Identity document copy redaction is the removal of identifiers from a scanned passport or driving licence held as right-to-work evidence. Home Office guidance under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 asks for a clear, unaltered, dated copy, and since 6 April 2022 a certified identity service provider can run that check digitally instead. anonym.plus reads scans with local OCR on your device.
When this applies
A card image gives away more than it looks. A DVLA driver number encodes the holder's surname, date of birth, and sex in its own digits, so masking the printed date of birth alone leaves the number to rebuild it. UK GDPR Art. 5(1)(c) asks why a manager needs the image at all once the check is recorded.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the scanned copy in anonym.plus on your device.
- Local OCR (Tesseract) reads the document image.
- The tool flags document numbers, names, and birth dates.
- Review flags on faint scans with extra care.
- Black out or swap the confirmed identifiers.
- Save the clean image locally.
What you need to provide
- The scanned copy (image, PDF, or DOCX).
- An operator (Redact suits an image copy).
- Optional batch of up to 20 scans per run.
PII entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | UK_PASSPORT | passport 503827461 → [PASSPORT] |
| Identifiers | UK_DRIVER_LICENSE | MORGA753116M9 → [LICENCE] |
| Names | PERSON | holder M. Coleman → [NAME] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | DOB on card → [DOB] |
| Identifiers | UK_NINO | QQ 75 31 16 C → [NINO] |
| Location | LOCATION | address on card → [ADDRESS] |
Compliance achieved
- Leaves your retained copy intact, as the Home Office employer's guide to right to work checks asks for a clear, unaltered, dated image.
- Covers documents kept under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 excuse, and copies from a digital check by a certified provider.
- Flags the DVLA driver number, which encodes surname, date of birth, and sex, so masking the printed date alone is not enough.
- Applies data minimisation under UK GDPR Art. 5(1)(c) to images passed on after the check is recorded.
- Local OCR reads card images, so a printed number is caught, up to 20 scans per batch.
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Limitations & cautions
OCR on a faint or skewed scan can miss a digit, so check the flags on low-quality images. A black-out removes the pixels; verify the photo, the number, and the machine-readable strip are all fully covered before sharing.
Frequently asked questions
Can it redact a number on a passport scan?
Yes. Local OCR reads the image first, then flags the number so you can black it out before the copy is shared. Cover the machine-readable strip as well.
Why redact the licence number if the date of birth is already masked?
The DVLA driver number carries the holder's surname, date of birth, and sex inside its own characters. Leaving it visible undoes the masking you just applied.
Is a black-out reversible?
A true Redact removes the pixels. If you must re-link later, use Replace with an alias map and guard that map.