French Guiana passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Service-Public.gouv.fr (DILA) for the French Guiana passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the French Guiana passport photo?
A passport photo for French Guiana follows the French norm: 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in), face 32 to 36 mm tall, plain light background such as light blue or light grey, never white. It must be under 6 months old, bare-headed and made by a professional or an approved booth. Ordinary applications are filed at an equipped mairie, not the prefecture. Counter staff may take the photo only where no professional photographer is available.
French Guiana is a French overseas department, so its residents hold the ordinary French passport. The prefecture in Cayenne does not take standard applications: its overview page says biometric passports and identity cards are filed only at town halls, and that only emergency passports are handled at the prefecture. The prefecture's passport page lists nine communes equipped with a collection device: Cayenne, Kourou, Macouria, Mana, Matoury, Rémire-Montjoly, Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, Saint-Laurent du Maroni and Sinnamary. The town hall sends the file to the prefecture for examination and validation, the passport is made by the Imprimerie Nationale in Douai and sent to the town hall, and you receive a text message when it can be collected.
The photo is where French Guiana differs from the rest of the French overseas departments. Service-public says that in French Guiana the town hall may take the photo at the counter, but only if no professional photographer is able to do it, and the passport then costs a little more. The passport decree gives the same exception to the communes of Guyane. In every other case you supply the photo yourself. Neither the prefecture nor service-public publishes a separate Guyane photo specification, so the national norm applies.
French Guiana passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Service-Public.gouv.fr (DILA):[1]
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No file upload: one printed photo is handed in at the town hall |
| Head height | 32 to 36 mm (70 to 80% of the photo), chin to top of skull, hair excluded |
| Background | Plain, light colour (light blue or light grey); white is forbidden |
| Colour | Colour photo strongly recommended |
| Photo age | Taken less than 6 months ago and a true likeness on the filing day |
| Print quality | Sharp, no creases or marks, neither over- nor underexposed |
| 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 photo must be taken by an authorised professional or in a booth using a system approved by the Ministry of the Interior. (translated from French)
Key requirements
- Made by an authorised source
Service-public says the photo must be taken by an authorised professional or in a booth that uses a system approved by the Ministry of the Interior. A picture you take yourself does not fit that wording.
- The Guyane counter exception
Article 6-1 of the passport decree lets the communes of Guyane record the face image at the counter when a professional photographer cannot. Service-public repeats it for French Guiana: yes, but only if no professional photographer is available, with a small extra charge for the passport.
- Face of 32 to 36 mm
The decree annex fixes the print at 35 mm wide by 45 mm high and the face at 32 to 36 mm, measured from the bottom of the chin to the crown without hair. Service-public states the same range as 3.2 to 3.6 cm.
- Plain light backdrop, no white
Choose one even, light colour. Light blue and light grey are the examples given, and the texts say flatly that white is banned. The print must also be neither over- nor underexposed.
- Straight, neutral, bare-headed
Face the lens and look at it, keep the expression neutral and the mouth closed, and leave the head uncovered. Both eyes must be fully visible and open.
- Recent and still recognisable
The picture must be less than six months old. The decree annex adds that it must still look like you on the day the application is filed.
- Emergency passport: two photos
The prefecture's emergency-passport page (updated 30 October 2026) asks for two identity photos that meet the standards, filed in person at the CERT office in Cayenne. It adds that the document is valid for one year and is not accepted by the American authorities without a visa.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Go to a professional photographer or an approved booth, not a home setup.
- Ask for a light blue or light grey backdrop.
- Check that the chin-to-crown distance is 32 to 36 mm.
- Take a photo that is under six months old.
- Ask the mairie whether it works by appointment before you travel in.
- Collect the passport yourself within three months.
Don't
- Do not choose a white backdrop.
- Do not count on the counter photo: it exists only when no photographer can help.
- Do not wear a hat, headscarf or headband.
- Do not wear tinted or coloured lenses, or lenses with glare.
- Do not hand in a creased, marked or washed-out print.
Sample photos
How a French Guiana 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.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Glasses
Wearing glasses is optional. Service-public says you are not obliged to wear them in the photo. If you do, the lenses must be neither tinted nor coloured and must show no reflection. The decree annex goes further: thick frames are forbidden, and the frame must not hide the eyes. Taking them off for the shot avoids both the frame and the glare problems.
Headwear and religious dress
The head must be bare. Service-public names hats, scarves and headbands as examples, and the decree annex says plainly that head coverings are forbidden. Neither text mentions an exception. Earrings and piercings are allowed provided they leave the features of the face clearly distinguishable.
Babies and children
A minor needs one photo of the same standard: service-public asks for a single identity photo under six months old that meets the norms. The child and the legal representative must come to the counter together, and the minor's passport is valid for 5 years. The legal references on the same page mention a derogation from fingerprinting for children under 12.
For an emergency passport the prefecture page words it differently: the minor must be present only from the age of 12, accompanied by a parent or guardian, and the file needs two photos.
Printed and digital photos
You hand in paper, not a file. In September 2026 France Titres (ANTS) wrote that the e-photo code is an alternative to the paper photograph, that extending it to passports and identity cards is under study, and that taking the photo at a town hall remains reserved for situations the regulations provide for. Bring one printed photo from a professional or an approved booth, since one is all that is requested.
