How to send a copy of your passport or ID without overexposing yourself

A copy of your passport or driver's licence is one of the most useful documents a fraudster can get. Yet we hand them out constantly: to landlords, new employers, hotels, letting agents, online services and banks. You can't always refuse, but you can send less.

First, ask what they need

The answer changes what you can hide:

• Proving who you are usually needs your name, photo and date of birth.
• Proving your right to rent or work may need the document number and expiry date as well. Some checks must see the original or use an official online service instead of a copy.
• Proving your address often isn't what a passport is for at all. Ask whether a utility bill or bank letter would do.

If the request is vague, ask: "Which details do you need from my ID?" Most legitimate recipients will tell you.

What you can often hide

• The document number, if they only need to confirm your name and face.
• The machine-readable zone, the two lines of characters at the bottom of a passport page, which repeat your details in a form machines can read. Ask first, because some verification processes rely on it.
• Your signature, which rarely needs to travel.
• Your full date of birth, if they only need to know you're over a certain age.
• Your address on a driving licence, if the request isn't about address.

Make a copy that's only good for one purpose

• Label it. Add a line across the image such as "Copy for Northwind Lettings, rental application, 6 November 2026." A labelled copy is much harder to reuse elsewhere.
• Hide properly. Use a tool that removes the details, not one that draws a box over them. Photos and scans can still carry hidden text layers. See how to redact a PDF properly.
• Send it carefully. A link that expires, or the recipient's secure upload portal, is better than an email attachment that sits in inboxes for years.
• Keep a note of who you sent it to and when, so you know where copies exist.

If you've already sent too much

Ask the recipient how long they'll keep your ID and to delete it when it's no longer needed. In the UK and EU you can ask an organisation what personal data it holds about you and, in many cases, for it to be deleted.

Where Ombly fits

Ombly finds ID numbers, names, dates and other details on scans and photos of your documents, lets you choose what to hide, and rebuilds the image so the hidden parts are gone for good, on your own computer. Join the waitlist to try it first. For more documents, see what to redact, by document type.