Estonia driving licence photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Estonian Transport Administration for the Estonia driving licence, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Estonia driving licence photo?
You normally do not bring a photo for an Estonian driving licence. The Transport Administration uses the facial image and signature already held in the identity documents database or the traffic register, as long as the photo is no more than five years old. If it is older, a service bureau takes a new one, and the agency says other photos are not accepted. Only its page on the limited licence for 16- and 17-year-olds still lists one 35 x 45 mm document photo.
Driving licences in Estonia are issued by the Transport Administration (Transpordiamet) through its service bureaus and its e-service. A standard licence is valid for 10 years, a licence for categories C and D and their subcategories for five, and a provisional licence for two. A licence must also be exchanged when its holder can no longer be recognised from the photo.
The photo is handled differently from most documents. The ministerial regulation on driving licences tells the agency to use the facial image and signature image already stored in the traffic register or the identity documents database, which may be used only if no more than five years old, or a photo that meets the rules for identity document photos. The agency's own instructions are stricter in practice: if the stored photo is too old, it is taken at a service bureau, and other photos will not be accepted.
So for a standard licence there is usually nothing to print or upload. The exception on the agency's pages is the licence with a limited right to drive, available at 16 or 17, which still lists one 35 x 45 mm document photo. The international driving permit, a separate booklet, also takes paper photos.
Estonia driving licence photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Estonian Transport Administration:[1]
| Print size | Usually none: a register photo is used or one is taken at a bureau; the limited licence page lists one 35 x 45 mm photo |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No upload: the e-service only offers a photo already in the traffic register or identity documents database |
| Head height | As for identity document photos: chin to crown 70 to 80% of the photo height |
| Background | A light background of one colour, as for identity document photos |
| Colour | Colour and unedited, as for identity document photos |
| Photo age | A stored photo may be used only if it is no more than 5 years old |
| Pixels when printed | 413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
In the official words
Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:
The photograph must be a colour photograph and unedited
Other photos will not be accepted
Key requirements
- Five-year limit on stored photos
A facial image from the traffic register or the identity documents database can go on your licence only if it is no more than five years old. The regulation repeats this for first applications, replacements and exchanges, and the agency applies it to exchanged foreign licences too.
- Photo and signature come as a pair
The licence carries your signature as well as your face. In the e-service you choose either the traffic register photo and signature or the pair held with your identity document. You cannot take the photo from one database and the signature from the other.
- Taken on site at no charge
When no usable stored photo exists, every Transport Administration service bureau can take a suitable photo free of charge and record your signature, according to the agency's answers to common helpline questions.
- Other photos are refused
The licence pages say the photo must meet the requirements for an identity document photo, then add that the agency uses the database or register photo and that other photos will not be accepted. A print from a studio or a booth is not part of the standard process.
- E-service needs a valid electronic photo
The online exchange works only when a valid electronic photo and signature are already on file. If the stored photo is more than five years old, the e-service cannot complete the exchange and you go to a service bureau instead.
- Limited licence: one print
For the category B licence with a limited right to drive, the agency lists one document photo of 35 x 45 mm among the items to bring to a service bureau, along with written consent from a parent or legal guardian. This licence can be replaced only at a bureau.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Check in the e-service whether a valid photo and signature are on file.
- Allow time at the service bureau for a new photo if yours is over five years old.
- Bring an identity document or residence permit card to the bureau.
- Take one 35 x 45 mm document photo when applying for a limited licence.
- Take two 35 x 45 mm paper photos if you want both international driving permits.
Don't
- Do not send your own photo for a standard licence; it will not be accepted.
- Do not expect a stored photo older than five years to be reused.
- Do not try to pair a photo from one database with a signature from another.
- Do not use an edited picture for an international driving permit.
Sample photos
How a Estonia driving licence 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.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Babies and children
The youngest drivers follow a different route. A category B licence with a limited right to drive can be granted at 16 or 17 after the theory and driving tests, and it is valid until the holder turns 18; a category T limited licence is possible from 15 and lasts until 16. A parent or legal guardian hands over written consent at the service bureau when the licence is formalised.
This is the one licence page where the Transport Administration still asks for a print: one document photo of 35 x 45 mm. The page was last updated in July 2024, and the regulation behind it also allows the register image, so ask the bureau whether a stored photo will do.
Printed and digital photos
For a standard licence you supply neither a print nor a file. The card is produced from the facial image chosen in the register, or from the photo the bureau takes on the day together with your signature.
Paper photos still matter for two related documents. The international driving permit, an A6 booklet, needs a colour, unedited paper photo of 35 x 45 mm, and two of them if you apply under both the 1968 Vienna and 1949 Geneva conventions. The limited licence page also asks for one 35 x 45 mm photo. A digital photo can be printed at that size on a sheet at a photo counter.
