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Croatia ID card photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Government of the Republic of Croatia (gov.hr) for the Croatia ID card, with the official wording and sources.

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

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Quick answer

What size is the Croatia ID card photo?

For a Croatian identity card (osobna iskaznica) you hand in one colour photo of 3.5 x 4.5 cm (35 x 45 mm, 1.38 x 1.77 in). The ID card ordinance sets the head at about two-thirds of the height and no more than 36 mm, centred, with the eyes at least 8 mm apart, on a plain light background and glossy paper. No print is needed if MUP used a photo of you for a passport or ID card in the past five years.

The osobna iskaznica is Croatia's electronic identity card, issued by the Ministry of the Interior (MUP). It is compulsory for citizens over 18 who live in Croatia, and any citizen of any age may hold one, including people living abroad, whose card then records their foreign address. You apply in person at a police administration or a police station with administrative duties, and the card is valid for five years, or 40 years if you are 70 or older when it is issued.

More than any other Croatian document, the ID card photo travels. The card's chip stores your facial image and two fingerprints, and its certificates let you log in to e-Građani and sign electronically. MUP then reuses the stored picture: an online passport application takes the photo from a recent ID card, an online driving licence application takes it from your last eID, and the mobile eOI app displays it. Getting the card photo right can therefore save you buying prints for the next two documents.

Croatia ID card photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Government of the Republic of Croatia (gov.hr):[1]

Print size3.5 x 4.5 cm (35 x 45 mm, 1.38 x 1.77 in), one colour print
Digital sizeNo digital file: bring a print, or none if MUP holds a photo first used in the last 5 years
Head heightAbout 2/3 of the photo, max 36 mm chin to crown; MUP template 31.5 to 36 mm over age 11
BackgroundPlain light colour, no pattern, with enough contrast to the face and hair
ColourColour (fotografija u boji)
Photo ageNo older than 6 months (MUP photo guide for e-documents)
Print qualityHigh-quality glossy, smooth paper without surface texture, with high print quality
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: plain light colour.

Key requirements

  • One colour print, 3.5 x 4.5 cm

    Since the 2021 amendment, the identity card ordinance asks for one 35 x 45 mm photo, and the MUP and gov.hr checklists specify a colour print.

  • The five-year reuse rule

    MUP skips the photo when its passport or ID card records hold one that was first used no more than five years ago and your appearance has not changed significantly. Many renewals therefore need no new picture at all.

  • Geometry set by the ordinance

    Article 5 of the ID card ordinance fixes the head, measured from the bottom of the chin to the crown, at about two-thirds of the picture and never taller than 36 mm. It must sit in the centre, and the eye centres must be at least 8 mm apart, optimally 10 mm.

  • A faithful likeness, face uncovered

    The picture has to represent you accurately and frontally, with a neutral expression, both eyes open and lips together. A head covering is accepted only for religious or medical reasons, and then cheeks, chin and forehead stay visible.

  • Paper and background

    The same article asks for high-quality, glossy and smooth paper with no surface pattern, and a single light background colour without patterns that contrasts with your face and hair.

  • Fingerprints, not just a photo

    Adults give prints of the left and right index fingers when they apply. The chip of a card issued to a child under 12 holds the facial image but no fingerprints, and a card issued while fingerprinting is temporarily impossible is valid for only 12 months.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Order a colour print at 3.5 x 4.5 cm
  • Ask the counter whether your passport photo from the last five years can be reused
  • Bring your old ID card; it is cancelled and returned
  • Apply at least 30 days before your card expires if you use the regular procedure
  • Collect the card within 90 days of the issue deadline
  • Activate the electronic part of the card afterwards on the eOI portal

Don't

  • Do not bring a black-and-white print
  • Do not choose a patterned or dark backdrop
  • Do not let the head exceed 36 mm from chin to crown
  • Do not cover the forehead, cheeks or chin
  • Do not hand in a photo showing anyone else
  • Do not hand in a print older than six months

Sample photos

How a Croatia 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

The ID card ordinance makes one specific exception about glasses: blind people who wear dark glasses may supply photos in which they wear them. On request, their card also carries the letters OI in Braille on the back, so they can tell it apart from other cards.

For everyone else, MUP links its photo guide for e-documents from the ID card page. It asks for clearly recognisable eyes, with no glare on the lenses, no tinted lenses and no frame edge crossing the eyes.

