How-to
Step-by-step guides for A4Norm.
How to photograph a document instead of scanning it
Eight habits that turn a phone photo into a readable scan: the whole sheet in frame, even light, no shadow, sharp focus, one page per photo — and how to photograph passports and cards.
Uploading documents to the Jobcenter without a scanner
Bank statement, tenancy agreement, employer certificate: how a phone photo becomes a small A4 PDF for jobcenter.digital right in the browser, what the portal accepts, and what to check after uploading.
Turn an existing photo of a document into a scan
The paper is gone and only a photo on your phone is left, but the form wants a scan. How to turn that photo into an A4 PDF like a flatbed scan — free, right in the browser, no app — and what it cannot do.
How to install A4Norm on your phone or computer
The A4Norm scanner can be installed as an app: an icon on your screen, its own window without the address bar, and it works offline. How to do it on iPhone, on Android, in Chrome and Edge on a computer — and what is left in Firefox.
Microsoft Lens has stopped working: what to use instead
Microsoft Lens stopped making new scans on 9 March 2026. What replaces it on iPhone and Android — OneDrive, Files, Google Drive, Genius Scan, FairScan or A4Norm in the browser — the catch with each, and how to keep sending documents to the Jobcenter.
Jobcenter uploads: which files and what size
Which files jobcenter.digital takes (PDF, JPG, PNG, BMP), the size limits, how to name files, why all pages belong in one PDF, and what to do when the file is too big.
Both sides of an ID card on one A4 page
How to copy a German ID card (Personalausweis), residence permit card, driving licence or bank card front and back onto one A4 page — from two phone photos, right in the browser. What § 20 PAuswG says about copies, which data you can cover, and how to mark the copy in the scanner itself.
Mark a scan as a copy and black out data
How to add a note to a copy in A4Norm ("KOPIE für die Krankenkasse" with the date), make it black and white, cover the document number or bank-statement lines in solid black, add your signature and reorder the pages — right on your phone, with nothing uploaded.
Uploading documents to the Ausländerbehörde and for naturalisation
How to upload a passport, tenancy agreement and payslips to an online application for a residence permit or naturalisation (Einbürgerung): which file formats and sizes the Berlin and BVA portals take, and how to turn a multi-page document into one PDF without a scanner.
Rent documents for the Jobcenter (KdU)
Tenancy agreement, Mietbescheinigung, utility and heating statements for the Jobcenter: what usually goes with housing costs (KdU) under Bürgergeld / Grundsicherungsgeld, what the agency lets you black out, and how to turn the agreement into one PDF without a scanner.
Free document scanners compared: where does your photo go?
Twelve free scanners — built into the phone, apps and websites. Where the photo is processed, whether you need an account, whether there are ads or a watermark, whether you get an exact A4 page, both sides of an ID card on one sheet, a marked copy, covered fields and a signature. Every claim has a source, all checked on 27 September 2026.
Run A4Norm yourself: Docker and Claude Code
The same pipeline that makes the scan in the browser runs on your own machine: an image for docker run, two variants of it — latest and full — and a skill for Claude Code. The scanner's core is open source, MIT licence.