A freelance client wants a copy of your ID
Client onboarding, agency vendor forms and the fake-recruiter version of the same request.
Short answer
- A client is not a regulated institution. Nothing obliges them to capture a complete document, so a redacted copy is the right answer.
- Your tax or VAT number is the thing they actually need for invoicing — and that is on your invoice already.
- No contract, no call, no company that checks out, but an ID request? That is a recruitment scam, not onboarding.
- Watermark it for that client and date. Vendor files are shared, exported and migrated more than any other kind.
Onboarding a new client, and buried in the vendor pack: “Please attach a copy of your passport or national ID.” It is a normal enough request. It is also one where almost nothing they need is actually on the document.
What a client is really confirming
That the person sending the invoice is the person they hired. That is your name and your photo, and it is the whole of it.
What they usually think they need, but do not:
- Your document number. Nothing in a supplier record is keyed on it.
- The machine-readable zone. It re-encodes what is already legible.
- Your date of birth. Not part of paying an invoice.
- Your signature. Your contract already carries one, where it belongs.
And the thing they do need for the money to move — your tax or VAT number — is on your invoice, not on your passport.
Crucially, a client is not a regulated institution. No law obliges them to capture the complete document, which is the whole test set out in when redacting your ID won’t work. So a redacted, watermarked copy is not a compromise here — it is simply the correct amount.
The version to refuse
The same request has a fraudulent twin, and it is common enough in remote hiring to be worth naming:
| Real client onboarding | The recruitment scam |
|---|---|
| Comes after an offer or contract | Comes before anything |
| From a company domain you can check | Gmail, or a lookalike domain |
| After a call or video interview | Chat only, often on Telegram |
| Asks for tax details for invoicing | Asks for bank details “for payroll” |
| Will accept a redacted copy | Insists on the full document, urgently |
If there has been no contract, no call and no company that survives thirty seconds of searching, there is no job. The document and the bank details are the product.
What to send when it is real
Cover the four fields above, keep name and photo, and watermark it “For [Client] supplier onboarding — [date]”. That last part matters more for clients than for most recipients: vendor records get exported to new systems, shared with accounts teams and inherited by whoever takes over the account. A copy that names its purpose is visibly out of place anywhere else — see how to watermark a copy of your passport or ID.
Anonymize my ID does it on your phone in about a minute, with nothing uploaded.
Ask what happens to it afterwards
A supplier record has no natural expiry, so a document copy in one can sit there for years after the last invoice. Asking for the retention period, and asking for deletion once the engagement ends, is an ordinary request with a clear basis behind it — can a company legally keep a copy of your ID sets out how to put it.
And if the request arrived by chat rather than through a system, is it safe to send your ID over WhatsApp or email? is the relevant one.
Frequently asked questions
Is it normal for a client to ask a freelancer for ID?
It is common, particularly with agencies and larger companies whose procurement process treats a supplier like a small vendor. Confirming that the person invoicing is the person they contracted is a reasonable purpose. Keeping a complete image of your passport in a vendor record is not something that purpose requires.
What should I send a client?
A redacted, watermarked copy: name and photo visible, document number, machine-readable zone, date of birth and signature covered, stamped for that client and date. If they need something for invoicing, that is your tax or VAT number, which belongs on the invoice rather than on a passport scan.
The client says their compliance team requires the full document. Should I?
Ask which check it is. Some clients are themselves regulated and genuinely have a duty for certain relationships; most say compliance when they mean policy. A regulated entity can name the obligation in one sentence. If the answer is that it is just what the form asks for, a redacted copy is appropriate.
A recruiter asked for my ID before any interview. Is that a scam?
Almost certainly. Real onboarding documents come after an offer, from a company you have spoken to, through a system with the company's own domain on it. An ID request that arrives before any contract, call or verifiable employer is the opening of a recruitment scam — and often precedes a request for bank details for payroll.
What about platforms like Upwork or Fiverr?
Those run their own identity verification, inside the platform, from your own account settings, and it is genuinely theirs to run. That is different from a client on the platform messaging you for a document — no platform routes verification through the other party.