How to send an ID copy safely: only what they need

“They only need my name and date of birth, not my whole ID.” That instinct is the right one. To send an ID copy safely, ask what the receiver needs, send only that, and mark the copy for them and their purpose. Do it without uploading your ID anywhere. And know when a full copy is required: some checks need it by law. Here’s each step, with links to the detailed guides.

To send an ID copy safely, ask what they need first

Many requests for “a copy of your ID” need one or two fields: a name, a date of birth, an address. Ask the receiver what exactly they have to check. Ask, too, whether seeing the ID would do instead of keeping a copy.

Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia data protection authority is concrete about one case, a copy you send a company to prove who you are: to identify you, generally only the first and last name, the address and, where relevant, the validity date are needed; the other data may and should be blacked out (LDI NRW). That’s German guidance, and the reasoning travels well: what they don’t need, they shouldn’t get.

Send only that: cover the rest

Cover every field the receiver didn’t ask for, with a solid cover. Which fields people usually cover, and how the ID-copy preset in the browser shows them: what to redact on an ID card copy. Sending a passport? Its machine-readable zone repeats your data: redact a passport copy.

Mark it for whom and why

Add a watermark that names the recipient, the purpose and the date, so a forwarded copy shows where it came from. What to write, and what “copy” means under German law: watermark an ID copy. A watermark marks the copy; it doesn’t make it valid for anything.

Don’t upload your ID to hide your ID

“I don’t want to upload my passport to hide my passport number.” Many online tools need the file uploaded before they can redact it. Dress Docs works on your device: your document never leaves it, and there’s no account to start (is it safe to upload documents online?). The whole job takes about half a minute: how to redact a PDF in about 30 seconds.

Then send the copy only to the person who asked, through the channel they gave you.

When a full copy is required

Banks and other businesses bound by anti-money-laundering rules must keep a full copy of the ID they check, and a redacted copy fails that check. The ID-copy preset warns you before you redact for one. Who must keep a full copy, and why: can a bank ask for a copy of my ID?

Your ID copy stays temporary

In Dress Docs, ID copies are always temporary: close or reload the page, and the document is cleared. It’s never saved in the browser.

On your phone? The free Dress Docs app covers photos of documents, such as an ID copy: redact an ID photo on your phone, or see how to get Dress Docs on your phone. On a computer, open Dress Docs.