Free tool · PDF · nothing uploaded
Watermark a CV
Stamp "Confidential: submitted by your agency" across every page of a CV PDF.
- Your file never leaves your computer
- No sign-up
- PDF in, Watermarked PDF out
1Choose your file
Your file never leaves your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
2Check the settings
3Get your file
About this tool
This free tool stamps a watermark such as "CONFIDENTIAL · SUBMITTED BY YOUR AGENCY" or "NOT FOR ONWARD DISTRIBUTION" across every page of a candidate's CV PDF, so anyone who sees it knows who introduced the candidate. No login, no upload: it runs in your browser.
How it works
- 1
Drop the CV PDF
One CV, or a whole submission pack you have already merged.
- 2
Write the watermark
Type your wording and choose where it goes: diagonally across the middle, repeated down the page, tiled, or along the top or bottom. Set the size, colour and how faint it is.
- 3
Download
Every page is stamped. Keep the opacity low enough that the client can still read the CV comfortably.
What a watermark does for an agency
Fee disputes usually start with a CV that travelled: forwarded to a colleague, a sister company or another agency's inbox, with nothing on it to say where it came from. A watermark with your agency's name and date on every page is a plain record of who introduced the candidate, and "not for onward distribution" says what the client agreed to.
When to watermark
Watermark anything that leaves your hands before a client has agreed terms: speculative CVs sent to a new contact, shortlist packs going to a hiring panel, profiles shared with a client's internal recruiter. Put the client's name and the date in the wording and the same file also records who it was sent to and when.
Its limits
- A watermark is a label, not a lock. Anyone with a PDF editor can remove it. It deters and records; it does not prevent.
- It uses the built-in PDF fonts, so Latin characters only.
- It does not hide anything on the CV. Use the CV anonymiser to remove contact details before you watermark.
Questions recruiters ask
- What should a CV watermark say?
- Your agency's name and a short instruction is enough: "Confidential, submitted by Northgate Recruitment" or "Not for onward distribution". Some agencies add the date and the client's name so the introduction is unambiguous.
- Will the watermark stop a client copying the candidate's details?
- No. It is visible text drawn over the page, and a PDF editor can remove it. Its job is to show where the CV came from, not to lock it.
- Can I watermark several CVs at once?
- Merge them into one PDF with the merge tool first, then watermark the pack in one go.
- Is the CV uploaded?
- No. The watermark is added by code running in your browser tab.
Branded, consistent submissions every time
Formatix puts every CV into your own template, with your branding and terms built in, so each submission looks like it came from your agency.
More free tools for recruiters
- Add agency header to CVPut your agency name, contact line and logo in the header and footer of every page of a CV PDF.
- CV anonymiserRemove the name, contact details, photo, date of birth and nationality from a PDF or Word CV.
- Merge CV PDFsBuild one candidate submission pack: cover note, CV, assessment and references in one PDF.
- Submission cover pageAdd a branded front sheet with candidate, role, agency and date to a CV PDF.
Open source: github.com/OpenRecruiterTools/recruiter-tools (MIT). Uses pdf.js, pdf-lib, JSZip and SheetJS, served from formatix.ai.