the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet unveiled the design of its 2019 licenses in 2018, it said duplicate photos and information would appear on both sides of the card, so the back adds little that the front doesn't already show. 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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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: your employer examines the original card, in person or on a live video call, not a copy. The watermark only makes the copy hard to pass off for some other purpose.
What do I do if my Kentucky license copy went to a scammer?
The Kentucky Attorney General suggests reporting identity theft to its office through its online scam complaint form, to the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov and to your local police, then placing a fraud alert or a security freeze with the credit reporting agencies and reviewing your credit report. If the card itself is lost or stolen, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says eligible drivers may be able to request a replacement online through a verified myDrive account, by mail or at any Driver Licensing Regional Office.