· Written and maintained by Nonimo
A North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 one place a watermarked copy doesn’t stand in. Form I-9 is completed with your original, unexpired documents: the employer examines them in your presence, or, if it uses E-Verify and follows the DHS alternative procedure, on a live video call after you send it clear, unaltered copies of the front and back. Any copy that goes with your I-9 has to match the original exactly, so don’t watermark it. A watermark is for the copies that simply get emailed and stored: a landlord, an insurer, a car rental desk, a doctor’s office, or an employer’s own onboarding file when it 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 List A and covers both at once; for the copies a landlord or an insurer asks for, 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 North Dakota license shows on the copy
North Dakota licenses are issued by the Driver License Division of the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT). Its REAL ID page says your license or ID is REAL ID compliant if it has a gold star in the top right corner; if it doesn’t, you apply for one in person at an NDDOT Driver License office. Since federal enforcement began on May 7, 2025, that star gets the card through airport security. North Dakota also lets you opt out of REAL ID, and NDDOT’s page of sample cards lists that version as a Non-Federal Driver License.
That same page marks the older style as issued prior to August 2023. As NDDOT announced that month, the new design features the North Dakota badlands with a sunrise ultraviolet image and an updated state logo, and the sample page lists its security features as a Dynamic Look-Through Element, a Mini Portrait and an Optical Ghost Portrait. The older design, with ultraviolet gold ink that glows green, laser perforation, a guilloche background and a ghost portrait, may stay valid and in circulation for up to 6 years for a driver license after the new cards became available, so either one may be in your wallet. The samples also include separate versions for drivers under 18 and under 21, and a Permanent marking indicates a USCIS Permanent Resident Card holder. If you are a veteran, NDDOT can add a Veteran Indicator to the card.
None of that changes with a watermark: your name, photo, license number and the star all stay readable under the line.
NDDOT’s sample page shows the back of the license as well. Most requests are covered by the front, so send the back only when asked.
North Dakota law treats this information seriously. Chapter 39-33 of the North Dakota Century Code limits what NDDOT itself may disclose from motor vehicle records, and it lists your photograph, Social Security number and medical or disability information as highly restricted personal information. NDDOT adds that the information it scans for REAL ID is kept in the state driver license system, in-state only, and that it shares personal information only as that chapter provides. Separately, section 12.1-23-11 makes it a crime to use another person’s operator’s license information or photograph, among other identifying details, without consent to obtain credit, money, goods or services. Those rules cover the state’s records and the misuse of your details, not the copy sitting in someone’s inbox, which is where the watermark helps.
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 North Dakota 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 the card itself is lost or stolen, NDDOT’s page to replace a lost, stolen or damaged license explains how to request a duplicate online or at a North Dakota Driver License site, as long as you are still a resident and your driving privileges aren’t suspended, revoked or cancelled. If a copy went to the wrong person, the North Dakota Attorney General’s page on reporting identity theft lists three steps: place a fraud alert with one of the three major credit reporting agencies, report the fraud to the card issuer or financial institution, and file an Identity Theft Report with the FTC. IdentityTheft.gov takes that report and builds 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, 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 a state-issued ID card instead of a license, there’s a page on watermarking a state ID copy.
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 North Dakota 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 gold star on my North Dakota license?
No. A watermark hides nothing; it is text laid across the picture of your card, and everything under it stays readable. NDDOT says a North Dakota license or ID is REAL ID compliant if it has a gold star in the top right corner. Someone checking your copy will still see the star, along with your name, photo and license number. Lower the Opacity if you want the line lighter.
My North Dakota license has no gold star. Does that matter for a copy?
Not for the watermark. NDDOT lets you opt out of REAL ID, and its page of sample cards lists that version as a Non-Federal Driver License. It is still a North Dakota driver's license, and the watermark works the same way on either one. Whether a given office accepts it as ID is up to that office.
Do I need to send the back of my North Dakota license?
Only if they asked for both sides. Most requests are covered by the front, with your name, photo and license number. 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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. The watermark only makes the copy hard to pass off for some other purpose. Form I-9 for a new job is different: your employer examines the original license, not a copy.
What do I do if my North Dakota license copy went to a scammer?
The North Dakota Attorney General advises placing a fraud alert with one of the three major credit reporting agencies, reporting fraud to the card issuer or bank involved, and filing an Identity Theft Report with the FTC. You can do that last step at IdentityTheft.gov, which also gives you a recovery plan. If the card itself is lost or stolen too, NDDOT lets you request a duplicate online or at a North Dakota Driver License site.