· Written and maintained by Nonimo
A Washington State driver’s license, standard or enhanced, 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. 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 Washington 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 Washington 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 Cedar 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. A Green Card is in List A and covers identity and work authorization together; watermarking a Green Card copy for a landlord or a bank has its own guide.
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 Washington license shows on the copy
Washington does REAL ID differently from most states. The state Department of Licensing (DOL) says its standard driver’s licenses and ID cards do not meet REAL ID requirements, and it has marked them “Federal Limits Apply” since July 2018. The state’s REAL ID compliant card is the enhanced driver’s license (EDL) or enhanced ID card, and where many states put a star on the card, the EDL bears a U.S. flag. Since federal enforcement began on May 7, 2025, that difference matters at airport security.
The EDL is also a border document. According to DOL’s guide to enhanced driver licenses, only U.S. citizens who live in Washington can get one, it lets you return to the U.S. by land or by sea only, and it carries an icon on the front, a machine-readable zone on the back that a border agent can scan like a passport, and an RFID tag. DOL says the tag holds only a unique reference number and no personal identifying information. A photo, on the other hand, copies everything printed on the card, and the machine-readable zone too if you send the back. The watermark goes on that photo, not on the card, so it has no effect on the RFID tag.
The current card designs date from July 2018, with a separate version for drivers under 21.
None of that changes with a watermark: your name, photo, license number and the flag or the Federal Limits Apply line all stay readable under the line.
Washington law treats the license number as sensitive. Under RCW 19.255.005, your name combined with your driver’s license number or Washington ID card number is personal information. If a business holding it unsecured has a data breach, it has to notify you within 30 days of discovering it, the Washington Attorney General explains, and report to that office too when more than 500 Washington residents are affected. Separately, RCW 19.300.020 makes it a class C felony to intentionally scan another person’s identification device, such as an RFID tag, remotely and without their prior knowledge and consent, for fraud, identity theft or any other illegal purpose. Neither law reaches a photo of your card once you email it. What you control is who gets that copy, and a watermark that ties it to them. That goes for a Washington ID card too; see how to watermark a state ID card.
Health details are a separate matter. A pharmacy, a wellness app or any business that collects them from customers can fall under Washington’s My Health My Data Act, which reaches data that HIPAA does not.
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 Washington 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 other details and then use them to steal identities. If the request came through a listing or a text, reach the landlord or company through a website you found yourself, and prefer its own upload portal over email or a chat app.
If a copy went to the wrong person, DOL’s fraud and identity theft guidance says to contact its Driver and Vehicle Investigations Unit right away, file a police report and ask for a case number, place a fraud alert on your credit and tell your bank and creditors. If someone used your name and birth date to get a license, its page on identity crimes or fraud says the same unit helps with replacing your card. A card that was lost or stolen can be replaced online through License Express or at a driver licensing office, and 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, 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, 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 Washington driver's license?
Who the copy is for, what it's for, and the month and year, for example: For Cedar 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 flag on my Washington enhanced driver's license?
No. A watermark hides nothing; it is text laid across the card, and everything under it stays readable. Washington's REAL ID compliant card, the enhanced driver's license (EDL), carries a U.S. flag instead of a star. A standard Washington license says Federal Limits Apply. Whoever checks your copy will still see which one you have. Lower the Opacity if you want the line lighter.
Is this page about Washington State or Washington, D.C.?
Washington State. It covers cards issued by the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL), including the enhanced driver's license. A District of Columbia license is a different card from a different agency, though the watermark works the same way on it.
Do I need to send the back of my Washington license?
Only if they asked for both sides. On an enhanced driver's license, DOL says the back carries a machine-readable zone, like a bar code, that a border agent can scan like a passport. 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 Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington 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 Washington license copy went to a scammer?
Contact DOL's Driver and Vehicle Investigations Unit, which DOL says to reach right away if you are a fraud victim. DOL also says to file a police report, ask for a case number and place a fraud alert on your credit. If your details are already being misused, report it at IdentityTheft.gov.