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Denmark passport photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Danish Police (Rigspolitiet) for the Denmark passport, 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 Denmark passport photo?

A printed Danish passport photo must be 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in), with the head measuring 30 to 36 mm from the tip of the chin to the top of the hair. Use a plain, light background such as light blue or light grey, face the camera straight on with your mouth closed, and show your face and the top of your shoulders. Colour and black and white are both accepted. Some kommuner can photograph you at the Borgerservice counter instead.

Danish passports are issued by the kommune (municipality) to citizens living in Denmark, and by Danish embassies and consulates general to citizens abroad. The photo rules come from the Ministry of Justice executive order on passports (bekendtgørelse om pas, no. 2693 of 28 December 2021), and the Danish National Police (Rigspolitiet) publish an illustrated guide that covers passport and driving licence photos alike.

You apply in person at Borgerservice, and you are free to choose the kommune. Under the order, the application and its attachments, the photo included, go into the kommune's digital system, so a paper photo has to be durable and suitable for scanning. Some kommuner, Copenhagen among them, will also photograph you at the counter for a fee. A print you bring must be 35 x 45 mm and should be on good-quality photo paper.

Abroad, a Danish embassy takes a digital photo of every applicant aged 12 or over, together with fingerprints and a digital signature, so adults bring no photo. A printed photo meeting the same rules is still needed for a child under 12 who applies at a consulate, for babies and very young children even at an embassy, and for an emergency passport.

Denmark passport photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Danish Police (Rigspolitiet):[1]

Print size35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) for a printed photo
Digital sizeNo upload: bring a print, or have a digital photo taken at Borgerservice or a Danish embassy
Head height30 to 36 mm from the tip of the chin to the top of the hair
BackgroundPlain, uniform light colour such as light blue or light grey, with no shadows or pattern
ColourColour or black and white
Photo ageNo maximum age is set; the photo must be a good likeness of you
Print qualityA photograph, or a print on good-quality photo paper at very high resolution; no holes, stamps or damage
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm30–36 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale, with the 30–36 mm head height from chin to crown. Background: plain.

Key requirements

  • Face and shoulders, straight on

    The photo must be taken straight from the front and show your face and the top of your shoulders. Only one person may appear, with no other objects in the picture, and the face must be centred. The police guide rejects portraits taken too close and too far away.

  • Eyes open, mouth closed

    Look into the camera with both eyes fully visible and your mouth closed. Hair across an eye, closed eyes, a tilted head and a glance away from the lens all appear as faults in the police guide, and the passport order makes the same points binding.

  • Even, natural light

    Light your face evenly, with no shadows on the face or on the background. Harsh flash that makes the photo too light, underexposure, washed-out or unnatural colours, red eyes, blur and a grainy or pixelated image all fail the quality rules.

  • Contrast for light hair

    The police say that people with white or light hair, and people wearing a light headscarf, must be photographed against a background in sharp contrast. Choose a light shade that stands apart from your hair, such as light blue or light grey.

  • Durable and scannable

    The order requires a portrait of good quality that is a good likeness, durable and suitable for scanning, with no stamps, holes or other damage. The police add that it must be a photograph or a print on good-quality photo paper at very high resolution.

  • Exceptions decided where you apply

    In special cases individual requirements can be waived. The police say the decision is made where you apply for the passport, and the order lets the kommune depart from the photo rules when very special reasons justify it.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Keep the head 30 to 36 mm tall, from chin to the top of the hair.
  • Use a plain light background, such as light blue or light grey.
  • Print on good-quality photo paper at a high resolution.
  • Ask your kommune whether Borgerservice can take the photo.
  • Take your child along to Borgerservice for a child's passport.
  • Bring your own photo for a baby's passport at an embassy.

Don't

  • Do not wear a cap, hat or other headwear unless for religious reasons.
  • Do not wear tinted glasses or lenses that reflect light.
  • Do not let a glasses frame cross your eyes.
  • Do not bring the photo on a USB stick in Copenhagen.
  • Do not include another person or an object in the picture.
  • Do not hand in a stamped, holed or damaged print.

Sample photos

How a Denmark passport 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

Glasses may be worn. The lenses must not be tinted and must show no reflections, and the police guide adds that your eyes must be completely clear of the frame. Its rejected examples include coloured lenses, glare on the lenses and frames that run across the eyes.

If your glasses catch the flash or the frame sits on your eye line, take them off for the photo.

Headwear and religious dress

The passport order requires a photo without headwear. The kommune can allow a head covering if you ask for it for religious reasons, after a concrete assessment: your chin, nose, cheekbones, eyes and eyebrows must not be covered, and enough of your forehead must show for the shape of your face to be clear.

The police guide shows a cap and a hat as wrong, along with coverings that hide the face or cast shadows on it. A light headscarf needs a background in strong contrast.

