How to scan and protect documents on iPhone: an Australian passport, driver licence or Medicare card
Open Files, tap More, then Scan Documents, capture each side of the card or the photo page of the passport, tap Keep Scan, then Save to get one PDF in the folder you chose. Check what the portal takes before uploading (ImmiAccount accepts clear photos and files up to 5 MB, but not encrypted PDFs), and lock your own copy in Notes or behind Face ID.
Visa applications, 100-point checks and rental applications all end with someone wanting your documents as files. The iPhone’s Files app scans them without another app. After a run of data breaches, the second question matters as much as the first: who gets the copy, and where yours is kept.
Scan in the Files app
- Open Files and tap More (the three dots), then Scan Documents.
- Hold the iPhone over the document. In Auto mode the scanner finds the edges and captures by itself; otherwise tap the shutter or press a volume button.
- Drag the corners to the document’s edges and tap Keep Scan.
- Scan the next side or page, then tap Done.
- Choose where to save and tap Save.
Notes has the same scanner under its Attachment button and keeps the scan as a PDF inside the note. The Camera app only takes a photo, background included, and adds it to your photo library.
What to capture on each document
- Driver licence: both sides. A NSW card shows a card number at the top right as well as the licence number; Service NSW says the licence number alone cannot pass a Document Verification Service check, so a full scan, showing both, should go only where a check needs it.
- Australian passport: the photo page, with the two machine-readable lines at the bottom sharp. The Passport Office advises never sharing photos of your passport online and giving its details only to organisations that legitimately need them.
- Medicare card: only when the form lists it; the ROVER list below counts it as a secondary document.
- Visa: a visa holder can send proof of visa conditions to an employer or landlord through VEVO instead of a passport scan.
Check the portal’s rules before you upload
ImmiAccount. Home Affairs accepts photos of documents if they are clear and show all the document information. Attachments other than your own digital photograph can be up to 5 MB each, as PDF, JPG, PNG and more, but not as encrypted or secured PDFs. You cannot open a file again from your account once it is uploaded, so keep your own copy.
100-point checks. Each organisation publishes its own list. The federal ROVER vehicle-import portal, for example, asks for copies of both sides of every document and scores an Australian passport at 70 points, a driver licence at 40 and a Medicare card at 25.
Paper applications. Home Affairs asks for certified copies when you apply on paper. A certifier, such as a justice of the peace, a pharmacist or a police officer, compares your copy with the original and signs it.
Where the scan is saved
Files puts the PDF where you pointed it before tapping Save: On My iPhone keeps it on the phone, iCloud Drive copies it to your other devices on the same Apple Account. Recents in Files finds it again. A Notes scan stays in its note until you tap Share and choose Save to Files.
Keeping your copy locked
A PDF in Files has no lock of its own, so lock the Files app with Require Face ID (touch and hold its icon, on iOS 18 or later), or keep the scan in a locked note. Do not put a password on the PDF itself if it is headed for ImmiAccount, which refuses secured files.
Protecting a copy you send
Over the limit? The compression tool shrinks it in your browser; for both sides on one A4 page, use the photo to PDF tool.
For a real estate agent or an employer, two more steps limit what a leaked copy is worth. The free watermark tool writes across it who it is for, what for and the date. Where the recipient agrees, the redaction tool blacks out what they do not need, such as the card number, and burns the box into the copy. Neither uploads your document. Leave government uploads unmarked, as the portal asks for all the document information, and delete copies left in Downloads and chats once the application is in.
Dokus scans straight into an encrypted wallet on your iPhone, keeps front and back under one name, opens offline with Face ID and blanks screenshots of your documents. It shares smaller PDF or JPG copies marked with the recipient’s name, with any areas you choose hidden, free.
Frequently asked questions
Where do scanned documents go on iPhone?
A scan made in Files is saved as a PDF in the location you chose before tapping Save, either On My iPhone or a folder in iCloud Drive, and Recents in Files lists it. A scan made in Notes stays inside the note until you tap Share and choose Save to Files.
Do I need a certified copy, or is a phone scan enough?
It depends on the channel. Home Affairs asks for certified copies on paper applications, signed by someone such as a justice of the peace, pharmacist or police officer, while ImmiAccount accepts clear photos or scans of the original attached online.
Why won’t ImmiAccount take my PDF?
ImmiAccount does not accept encrypted or secured PDF files, which often happens with documents downloaded from a website. Home Affairs suggests printing and scanning a new copy; a scan saved from the Files app has no password.