Banks, landlords, employers and government forms often ask for "a copy of your ID, front and back, on one page". A photocopier does it in seconds, but you can get the same result with your phone, for free, in about a minute.
Scan both sides in 4 steps
- Open Camera Scanner on your phone and tap Open camera.
- Lay the card on a dark, plain surface and photograph the front. The green outline shows the card has been found.
- Turn the card over and photograph the back.
- Tap Make PDF. Both sides land on one A4 (or Letter) page, one above the other.
Why the card comes out at its real size
ID cards, driving licences, bank cards and most residence permits share one standard shape: 85.6 × 54 mm. GrovePDF recognises that shape, straightens each side and places it on the page at exactly that size, so a printout matches the real card, like a photocopy. Two cards in a row share one page; a third starts a new one.
Photographing a passport page or another document? It isn't card-shaped, so it fills its own page instead. Choose Fit photo under Page size if you want every photo kept as it is.
Tips for a sharp, readable copy
- Avoid glare on laminated cards: turn the card slightly away from the light, or switch off the room's ceiling light.
- Fill a good part of the frame with the card, and hold the phone parallel to it.
- Keep the colours: under Look, choose Colour or Magic colour if the form asks for a colour copy.
- Upload limit? Compress PDF with a target size such as 1 MB.
Keep your ID safe
Your photos never leave your phone: the page finding, straightening and PDF making all happen in the browser. Before emailing the copy, consider adding a password with Protect PDF and sending the password separately. Some people also add a line such as "Copy for [company], [date]" across the page with Watermark, so the copy can't be reused elsewhere.