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Central African Republic passport photo requirements

The 40 × 40 mm photo rules set by Ambassade de la République Centrafricaine en France for the Central African Republic passport, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 5 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Central African Republic passport photo?

The Embassy of the Central African Republic in Paris asks for six colour identity photos in "4 X 4" format on a white background for the biometric passport missions it hosts. The notices write no unit, so 4 x 4 cm (40 x 40 mm) is the reading used here. The 2023 notice added "no photo booth"; the May 2026 notice leaves that phrase out. No photo rule from Bangui was found.

The Central African biometric passport is a national document, and the only official photo rule found comes from the embassy in Paris, which hosts a technical mission from time to time. Applicants attend in person, are enrolled, and receive a yellow slip, the "fiche jaune". The finished passports arrive later from the government and are handed out against that slip. The embassy's communiqués set out each visit: the dates, the documents, the appointment and the photo list.

Three visits are visible on the embassy's site. A communiqué of 17 May 2023 announced one for 5 to 24 June 2023. Another notice reported that passports for applications filed in May and June 2025 came back to the embassy on 26 July 2025. A communiqué of 8 May 2026 announced issuing from 1 to 12 June 2026, and on 10 August 2026 the embassy said the passports had been made available to it on 8 August.

The photo line is nearly identical in the 2023 and 2026 notices: colour, "4 X 4" format, white background, six prints. No unit is written. No page from the Central African authorities in Bangui that sets a photo size, a head position or a recency rule was found, so everything below rests on the Paris embassy.

Central African Republic passport photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Ambassade de la République Centrafricaine en France:[1]

Print size40 x 40 mm, written "4 X 4" with no unit in the Paris embassy notices
Digital sizeNo digital file: six printed photos go with the application
BackgroundWhite
ColourColour photographs
Photo ageNot stated in the notices
Print qualitySix prints; the 2023 notice added "pas de photomaton" (no photo booth)
Pixels when printed472 × 472 px at 300 dpi · 945 × 945 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
40 mm40 mm
40 × 40 mm photo drawn to scale. Background: white.

Key requirements

  • Six colour prints

    Both detailed communiqués list six identity photographs, in colour, among the documents to bring. The 2026 text reads "Photos d'identité format 4 X 4 en couleur, sur fond blanc (Six (6)", with the bracket left open in the original.

  • The format has no unit

    Neither notice writes centimetres or millimetres after "4 X 4". On a printed identity photo the natural reading is 4 x 4 cm, a square of 40 x 40 mm, but the embassy has not said so.

  • White background

    The 2023 and 2026 notices both ask for a white background. They set no head size, eye position or expression rule.

  • The photo-booth ban was not repeated

    The 17 May 2023 communiqué said "pas de photomaton". The 8 May 2026 communiqué lists the same photos without that phrase. It does not say the ban has ended, so ask the consular service before using booth prints.

  • Applications run in missions

    The notices announce a technical mission for fixed dates. Applicants book an appointment on the website of SEDOSEC, the company named in the 2026 communiqué, pay the receipt fee there, and bring the payment proof with a QR code.

  • The yellow slip collects the passport

    Enrolment produces a "fiche jaune". The July 2025 and August 2026 communiqués ask applicants to present it at the consular service on working days when the passports come back.

  • Other documents on the list

    The 2026 list also asks for the consular card, the original birth certificate with a legalised copy (or a full copy under three months old), the original nationality certificate with a legalised copy, a loss declaration where relevant and a parental authorisation for minors.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Prepare six colour prints in "4 X 4" format.
  • Use a plain white background.
  • Read the latest communiqué on the embassy website before the mission dates.
  • Keep the yellow enrolment slip to collect the passport.
  • Ask the consular service whether photo-booth prints are accepted.

Don't

  • Do not bring black-and-white prints.
  • Do not bring fewer than six prints.
  • Do not rely on an old communiqué for dates and documents.
  • Do not attend without the appointment and payment proof the notice asks for.

Sample photos

How a Central African Republic passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 40 × 40 mm 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

The Paris notices set no rule on glasses, headwear or expression. Nothing from the Central African authorities adds one. If you wear glasses or a head covering, ask the consular service what it expects before you print the six photos.

Babies and children

The 2026 communiqué lists a parental authorisation among the documents for minors. It repeats the same photo line for every applicant and sets no separate size, pose or background rule for children, so the list applies to a child as it is written.

The passport application is on paper: six printed photographs go in the file, and the embassy describes no way to send a digital photo. The 2023 notice excluded booth prints and the 2026 notice does not repeat the rule, so ask the consular service before using one.

A digital photo can be cropped to a square and printed several times on a 4x6 inch sheet, then cut apart. If 4 x 4 cm is what the embassy means, six copies fit on a single sheet.

Where to submit the photo

Applications are made at the Embassy of the Central African Republic in Paris, at 30 rue des Perchamps in the 16th arrondissement, during a technical mission. The May 2026 notice addresses Central Africans in France and in Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine and Ireland.

The embassy's service page for the passport application certificate does not mention a photograph, and its notices say the finished passports come back to it from the government. For anywhere else, such as Bangui or another embassy, no photo rule was found online.

How to get your Central African Republic passport photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Central African Republic passport: 40 × 40 mm print, white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: six colour prints; the format has no unit; white background; the photo-booth ban was not repeated.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. The passport application is on paper: six printed photographs go in the file, and the embassy describes no way to send a digital photo.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Applications are made at the Embassy of the Central African Republic in Paris, at 30 rue des Perchamps in the 16th arrondissement, during a technical mission.

Make this photo online

Central African Republic passport photo FAQ

The Paris embassy writes "4 X 4" format with no unit in its 2023 and 2026 communiqués. Read as centimetres, that is a 40 x 40 mm square. No other Central African source gives a size.

Six, according to the Paris embassy's communiqués of 17 May 2023 and 8 May 2026. They are colour identity photographs on a white background.

White. Both Paris notices say "sur fond blanc". They do not state any head size or position rule.

The 2023 communiqué said no, with the words "pas de photomaton". The 2026 communiqué leaves the phrase out without saying the rule was lifted. Ask the consular service, or have your pictures printed at a photo counter.

The Paris embassy hosts a technical mission for the diaspora in France and several other European countries. Applicants book an appointment online, pay the receipt fee and attend the embassy with their documents.

Bring the yellow slip given at enrolment to the embassy's consular service on working days once the embassy announces that the passports have arrived. The August 2026 communiqué opened collection on working days from 11 August 2026.

None was found. The Paris embassy's notices are the only official source that sets a photo format, so rules inside the country may differ.

The notice lists the same photo line for all applicants and adds a parental authorisation for minors. No separate photo rule for children is published.

Related photo specifications

Passports nearby

Also 40 × 40 mm

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Official sources

  1. Ambassade de la République Centrafricaine en France. Communiqué relatif à la mission technique de délivrance des passeports biométriques (8 May 2026) paris.diplomatie.gouv.cf. Checked 3 November 2026.
  2. Ambassade de la République Centrafricaine en France. Délivrance de passeports biométriques (17 May 2023) paris.diplomatie.gouv.cf. Checked 3 November 2026.
  3. Ambassade de la République Centrafricaine en France. Communiqué relatif aux passeports biométriques (28 July 2025) paris.diplomatie.gouv.cf. Checked 3 November 2026.
  4. Ambassade de la République Centrafricaine en France. Communiqué relatif à la disponibilité des passeports biométriques (10 August 2026) paris.diplomatie.gouv.cf. Checked 3 November 2026.
  5. Ambassade de la République Centrafricaine en France. Attestation de demande de passeport paris.diplomatie.gouv.cf. Checked 3 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ambassade de la République Centrafricaine en France before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Central African Republic passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/central-african-republic/passport-photo

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