Independent reference to official photo rules

Not affiliated with any government. Always confirm with the issuing authority before you apply.

WorldPhotoSpecsOfficial photo rules for every country

Licences and permit cards

Canada personnel screening photo requirements

The 43 × 54 mm photo rules set by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat for the Canada personnel screening, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 6 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

Rate this page

Quick answer

What size is the Canada personnel screening photo?

Under the Treasury Board's Personnel Screening, Consent and Authorization Form (TBS/SCT 330-23), security clearance photos are 3 colour passport-size prints, no smaller than 43 x 54 mm and no larger than 50 x 70 mm, with a face of 25 to 35 mm. They must be taken within the last 6 months and signed by you and a security official. They are mainly for new or upgraded Top Secret clearances, and PSPC now asks contractors for them only on request.

This page covers photos for Government of Canada personnel security screening: the reliability status and security clearances, such as Secret and Top Secret, that federal employees and contractors need before they can access sensitive information or assets. The photo rules come from the instructions to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Personnel Screening, Consent and Authorization Form, TBS/SCT 330-23E, which has a photo box for Level III (Top Secret) requests.

Those instructions make the department, agency or organization responsible for attaching 3 colour passport-size photos to the form for the investigating agency, which uses them to identify the applicant during a new or upgraded Level III investigation. For Level I or II clearances, the agency may ask for a photo in specific cases where an investigation is required.

The forms are changing. The Treasury Board's forms page now marks 330-23 as archived and says the Security Screening Application and Consent Form (TBS/SCT 330-61) has replaced it; that new form sets no photo size and says only that your facial image may be collected. Public Services and Procurement Canada's Contract Security Program, which screens private-sector personnel, still publishes instructions for 330-23E and says new Top Secret applicants no longer send passport photos with the form, though it may ask for them later.

Canada personnel screening photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat:[1]

Print sizeFrom 43 x 54 mm (minimum) to 50 x 70 mm (maximum), passport size
Digital sizeNone published: the photos are prints attached to the paper form
Head height25 to 35 mm, chin to crown of head
BackgroundNot specified: the instructions ask only for colour photographs of passport size
ColourColour
Photo ageTaken within the last 6 months
Print quality3 prints, signed by the applicant and a security official; PSPC also asks for them to be dated
Pixels when printed508 × 638 px at 300 dpi · 1016 × 1276 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
43 mm54 mm25–35 mm
43 × 54 mm photo drawn to scale, with the 25–35 mm head height from chin to crown.

In the official words

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

colour photographs of passport size

Personnel Screening, Consent and Authorization Form (TBS/SCT 330-23), archived HTML version with instructions[1]

Key requirements

  • Three colour prints

    The 330-23 instructions ask for 3 colour photographs of passport size, attached to the form for the investigating agency. The instructions do not offer black and white as an option.

  • A size range, not one size

    Each print may be anywhere from 43 x 54 mm up to 50 x 70 mm. The face, measured from the chin to the crown of the head, must be between 25 mm and 35 mm.

  • Two signatures

    The photos are signed by the applicant and by an authorized security official. In the Contract Security Program, that official is the company security officer (CSO) or alternate company security officer (ACSO), and the photos are dated on the back as well.

  • Six months at most

    The photographs must have been taken within the last 6 months. PSPC applies the same limit when it asks a contractor for photos.

  • Top Secret first

    Photos are required for new or upgraded Level III (Top Secret) security clearances. For Level I or II, the investigating agency may request a photograph in specific incidents when an investigation is required.

  • Contractors: on request only

    For new Top Secret requests, PSPC no longer requires passport photos with the form submission. It reserves the right to ask for them later, and then wants 3 passport photos taken within 6 months, dated and signed on the back.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Ask the requesting security office whether photos are needed at all.
  • Keep each print between 43 x 54 mm and 50 x 70 mm.
  • Check the face measures 25 to 35 mm from chin to crown.
  • Sign the back of each photo and have the security official sign too.
  • Date the photos on the back when PSPC asks for them.
  • Use colour prints.

Don't

  • Do not use photos taken more than 6 months ago.
  • Do not email a paper 330-23 form; TBS says to print it and mail or hand it in.
  • Do not use a print smaller than 43 x 54 mm or larger than 50 x 70 mm.
  • Do not let the face measure more than 35 mm from chin to crown.
  • Do not start a screening form unless a department has identified the need.