Headwear and religious dress

Under the gov.hr and MUP instructions, the photo attached to an ID card application shows the applicant without any head covering. The exception is a covering worn for medical or religious reasons, accepted on condition that it does not hide the cheeks, chin or forehead. The ordinance repeats this condition word for word for photos of people who cover their head for faith or health.

Babies and children

Every Croatian child may hold an ID card, though it becomes compulsory only at 18 for residents. The legal representative applies, and a child under 12 does not have to be present. When a child has no identity documents yet, the parents confirm the child's identity by a statement.

The ordinance asks for the child to be alone in the picture, with the face fully visible and the eyes open. MUP's template allows a smaller head for children under 11, from 22.5 mm up to 36 mm.

A child's ID card photo has a second use: a parent can then apply online for the child's passport without another print, provided the card was issued in the past year, the photo was supplied for it and the child looks the same. From 12 the card must also have been issued with the child's fingerprints and signature.

There is no online application for the card itself: MUP states that the request is made in person, and the photo is a print you hand over, or none if a recent one is on file. MUP keeps the photo and signature printed on the card in electronic form in its identity card records.

That stored image feeds other services. The e-Građani passport request uses the photo from your identity card, and the driving licence e-request uses the photo from your latest electronic ID card. The ordinance also lets the mobile eOI app download your photo with your other identity data.

A digital photo that meets the rules can be cropped to 35 x 45 mm and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter on glossy paper.

Where to submit the photo

Apply at a police administration or police station with administrative duties. You show your previous ID card or another public document with a photo, pay (by card at the counter or with proof of payment), sign the certification services contract and give fingerprints. The card is ready within 30 days in the regular procedure, within 10 days in the accelerated one and within three working days in the urgent one.

For people who are seriously ill, elderly or unable to move, the police administration or station can, by prior arrangement, send an official to take the application at home.

How to get your Croatia ID card photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Croatia ID card: 35 × 45 mm print, plain light colour background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: one colour print, 3.5 x 4.5 cm; the five-year reuse rule; geometry set by the ordinance; a faithful likeness, face uncovered.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. There is no online application for the card itself: MUP states that the request is made in person, and the photo is a print you hand over, or none if a recent one is on file.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Apply at a police administration or police station with administrative duties.

Make this photo online

Croatia ID card photo FAQ

3.5 x 4.5 cm, which is 35 x 45 mm or 1.38 x 1.77 inches, in colour. That is the same size as the Croatian passport photo, and the ID card ordinance applies the same head and background rules.

Not always. MUP does not ask for one if its records hold a photo first used for your ID card or passport no more than five years ago and you look much the same. Otherwise, bring one colour 3.5 x 4.5 cm print.

MUP's checklist asks you to enclose one colour photo of 3.5 x 4.5 cm. At the counter you sign the certification contract and give your index fingerprints. Bring the print unless a photo from the last five years is already on file.

Yes. The ordinance allows blind people who wear dark glasses to supply photos taken with them. They can also ask for the card to carry the letters OI in Braille on the back.

Not before 12. A parent or guardian applies and brings the child's colour photo. The chip of a card issued to a child under 12 does not hold fingerprints.

It can be. If you apply for a passport through e-Građani with an electronic ID card no older than one year, MUP uses the photo, fingerprints and signature from that card. At a police station, a photo used for your ID card in the last five years also means you need not bring a new passport photo.

Yes. MUP says that under Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1208, cards issued before 1 January 2003 with permanent validity expired on 3 August 2026, and holders must apply for a new card, with a photo unless a recent one is on file.

Related photo specifications

Other Croatia documents

Identity cards nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

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Official sources

  1. Government of the Republic of Croatia (gov.hr). Identity Card Issuance gov.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia (MUP). Osobna iskaznica (eOI) mup.gov.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Narodne novine (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia). Pravilnik o obrascima i evidenciji osobnih iskaznica (NN 63/2015), Article 5 narodne-novine.nn.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Narodne novine (Official Gazette of the Republic of Croatia). Pravilnik o izmjenama i dopunama Pravilnika o obrascima i evidenciji osobnih iskaznica (NN 86/2021) narodne-novine.nn.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia (MUP). Upute za pripremu fotografija za e-dokumente (photo guide for e-documents) mup.gov.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Government of the Republic of Croatia (gov.hr). Issuing Passport through e-Citizens gov.hr. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Government of the Republic of Croatia (gov.hr) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

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

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