How to watermark a copy of your passport or driving licence before emailing it

Why a plain copy is risky

Your passport and driving licence carry your full name, date of birth, photo and signature. Banks, employers, letting agents and solicitors all ask for copies. Once you press send, you no longer control where that copy is stored or who sees it. A plain copy can be reused anywhere. A watermarked one says who it was for, why, and when. That makes it awkward to use for anything else, such as opening an account in your name.

What a good watermark looks like

Follow a simple formula: purpose, recipient, date. ‘Identity check – Northgate Bank mortgage – 11/10/2026’ is ideal. Avoid vague text like ‘COPY’ on its own: it does not tell anyone where the copy should have stayed. Keep it short too: the watermark can be up to 120 characters, but a dozen words is plenty.

• Purpose: identity check, job application, Right to Rent check.
• Recipient: the name of the company or person.
• Date: the day you send it, so an old copy cannot be passed off as new.

Step by step with Cachety

1. 1Open cachety.com on your computer or phone.
2. 2Drop in a photo or scan of your passport or licence. Photos from an iPhone (HEIC) work too.
3. 3Type the watermark text, or start from a template, then press the button to add today's date.
4. 4Check the preview. Make sure your photo and details are still readable through the watermark.
5. 5Download the watermarked copy and attach that one to your email.

Everything happens on your own device. Your passport is never uploaded, because there is no server to upload it to. Once the page has loaded, it even works with the internet switched off.

Cachety also strips hidden data from the file it gives you, including the GPS location saved in phone photos. That way your copy does not quietly reveal where you live.

Front and back of a driving licence

If someone asks for both sides of your photocard licence, add both photos at once and choose to combine them into a single PDF. You pick the order, so the front comes first. Some websites limit file size; you can set a maximum of 1, 2, 5 or 10 MB.

Please keep in mind that a watermark discourages misuse and makes a leak traceable, but it cannot stop someone photographing the document. If your passport or licence is lost or you suspect it is being misused, report it through the official gov.uk services, tell your bank, and report any fraud to Action Fraud.