Sample photos

How a Canada personnel screening photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 43 × 54 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

Neither the 330-23 instructions nor PSPC's pages say anything about glasses, head coverings or expression for security screening photos. The only photo requirements published are the size range, the face length, colour, the 6-month limit and the signatures.

The newer TBS/SCT 330-61 form publishes no photo specification at all. If the department or agency handling your screening gives you its own photo instructions, follow those.

Security screening photos are prints. The 330-23 instructions describe photographs attached to the paper form, and the Treasury Board says that form cannot be sent electronically: it must be printed and mailed or handed directly to the department or agency that asked you to complete it. No pixel size or file format is published.

Contractors screened by PSPC can complete 330-23E online in the Online Industrial Security Services (OLISS) portal, which PSPC recommends because online forms are processed faster. PSPC publishes no digital photo specification for OLISS; if it does ask for photos on a new Top Secret file, it asks for 3 passport photos.

Where to submit the photo

Federal employees and candidates get the forms from, and return them to, the department or agency that asked for the screening. The Treasury Board says not to start a security screening form unless that need has been identified, and to contact the hiring manager or human resources contact who made the request with any questions. Federal public servants can also ask their Chief Security Officer.

Private-sector personnel are screened through PSPC's Contract Security Program. Their company security officer submits the request, either in OLISS or on the manual form, and co-signs the photos if PSPC asks for them. Requests that need electronic fingerprints also carry a 20-digit document control number as proof that the fingerprints were taken.

How to get your Canada personnel screening photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Canada personnel screening: 43 × 54 mm print. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: three colour prints; a size range, not one size; two signatures; six months at most.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. Security screening photos are prints.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Federal employees and candidates get the forms from, and return them to, the department or agency that asked for the screening.

Make this photo online

Canada personnel screening photo FAQ

Under the TBS/SCT 330-23 instructions, between 43 x 54 mm (minimum) and 50 x 70 mm (maximum), described as passport size. The face, from chin to crown, must be 25 to 35 mm. You need 3 colour prints taken within the last 6 months.

The 330-23 instructions require photos only for new or upgraded Level III (Top Secret) clearances. For Level I or II clearances, the investigating agency may ask for a photo in specific cases where an investigation is needed. Reliability status is not mentioned in the photo instructions.

Not up front. PSPC's Contract Security Program says applicants for new Top Secret clearances no longer have to provide passport photos with the form. If photos are requested later, you provide 3 passport photos taken within the last 6 months, dated and signed on the back by you and your CSO or ACSO.

The applicant and an authorized security official. For private-sector applicants, PSPC names the company security officer (CSO) or the alternate company security officer (ACSO), and asks for the photos to be dated as well.

The Treasury Board lists 330-23 as archived and says the Security Screening Application and Consent Form (TBS/SCT 330-61) has replaced it. PSPC's Contract Security Program still publishes instructions for 330-23E. Use whichever form the requesting organization gives you.

The TBS/SCT 330-61 form sets no photo size. Its privacy notice says additional information, including your facial image, may be collected, and its consent covers fingerprints and facial image for identification purposes, as applicable.

Only if they fit the screening rules: each print between 43 x 54 mm and 50 x 70 mm, a face of 25 to 35 mm from chin to crown, in colour and taken within the last 6 months, then signed by you and the security official. PSPC itself calls the photos it requests passport photos.

Related photo specifications

Other Canada documents

Licences and permit cards nearby

Was this page helpful?

No ratings yet. Be the first to rate this page.

Official sources

  1. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Personnel Screening, Consent and Authorization Form (TBS/SCT 330-23), archived HTML version with instructions canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  2. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat forms canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  3. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Security screening application and consent form canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  4. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Security Screening Application and Consent Form (TBS/SCT 330-61e) canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  5. Public Services and Procurement Canada. How to complete the Personnel screening, consent and authorization form (TBS/SCT 330-23E) canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.
  6. Public Services and Procurement Canada. How to complete the Security clearance form (TBS/SCT 330-60E) canada.ca. Checked 1 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Canada personnel screening photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/canada/personnel-screening-photo

Categories: