· Written and maintained by Nonimo
A South 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 South 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 South 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 proves nothing.
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
Form I-9 for a new job is done with the card itself. You present the original, unexpired license to the employer, in person or, at an E-Verify employer using the DHS alternative procedure, on a live video call after sending clear, unaltered copies; the USCIS Handbook for Employers says copies are not acceptable when documents are examined in person. If the employer keeps a photocopy, it makes that copy itself from the original. A watermark is for the copies that simply get emailed and stored: landlords, insurers, car rental desks, medical offices, and an employer’s own onboarding file when one asks for it. 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.
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.
The state asks for a copy in at least one case too. To upgrade a minor’s permit to an operator’s license by mail, the Driver Licensing required documents page lists a copy of the permit or federally compliant ID card among what you send.
What a South Dakota license shows on the copy
South Dakota licenses are issued by the Driver Licensing Program, an agency of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety. Its required documents page describes a federally compliant card as one with a gold star in the upper right corner. Since federal REAL ID enforcement began on May 7, 2025, you need a compliant card, a passport or another accepted document to board a domestic flight.
In September 2026 the program announced a new driver’s license and ID card design, with exam stations starting to issue it on different dates through that month. The announcement speaks of updated printing methods and embedded design elements that make the cards harder to replicate. You get the new card when you renew or apply for a new one, and existing licenses stay valid until they expire, so the card in your wallet may be either design.
Cards issued before then carry an earlier design. The department’s brochure for the design it introduced in December 2009 describes that card with Mount Rushmore in the background, the license number printed in red, a ghost image of the photo in the lower right corner, a ghost image viewable under black light, and the gold star labeled as the federal compliance indicator. On that 2009 design, licenses for drivers under 21 run vertically and show the date the holder turns 21, and the back carries a 1D and a 2D barcode; according to the brochure, the 2D barcode holds everything on the front except the photo and signature.
Two optional words can appear too. Honorably discharged veterans can add “Veteran” to the front of their license or ID card, and on the 2009 design the brochure shows “Donor” in red letters for card holders who chose to be organ donors.
None of that changes with a watermark: your name, photo, license number, the gold star and any Veteran or Donor wording all stay readable under it. Send the back only when asked.
What South Dakota law says about license data
South Dakota’s breach law defines personal information as your first name or first initial and last name combined with, among other things, your driver license number. Information that has been redacted or otherwise made unusable falls outside the definition. A watermarked copy still shows the full number, so it still counts.
Under the notice rule, an information holder, meaning a person or business that conducts business in South Dakota and owns or licenses computerized personal information of its residents, must tell affected residents about a breach no later than sixty days after discovering it, unless law enforcement needs a longer period. A breach affecting more than two hundred fifty South Dakota residents must also be reported to the Attorney General.
The state’s identity theft law lists driver’s license numbers as identifying information, and using someone else’s identifying information without permission to deceive or defraud is a Class 6 felony.
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 a South 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. South Dakota’s Consumer Protection office gives the same advice for any request: before you share information with a workplace, a business or a doctor’s office, ask why they need it, how they will safeguard it and what happens if you don’t share it. If the request came through a listing site or a text from a number you don’t know, reach the landlord or company on your own first.
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, the Driver Licensing FAQ says you may be able to apply for a duplicate or replacement online or by mail if you haven’t done so in the last ten years; otherwise you schedule a visit to a Driver Licensing location. If a copy went to the wrong person and your details are being used, the Consumer Protection office says to file a report with your local police or sheriff’s office and to check with the licensing agency that no unauthorized license has been issued in your name. 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, 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. Without a license, a non-driver ID can take the same line: watermark a copy of your state ID.
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 South Dakota 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 gold star on my South Dakota license?
No. A watermark hides nothing; it is text laid across the photo of your card, and everything under it stays readable. South Dakota Driver Licensing says a federally compliant card has a gold star in the upper right corner, and 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 South Dakota business have to tell me if my license copy leaks?
If it holds the data in computerized form, yes. South Dakota law counts your name combined with your driver license number as personal information. A business that owns or licenses that data and suffers a breach generally must notify the affected South Dakota residents no later than sixty days after discovering it. The watermark works earlier: it shows where the copy was meant to go.
Do I need to send the back of my South Dakota license?
Only if they asked for both sides. The front already shows your name, photo, license number and the gold star if your card is federally compliant. 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 South 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 South 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 South Dakota accept a watermarked license copy?
They should, because every detail on the card stays readable under the line. A property manager can still check your name against the rental application. Form I-9 is different: an employer completes it with your 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 South Dakota license copy went to a scammer?
If the card itself is lost or stolen, South Dakota Driver Licensing says you may be able to apply for a duplicate online or by mail if you haven't done so in the last ten years; otherwise you visit a Driver Licensing location. If someone is using your details, the state's Consumer Protection office says to file a report with your local police or sheriff's office and to check with the licensing agency that no unauthorized license has been issued in your name. IdentityTheft.gov builds a report and a recovery plan.