Where to submit the photo
E-service: sign in with an ID card, Smart-ID, Mobile-ID or bank credentials. An online exchange is possible when your health certificate is valid, a valid electronic photo and signature are on file, the licence is not a limited one, it expired no more than five years ago and your Estonian address has been in the population register for more than 185 days. You pick the stored photo and signature in a separate step, then choose posting by ordinary letter within Estonia or collection at a service bureau.
Service bureau: limited licences, exchanges of foreign licences and any case the e-service cannot handle go through a bureau. Bring an identity document.
Abroad: the agency lists Estonian foreign missions as places that also issue licences, but it posts licences only to Estonian addresses. Licences are replaced for people whose permanent residence is in Estonia, and foreigners staying in Estonia get one on the basis of their residence permit.
How to get your Estonia driving licence photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Estonia driving licence: 35 × 45 mm print, a light background of one colour background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: five-year limit on stored photos; photo and signature come as a pair; taken on site at no charge; other photos are refused.
- Prepare a print or digital file. For a standard licence you supply neither a print nor a file. The card is produced from the facial image chosen in the register, or from the photo the bureau takes on the day together with your signature. Paper photos still matter for two related documents.
- Submit the photo with your application. E-service: sign in with an ID card, Smart-ID, Mobile-ID or bank credentials.
Estonia driving licence photo FAQ
Usually not. The Transport Administration takes your facial image and signature from the traffic register or the identity documents database, provided the photo is no more than five years old. Otherwise a service bureau takes a new photo on the spot. The agency states that other photos will not be accepted.
A standard licence has no size to meet, because you do not supply the photo. The only licence page that still names a size is the one for the limited licence available at 16 or 17, which lists one 35 x 45 mm document photo.
The e-service will not accept the exchange, because it needs a valid electronic photo. Go to a Transport Administration service bureau instead, where a suitable photo can be taken free of charge and your signature recorded at the same visit.
Exchanges are for permanent residents who live in Estonia for at least 185 days per calendar year, and they are made at a service bureau. The Estonian licence carries a photo and signature taken from the identification document database or the traffic register, and the photo must not be more than five years old.
Yes, if the e-service finds a valid electronic photo and signature on file. You choose the traffic register pair or the identity document pair; the signature is linked to its photo. Online exchange is not available for a limited licence or for a licence that expired more than five years ago.
Yes. The international driving permit is a separate booklet, and the Transport Administration asks for a colour, unedited paper photo of 35 x 45 mm. Bring two if you want permits under both the Vienna and Geneva conventions. The regulation sets the photo at no smaller than 35 x 45 mm.
The agency says Estonian foreign missions also issue driving licences, but it posts licences only to Estonian addresses, and replacements are for people whose permanent residence is in Estonia. You apply through the e-service, which needs a valid stored photo, or at a service bureau.
Related photo specifications
Other Estonia documents
- Passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Long-stay visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- ID card photo 40 × 50 mm
- Resident digital identity card photo 40 × 50 mm
- Aliens passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Weapons permit photo 30 × 40 mm
Driving licences nearby
Also 35 × 45 mm
- Afghanistan visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria residence permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Algeria work permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Andorra passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Anguilla passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Antigua and Barbuda passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Armenia visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- All Estonia photo specifications
- Driving licences: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Europe
Official sources
- Estonian Transport Administration. Driving licence and right to drive transpordiamet.ee. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Estonian Transport Administration. Juhiluba transpordiamet.ee. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Estonian Transport Administration. Driving licence issued outside Estonia transpordiamet.ee. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Estonian Transport Administration. Driving licence with a limited right to drive transpordiamet.ee. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Estonian Transport Administration. Provisional driving licence transpordiamet.ee. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Estonian Transport Administration. International driving permit transpordiamet.ee. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Estonian Transport Administration. Infotelefonile tulnud levinud küsimused (common helpline questions) transpordiamet.ee. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Estonian Transport Administration. Juhiloa vahetamine e-teeninduses (guide to exchanging a licence in the e-service) transpordiamet.ee. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Riigi Teataja. Mootorsõidukijuhi eksamineerimise, talle juhtimisõiguse andmise kord ja juhiloa vormid (regulation No 50, version in force from 18.01.2025) riigiteataja.ee. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Riigi Teataja. Isikut tõendava dokumendi väljaandmise taotlemisel fotole esitatavad nõuded (regulation No 62) riigiteataja.ee. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Police and Border Guard Board (PPA). Requirement and instructions for the document photo politsei.ee. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Estonian Transport Administration before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Estonia driving licence photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/estonia/driving-licence-photo