Scan an Aadhaar or PAN card, front and back, onto one page
Almost every counter that asks for an ID asks for both sides of it, on one sheet, as a single PDF. Two separate photographs taken with the camera app is the wrong answer: two files, two orientations, and a clerk who has to open both.
ScanCrypt has a dedicated ID Card Scan flow for exactly this. It captures the front, then the back, and writes them onto one PDF page. This guide covers what that page actually looks like, since the details matter when you take it to a print shop.
Why offices want both sides on one sheet
The address on an Aadhaar is on the back. The signature panel on many cards is on the back. So a photocopy of only the front is rejected, and the standard has settled on both sides reproduced on a single page — the photocopy shop equivalent of putting the card on the glass twice.
A single file is also what upload forms expect. One field, one PDF, both sides. Sending two images and hoping they are read as a pair is how an application gets returned.
How the app lays the two sides out
The result is one PDF with one page. The front is drawn at the top, the back below it, on a white background, with a gap between them and a margin around the edge. Each side keeps its own captured proportions — nothing is stretched to match the other.
One detail is worth knowing before you print. The page is not a fixed A4 sheet: its size is derived from the two captures, so the page is as wide as the wider of the two scans plus the margin, and as tall as both scans stacked plus the gaps. That is fine on screen and fine for an upload, and at a print shop it means asking for "fit to page" rather than assuming the file already knows about A4.
Each side is captured through the same document scanner the rest of the app uses, so you get edge detection and perspective correction on the card itself, one capture per side.
- Exactly two captures — the bar at the bottom counts them as "1 / 2" and "2 / 2 CAPTURED".
- The front must be captured before the back button becomes available.
- Either side can be retaken on its own without starting over.
- Save is disabled until both sides are in.
Keeping an ID scan private
An Aadhaar or PAN scan is the document you should be most reluctant to upload anywhere. It carries a number that identifies you, a photograph, and in the Aadhaar case an address — everything a fraudulent application needs.
The whole ID Card Scan flow runs on the phone. The capture, the combining and the PDF are all local, so the file exists only in your ScanCrypt library until you deliberately share it. Two habits worth adding: delete the copy once the application it was for is done, and if the recipient only needs to confirm your identity rather than record the number, consider whether a masked copy would satisfy them.
How to do it in ScanCrypt
- Open Tools and tap ID Card Scan. It is a Pro tool, so a free account is shown the upgrade screen at this point. The screen opens with the hint "SCAN FRONT THEN BACK — COMBINED ON ONE PAGE".
- Scan the front side. The document camera opens for a single capture. Put the card on a flat, contrasting surface and let the outline snap to its edges.
- Scan the back side. This button only becomes active once the front is captured. Same camera, one capture.
- Check both thumbnails. The bar at the bottom reads "2 / 2 CAPTURED" and "READY TO EXPORT". If either side came out badly, retake just that one.
- Tap SAVE ID CARD PDF. The two sides are combined into a single-page PDF named IDCard_ plus a timestamp, saved into your ScanCrypt documents. From there you can share, print or upload it.
Questions
Can I add a second card or a third side?
Not in this tool. ID Card Scan takes exactly two captures, front and back, and the save button stays disabled until both are present. If you need three or more pages — say two different cards for one application — use the ordinary scanner instead, which captures multiple pages into a single PDF in the order you take them.
Is the ID card tool free?
No. ID Card Scan is a Pro tool. Ordinary scanning is free, so if you do not need the two-sides-on-one-page layout you can scan the front and back as two pages of one normal PDF at no cost.
Does the scan get uploaded anywhere?
No. Capture, combining and PDF creation all happen on the device, and the file stays in the app until you share it yourself.
Will it print correctly on A4?
The page is sized from your two captures rather than to A4, so choose "fit to page" or "scale to fit" when printing. The proportions of each side are preserved either way.