Add the agency, rental reference and date to the requested licence or passport copy, then keep required details readable. Queensland RTA says a manager needs consent to keep an identity copy. A watermark states intended use; it does not replace that consent or the identity check.
Queensland rental evidence: a copy or the original
Queensland RTA’s application guidance allows proving identity with a document copy or by showing the original. Keeping a copy requires the applicant’s consent. Its financial-evidence examples include bank statements without transaction details.
Prepare only the requested evidence for the property manager. These Queensland rules should not be read as a single nationwide rental checklist.
How to watermark a licence or passport rental copy
- Open the photo, scan or PDF of your licence or passport. A photo taken on a table is cropped to the document’s edges and straightened for you; use Rotate if it is sideways.
- Replace the full default watermark text with the recipient and rental purpose. The tool adds today’s date automatically.
- Move the Intensity slider between Subtle and Intense (Balanced is the default) until the mark is plain to see and the name, photo and numbers still read.
- Download a JPG or PDF and open it before you send it. Your original is not changed.
Wording that works on an Australian copy
Name the recipient and purpose, for example "Banksia Rentals, rental application". Replace the fictional agency with the real recipient; the tool adds today’s date automatically. The tool repeats your words across the whole document, in large engraved lines with fine print between them, so the mark cannot be cropped off a corner.
First, ask whether a copy is needed
The Passport Office reminds you that once you share identity information, you lose control of where it is kept and for how long.
- NSW: Fair Trading guidance calls it best practice for an agent to sight your ID and note what it needs, without storing the documents.
- Queensland: you can show the original instead of giving a copy, and a property manager keeps a copy only with your consent.
- Victoria: an agent can request no more than two identity documents from a set list, so send two, not your whole wallet.
Intensity and the small print
Before you download, zoom in on a passport’s two machine-readable lines and a licence’s number: if the recipient needs them, they must stay legible at the intensity you chose. If a number is not needed at all, hide it instead. A PDF from the tool holds one image per page, so its text is no longer selectable; for a smaller file, run the marked copy through Compress.
Nothing leaves your browser
The file is read and the marked copy is drawn on your device, without camera data such as location. Once the page has loaded, it works offline. If you share copies often, the Dokus app keeps the original encrypted and marks each copy with the recipient and the date as you send it.
Finish the requested attachment
Prepare the PDF, reduce the scan, label the recipient or hide unnecessary details for the agreed sharing task. Inspect the final saved file.
Common questions
Will an agent accept a watermarked licence?
Ask before you send. The agent decides what it accepts, and a check that compares your details with the issuer’s record still needs the name and numbers legible under the mark.
Can the tool add today’s date for me?
No. It writes exactly what you type, so add the date to the field yourself. The Dokus app can include the date on its own when you share a copy from it.
Does the watermark cover the passport’s machine-readable lines?
It crosses the whole page, those lines included, at the intensity you choose. Check that they stay readable if the recipient needs them, or hide the passport number with the redaction tool if it does not.
Does watermarking password-protect the rental PDF?
No. It labels the recipient and rental purpose visibly on the agreed copy. It does not encrypt the PDF or replace consent to retain the ID. The required details remain readable.
