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Bulgaria ID card photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Ministry of Interior of Bulgaria, Bulgarian Identity Documents Directorate for the Bulgaria ID card, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 8 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Bulgaria ID card photo?

For a Bulgarian identity card (lichna karta) the official photographs you at the counter of the Ministry of Interior or a consulate, so most applicants bring no photo. The 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) size does have a legal basis: the Bulgarian Identity Documents Act and Annex 5 of its regulation define a colour print with a 31.5 to 36 mm face on neutral light grey, kept for missions without capture equipment.

The Bulgarian identity card is the basic identity document inside Bulgaria and lets citizens cross internal borders with other EU countries. Every Bulgarian citizen aged 14 or over may hold one, and must request it within 30 days of turning 14, of returning to live in Bulgaria, or of acquiring citizenship. The current card follows EU Regulation 2019/1157 and has a contactless chip. It is issued by the Ministry of Interior through the Bulgarian Identity Documents units of the regional directorates, and to citizens abroad through Bulgarian embassies and consulates.

You attend in person. At the counter the official records the face and signature with digital devices, and the regulation adds fingerprints for applications from 17 June 2024. The 35 x 45 mm size is not a studio convention: Article 22 of the Bulgarian Identity Documents Act fixes it, with a face height of 31.5 to 36 mm, and Annex 5 to the issuing regulation adds background, paper and pose rules. The regulation keeps a printed photo only for missions that cannot capture the face digitally.

Bulgaria ID card photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Ministry of Interior of Bulgaria, Bulgarian Identity Documents Directorate:[1]

Print size35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in); after trimming, 37 x 47 mm with a 2 mm tolerance is accepted
Digital sizeNo upload: the face is captured at the counter; a print is attached only where no camera exists
Head height31.5 to 36 mm from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head, hair included
BackgroundPrints: neutral light grey, 20% grey density, within 15 to 25% of the grey scale
ColourColour, normal exposure and balanced colours, with no reddish, blue-green or yellowish cast
Photo agePrints: made no more than two years before the application
Print qualitySmooth matte material 0.12 to 0.20 mm thick; glossy, raster, scanned or copied photos refused
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm31.5–36 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale, with the 31.5–36 mm head height from chin to crown. Background: prints: neutral light grey, 20% grey….

In the official words

Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:

The photos must be in colour and of visibly good quality. Photos copied with scanners or copying machines, and retouched photos, are not permitted. (translated from Bulgarian)

Правилник за издаване на българските лични документи (regulation, Articles 9, 18, 21 and Annex 5)[3]

Photos copied with scanners or copying machines, and retouched photos, are not permitted. The photos are made on material with a smooth matte surface, 0.12 to 0.20 mm thick. Photos made on glossy or raster paper are not permitted. (translated from Bulgarian)

Правилник за издаване на българските лични документи (regulation, Articles 9, 18, 21 and Annex 5)[3]

Key requirements

  • Photographed at the counter

    The official who accepts the application photographs the applicant's face and records the signature, and the regulation adds fingerprints for cards applied for from 17 June 2024. At a Bulgarian Identity Documents counter you bring documents, not photos.

  • Print only where no camera is available

    Article 21 of the issuing regulation says that at a mission with no technical means to capture the face and signature, the applicant attaches a photo meeting Annex 5. The Ministry of Interior's own page says applications abroad are taken at missions where the technical means exist.

  • Light grey, not white

    The print background must be neutral light grey at 20% grey density, allowed to vary between 15% and 25%. A white studio backdrop does not match this wording.

  • Frontal pose, camera at eye level

    The face is shown full face and centred, not turned to either side. The lens axis must be horizontal at eye height, so photos taken from below or above the eyes are refused.

  • No retouching, scans or glossy paper

    Annex 5 rejects retouched photos and photos copied with scanners or copiers. Prints go on smooth matte material 0.12 to 0.20 mm thick, never on glossy or raster paper.

  • Made by a registered photographer

    Article 9 of the regulation says photos for Bulgarian identity documents are made by photographers registered under the Commerce Act or the law of an EU or EEA country, who display the requirements in their studio.

  • Even light and natural colour

    Lighting must be even, with no shadows, glare, red-eye or backlighting. Over- or under-exposed photos and photos with a colour cast are not accepted.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Attend in person with your current card or other identity document
  • Bring the state fee receipt, or pay by card at the counter
  • Ask the consulate in advance whether it captures the photo itself
  • Go to a registered photographer if a print is requested
  • Ask for a light grey backdrop for any print
  • Bring a parent to the counter if you are 14 to 17

Don't

  • Do not bring a white-background print for an identity card
  • Do not hand in retouched, scanned or photocopied photos
  • Do not have prints made on glossy paper
  • Do not use a print more than two years old
  • Do not tilt your head or look up at the lens

Sample photos

How a Bulgaria ID card photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 35 × 45 mm, head height and background colour.

Correct
Open-mouth smile
Head tilted
Too close: head too big
Too far: head too small
Busy background
Shadows on face or background
Glare on glasses

Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.

Glasses

Point 13 of Annex 5 governs glasses, and Article 9 applies it to the counter capture as well as to prints. The card image is normally taken without glasses. They may stay on if you wear them all the time, the lenses are not darkened and no reflection on them degrades the picture of your eyes. Occasional reading glasses should come off before the officer takes the image.

