ID card scanner: front and back on one page

How to scan an ID card with the Scanfone ID card scanner

1. Open Scanfone and choose the ID card scan mode.
2. Place the card on a flat, darker surface and scan the front.
3. Turn the card over and scan the back.
4. Scanfone places both sides on one page. Check the result and crop or rotate if needed.
5. Save the PDF, share it, print it, or move it into your locked Safe folder.

Why an ID card needs its own scan mode

Landlords, employers, banks, car rental desks and visa offices love asking for "a copy of both sides of your ID". If you use a normal document scanner you end up with two separate pages, two separate files, or a photo of a tiny card floating in the middle of a huge white A4 page.

The ID card mode in Scanfone is built for exactly this request. You scan the front, you scan the back, and Scanfone puts both sides on one page at a sensible size. That is the format most forms and offices actually want: one page, both sides, readable, done.

What you can scan with it

Anything card-sized with two sides works well in ID card mode:

• National ID cards and residence permits
• Driving licences
• Health insurance and membership cards
• Student and staff cards
• Bank or loyalty cards, if someone asks for proof (we would cover the number, see below)

Free means free, including the save button

Plenty of scanner apps are happy to let you scan your ID and then reveal a subscription screen the moment you tap save or export. That is a bad moment to be ambushed, usually because the form is due in ten minutes.

In Scanfone, scanning, saving, sharing, printing and text recognition are free and unlimited. There are no ads and you do not create an account. Free PDFs get one small line under each page, "Scanned free with Scanfone". There is no watermark across your card. If you want that line gone, it disappears with Scanfone Pro, which is $2.99 for the first year and then $19.99 a year, with no weekly plan in sight.

Your ID stays on your phone

An ID card is one of the most sensitive things you will ever scan, so it matters where the image goes. In Scanfone, scanning and text recognition happen on your iPhone. Nothing is uploaded unless you turn on Pro sync yourself. There are no ads, no tracking and no analytics.

For extra peace of mind, move your ID scans into the Safe, a folder locked with a PIN and Face ID. Someone scrolling through your phone to look at holiday photos will not stumble on your driving licence.

Only share what they need

Some requests only need your name and photo, not your ID number or date of birth. Scanfone has a free redact tool that hides areas of a page, so you can black out details before you send the file. You can also add a watermark such as "Copy for flat application only", which makes a copy much less useful if it ends up in the wrong place.

Tips for a sharp ID scan

• Put the card on a dark, plain surface. A light card on a white table makes edge detection harder.
• Avoid direct overhead light, which causes glare on laminated or holographic cards.
• Hold the phone parallel to the card and fill the frame.
• Use the Color filter for IDs with photos; Black & white is better for plain paper documents.
• Check that small print is readable before you send it.

After the scan

Your ID page is a normal PDF in Scanfone, so everything else works too. You can merge it with a payslip and a utility bill into one application pack, sign a form that goes with it, or compress the file if an upload portal has a strict size limit. Need the passport too? The passport scanner handles the photo page. For a full walkthrough, read how to scan an ID card.

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