Babies and children

Children follow the same photo rules as adults, babies included; the police guide states that all the rules also apply to children. A child applying for a passport must come to Borgerservice, and you bring the child's identification and photo. Copenhagen photographs children as well as adults when a passport is ordered.

Children under 12 give no fingerprints. Abroad, embassies photograph applicants aged 12 and over digitally, but parents bring a printed photo for babies and very young children: the embassy in Rome speaks of children aged 0 to 3 and the embassy in London of 0 to 4. Under-12s may also apply at a Danish consulate, which always needs a printed photo. Both the child and the parents should attend.

There is no upload for a Danish passport. In Denmark you either bring a 35 x 45 mm print or, where the kommune offers it, have a digital photo taken at the Borgerservice counter. The order sets the 35 x 45 mm size for a photo that is not delivered digitally, so the format matters for the print you bring.

Copenhagen (kk.dk) accepts your own passport photo only as a print on good-quality photo paper, not on a USB stick, and only if it follows the police guidelines; otherwise Borgerservice takes a digital photo for a fee. If you order a passport and a driving licence at the same Copenhagen location within 30 days, you pay for one photo. Abroad, embassies take the photo digitally for applicants aged 12 and over.

Where to submit the photo

In Denmark, book a time and fill in the application through the kommune's self-service, then complete it in person at Borgerservice. Your signature is taken there, and from age 12 your left and right index fingerprints. You normally collect the passport in person too.

Abroad, apply at a Danish embassy or consulate general. From age 12 you must go to one of these because fingerprints and a digital signature are recorded; in a few countries an affiliated consulate can also take applications from over-12s.

How to get your Denmark passport photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Denmark passport: 35 × 45 mm print, plain background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: face and shoulders, straight on; eyes open, mouth closed; even, natural light; contrast for light hair.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. There is no upload for a Danish passport. In Denmark you either bring a 35 x 45 mm print or, where the kommune offers it, have a digital photo taken at the Borgerservice counter.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. In Denmark, book a time and fill in the application through the kommune's self-service, then complete it in person at Borgerservice. Your signature is taken there, and from age 12 your left and right index fingerprints.

Make this photo online

Denmark passport photo FAQ

A printed Danish passport photo is 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in). The head must measure 30 to 36 mm from the tip of the chin to the top of the hair, and the picture should show your face and the top of your shoulders. The order sets this size for photos that are not delivered digitally.

Neither the passport order nor the police guide says who must take the photo; what counts is that it meets the rules. A home photo must still be a sharp, evenly lit 35 x 45 mm print on good-quality photo paper at very high resolution, against a plain light background. Where Borgerservice offers a photo, you can skip the print.

In some kommuner, yes. Borger.dk says that in some municipalities you can have your photo taken at Borgerservice and tells you to check with your own. Copenhagen offers a digital photo to children and adults when they order a passport, for a fee on top of the passport price.

Yes, if the lenses are not tinted and show no reflections. The police guide also requires your eyes to be completely free of the frame, and marks frames that cross the eyes as wrong. Take the glasses off if you cannot avoid glare.

The rules ask for a light background without shadows or motifs, and the police give light blue and light grey as examples; white is neither named nor excluded. If you have white or light hair, or wear a light headscarf, the police require a background in sharp contrast, so choose a shade that stands apart from your hair.

Not if you are 12 or older and apply at a Danish embassy: the embassy takes a digital photo along with your fingerprints and signature. You need your own photo for a child under 12 applying at a consulate, for babies and very young children even at an embassy, and for an emergency passport.

The police publish one guide for passport and driving licence photos, so the format and quality rules are shared. In Copenhagen you pay for only one photo if you order both a passport and a driving licence within 30 days at the same Borgerservice location.

The rules do not mention smiling as such, but they require a closed mouth with both eyes fully visible and looking at the camera, and the police guide shows an open mouth as a fault. A smile that parts your lips breaks the closed-mouth rule.

Related photo specifications

Other Denmark documents

Passports nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

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Official sources

  1. Danish Police (Rigspolitiet). Krav til pas- og kørekortfoto politi.dk. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Danish Police (Rigspolitiet). Foto pas og kørekort (illustrated photo guide, PDF) politi.dk. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Ministry of Justice, via Retsinformation. Bekendtgørelse om pas m.v. (BEK nr. 2693 af 28/12/2021) retsinformation.dk. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. borger.dk (Danish Agency for Digital Government). Ansøg om eller forny dansk pas borger.dk. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. City of Copenhagen (Københavns Kommune). Bestil nyt pas til voksen kk.dk. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Where can I apply for a Danish passport? um.dk. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. Embassy of Denmark in Italy. Sådan ansøger du om et dansk pas (Italien) um.dk. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. Embassy of Denmark in the United Kingdom. Passports for children (under 18 years old) um.dk. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Danish Police (Rigspolitiet) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Denmark passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/denmark/passport-photo

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