If you are in one of the communes that can take the photo at the counter, that is a fallback, not a service to plan around. The decree allows it only when a professional photographer cannot take the picture, and service-public says it makes the passport cost slightly more.
Where to submit the photo
Go to an equipped town hall. Service-public says the place of filing does not depend on your home address, so a resident of Macouria may file in Kourou or Cayenne. It adds that many town halls accept filings only by appointment, that an online pre-application is possible but not compulsory, and that you must attend for your fingerprints. The prefecture page states that the applicant must be present both at filing and at handover, and that a minor comes with the legal representative. Collect the passport within three months; after that it is destroyed.
Residents of Grand-Santi, Papaïchton and Maripasoula do not appear on the list of nine equipped communes. A prefecture page last updated on 26 July 2019 says that staff of the sub-prefecture of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni regularly hold identity-card and passport sessions in those communes, with reception only by appointment made at each commune's civil-status office. Check the dates with the town hall.
Plan well ahead of travel. In a press release of 22 May 2023 the prefecture said demand for new and renewed documents stays high, with seasonal rises as summer and the June exams approach, and counted 23 fixed and mobile collection devices across the territory. For a genuine urgent trip, the emergency passport is filed in person at the CERT office of the Cayenne prefecture and is granted only exceptionally.
How to get your French Guiana passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the French Guiana passport: 35 × 45 mm print, plain background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: made by an authorised source; the Guyane counter exception; face of 32 to 36 mm; plain light backdrop, no white.
- Prepare a print or digital file. You hand in paper, not a file.
- Submit the photo with your application. Go to an equipped town hall. Service-public says the place of filing does not depend on your home address, so a resident of Macouria may file in Kourou or Cayenne.
French Guiana passport photo FAQ
It is the French size: 35 mm wide and 45 mm high (1.38 x 1.77 in). The face must measure 32 to 36 mm from the bottom of the chin to the top of the skull, hair excluded, which service-public equates with 70 to 80% of the photo.
Only in one case. Service-public says yes in French Guiana, but only if there is no professional photographer who can do it. The passport decree gives the same exception to the communes of Guyane. Otherwise you must bring a photo that meets the standards.
No, not for an ordinary passport. The prefecture says biometric passport applications are filed only at town halls with a biometric station. Only emergency passports are handled at the prefecture, at the CERT office in Cayenne.
Yes. Service-public states that the place of the application does not depend on your home address and that you may use any town hall equipped with a registration station. Check first whether it works by appointment only.
Two identity photos that meet the standards, according to the prefecture page updated on 30 October 2026. The request is filed in person at the CERT office of the Cayenne prefecture, with proof of the urgency, and it is granted exceptionally rather than automatically.
It would not satisfy the rule. Service-public requires the photo to be taken by an authorised professional or in a booth using a system approved by the Ministry of the Interior. The one exception is the counter capture in French Guiana, done by the town hall itself.
Yes for short stays. The French foreign ministry (page updated 15 September 2026) says French citizens need no visa for stays under 90 days and that the passport must be valid for at least six months from the return date. Check Suriname separately on the same ministry site.
Before the summer holidays and around the June exams. In May 2023 the prefecture said demand rises seasonally at those times, on top of a catch-up after the pandemic. Apply well before you need the passport and keep the collection message.
Related photo specifications
Passports 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 French Guiana photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in South America
Official sources
- Service-Public.gouv.fr (DILA). Quelle photo fournir pour un titre d'identité (passeport, carte d'identité...) ? service-public.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Service-Public.gouv.fr (DILA). Carte d'identité / Passeport : la photo peut-elle être prise au guichet ? service-public.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Service-Public.gouv.fr (DILA). Passeport d'un majeur : première demande service-public.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Service-Public.gouv.fr (DILA). Passeport d'un mineur : première demande service-public.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Prefecture of French Guiana (services de l'État en Guyane). Passeport biométrique et passeport d'urgence guyane.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Prefecture of French Guiana (services de l'État en Guyane). Carte d'identité & Passeport guyane.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Prefecture of French Guiana (services de l'État en Guyane). Passeport d'urgence guyane.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Prefecture of French Guiana (services de l'État en Guyane). Passeports et cartes nationales d'identité dans les communes du fleuve Maroni guyane.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Prefecture of French Guiana. Renouvellement des titres d'identité : plan d'urgence (press release of 22 May 2023) guyane.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Légifrance. Arrêté du 5 février 2009 relatif à la production de photographies d'identité dans le cadre de la délivrance du passeport legifrance.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Légifrance. Décret n° 2005-1726 du 30 décembre 2005 relatif aux passeports (article 6-1) legifrance.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Services Publics+ (reply from France Titres - ANTS). Coût financier injustifié et gaspillage imposé pour les photos de passeport (reply of 23 September 2026) plus.transformation.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Brésil : entrée et séjour diplomatie.gouv.fr. Checked 3 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Service-Public.gouv.fr (DILA) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"French Guiana passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/french-guiana/passport-photo