Headwear and religious dress

Point 12 of Annex 5 asks for the face without a hat or headscarf. A card photo with a hat or headscarf is permitted when both ears and at least 1 cm of hair show. Wigs worn permanently are allowed, and so are beards and moustaches worn all the time; if a beard or moustache is removed, the regulation requires a new photo and a replacement card.

Babies and children

Identity cards start at 14, so there is no card for younger children. A first card for a 14 to 17 year old is applied for by the young person in person, with a parent, guardian or custodian present who signs the application, and that adult also collects the card. Special rules let the head of a residential care service, a foster parent or a relative caring for the child sign instead.

Abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks for one parent and the child to attend together, with the parent's identity document and the child's Bulgarian birth certificate. The face of a 14 year old is captured at the counter like an adult's.

In practice the card photo is digital from the start: the official captures it on a device, and the card holds the holder's biometric data on its chip. No channel accepts a photo upload. Online applications through the Ministry of Interior portal, and through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs system for citizens abroad, are limited to adults whose biometric data were taken in person within the previous 59 months, and they reuse that data.

A print is needed only under the regulation's fallback, at a Bulgarian mission without capture equipment. It must then be 35 x 45 mm, or 37 x 47 mm with a 2 mm tolerance after trimming, on light grey, in colour and on matte paper. That is 1.38 x 1.77 inches. The regulation expects a registered photographer to make it, so ask the mission before ordering one.

Where to submit the photo

In Bulgaria, lodge the application at the Bulgarian Identity Documents sector or unit of the regional Directorate of the Interior, or at a police station in the region of your permanent address. Someone else can lodge it with a notarised power of attorney only if your biometric data were taken within 59 months and your name, number, sex, citizenship and appearance are unchanged.

Abroad, applications go to Bulgarian embassies and consulates, by appointment where the mission requires one. Many missions use the Ministry of Foreign Affairs online platform, run by its Consular Relations Directorate, where you first generate an application number and then book a slot. The card is collected in person at the consulate, or in Sofia by an authorised person if you said so when applying.

How to get your Bulgaria ID card photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Bulgaria ID card: 35 × 45 mm print, prints: neutral light grey, 20% grey… background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: photographed at the counter; print only where no camera is available; light grey, not white; frontal pose, camera at eye level.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. In practice the card photo is digital from the start: the official captures it on a device, and the card holds the holder's biometric data on its chip. No channel accepts a photo upload.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. In Bulgaria, lodge the application at the Bulgarian Identity Documents sector or unit of the regional Directorate of the Interior, or at a police station in the region of your permanent address.

Make this photo online

Bulgaria ID card photo FAQ

Usually not. The official at the Bulgarian Identity Documents counter photographs your face, records your signature and takes fingerprints. A print is needed only under the regulation's fallback for missions abroad that have no capture equipment.

Yes. Article 22 of the Bulgarian Identity Documents Act sets a 35 x 45 mm photo with a frontal face 31.5 to 36 mm tall. Annex 5 to the issuing regulation repeats the size and accepts 37 x 47 mm, with a 2 mm tolerance, after trimming.

Neutral light grey at 20% grey density, with an allowed range of 15% to 25% on the grey scale. This is the rule for prints; the regulation does not name white.

Yes, if both ears and at least 1 cm of your hair are visible. The regulation applies this rule both to prints and to the face captured at the counter.

No. The young person applies in person, but a parent, guardian or custodian must be there to sign the application, and that adult collects the finished card.

Adults can, through the Ministry of Interior portal or, from abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs system, if a Bulgarian document was issued on an in-person application within the last 59 months with biometrics taken and nothing in their name, personal number, sex, citizenship or appearance has changed. No new photo is sent.

With the consular section of the Bulgarian embassy or consulate. Many missions use the Ministry of Foreign Affairs online booking platform, run by its Consular Relations Directorate, where you generate an application number and choose a slot.

Related photo specifications

Other Bulgaria documents

Identity cards nearby

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Official sources

  1. Ministry of Interior of Bulgaria, Bulgarian Identity Documents Directorate. Издаване на лична карта: обща информация (identity card: general information) mvr.bg. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Ministry of Interior of Bulgaria, Bulgarian Identity Documents Directorate. Лична карта по НАО (identity card service description) mvr.bg. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Ministry of Interior of Bulgaria. Правилник за издаване на българските лични документи (regulation, Articles 9, 18, 21 and Annex 5) mvr.bg. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Ministry of Interior of Bulgaria. Закон за българските лични документи (Bulgarian Identity Documents Act, Article 22) mvr.bg. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Ministry of Interior of Bulgaria, Bulgarian Identity Documents Directorate. Лична карта: брошура (identity card brochure) mvr.bg. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Consular Relations Directorate. Издаване на лична карта (identity card applications at consulates) consulatebg.eu. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria. Издаване на лична карта (issuing an identity card abroad) mfa.bg. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. European Union, Your Europe. Documents for travel in Europe for EU citizens europa.eu. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministry of Interior of Bulgaria, Bulgarian Identity Documents Directorate before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

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"Bulgaria ID card photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/bulgaria/id-card-photo

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