Germany passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) for the Germany passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Germany passport photo?
In a German passport photo the face, from chin tip to the top of the head, fills 70 to 80% of the image height, with a neutral expression, visible eyes and a plain contrasting background. In Germany prints are no longer accepted: since 1 May 2025 a registered photographer sends the image electronically, or the citizens' office takes it. Missions abroad without their own camera still accept a recent 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) print without a border.
German passports (Reisepass) are issued by the passport authority of your municipality, normally the citizens' office (Bürgeramt or Bürgerbüro), and for Germans living abroad by the embassy or consulate general responsible for their place of residence. Every application is made in person, children included, and the Bundesdruckerei in Berlin produces the passport. A passport is valid for ten years, or six years if you are under 24, and fingerprints go into the chip from the sixth birthday.
The photo rules are in section 16 and Annex 8 of the Passport Regulation (Passverordnung). Annex 8 was revised in 2025 and shows accepted and refused examples next to each criterion, in the spirit of the new sample board (Fotomustertafel) the Federal Ministry of the Interior issued in October 2024. The technical detail comes from guideline TR-03121 of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), and offices use certified software to assess the quality and authenticity of each image. The stated aim of the 2025 reform is to stop manipulation such as morphing, where two faces are blended into one.
Since 1 May 2025 a German office receives the photo in one of two ways only. A photographer, photo shop or other commercial provider takes it digitally and uploads it through a certified, encrypted channel, or the office takes it with its own camera. Paper prints are refused in Germany. Abroad, a mission that cannot take the photo electronically still accepts a printed photo of 45 x 35 mm (height x width) without a border.
Germany passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de):[1]
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in) print without border, only at missions abroad; in Germany a digital image instead |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No applicant upload; photographers and office cameras deliver 1244 x 1600 pixels |
| Head height | Face 70 to 80% of the height, chin to top of head (32 to 36 mm on a 45 mm print) |
| Background | One plain colour, shadow-free, contrasting with face and hair; missions ask for a light or white background |
| Colour | Colour; Annex 8 requires digital photos to be in colour |
| Photo age | Must be current; missions ask for prints no older than 3 or 6 months |
| Print quality | Abroad only: high-quality paper, printed at 600 dpi or more, clean and free of creases |
| 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:
Post processing of images: Images MAY only be processed using rotation, cropping, downsampling, white-balance adjustment, and global brightness and colour corrections.
Key requirements
- Face fills 70 to 80% of the height
Measure from the tip of the chin to the top of the head, not to the top of the hair. Annex 8 asks for 70 to 80% of the image height. The sample board that German missions hand out turns this into 32 to 36 mm on a 45 mm print and tells staff to reject a print only if the face is under 27 mm or over 40 mm. Both halves of the face must be clearly visible, with the head centred and upright.
- No paper in German offices
For an application in Germany the image must come from a service provider's secure upload or from the office's own certified camera. A print, a picture on your phone or a file on a USB stick is not one of the routes the Passport Act allows, and the BSI guideline rules out selfies for studio uploads.
- Plain, contrasting background
The background must be a single colour without shadows and must stand out clearly from your face and hair. For capture the BSI recommends a uniform grey between #A1A1A1 and #E1E1E1. Missions abroad describe it as bright: Dublin asks for a bright background, and the sample board suggests medium grey for fair hair and light grey for dark hair.
- Neutral face, eyes on the lens
Look straight into the camera with a neutral expression and your mouth closed. Annex 8 shows laughing, an open mouth, closed or squinting eyes and grimacing as faults, and hair must not cover the eyes.
- Sharp, evenly lit and true to life
Light the face evenly, with no shadows or shine, and avoid red eyes. The face must be sharp and rich in contrast, and colours, skin tone in particular, must look natural. Retouching, filters, soft focus and too low a resolution all appear among the refused examples.
- Only basic processing
The Passport Act allows a photo to be changed only as its own rules permit. The BSI guideline lists what a studio may do: rotate, crop, downsample, adjust white balance and correct overall brightness and colour. If the office suspects an edit that is not allowed, it can insist that a new photo is taken in front of a member of its staff.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Use a photographer who uploads passport photos, or the office's photo terminal, for an application in Germany.
- Keep the code the photographer gives you and bring it to your appointment.
- Ask your citizens' office whether it has a photo terminal before relying on it.
- Abroad, check your mission's page for how many prints it wants and how old they may be.
- Have a baby's or toddler's photo taken in advance by a photographer.
- Keep your head straight and centred, with both ears and cheeks evenly in view.
Don't
- Do not take a paper print to a citizens' office in Germany.
- Do not use a selfie or a photo stored on your own phone.
- Do not retouch, smooth or filter the image.
- Do not wear a hat or cap unless the office accepts a religious reason.
- Do not let hair or spectacle frames cover your eyes.
- Do not reuse a print that is older than your mission allows.
Sample photos
How a Germany 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
Glasses may stay on if your eyes remain clearly visible. Annex 8 of the Passport Regulation lists as faults a frame that covers the eyes, lenses that are too dark and reflections on the lenses.
The sample board used by German missions abroad says the same in more detail: no flash reflection on the lenses, no tinted lenses and no sunglasses, and neither the rim of the lenses nor the frame may cover any part of the eyes.
Headwear and religious dress
The photo must show you without a head covering, with nothing over your eyes and without any part of a uniform. Section 16 of the Passport Regulation lets the passport authority make exceptions to the head-covering rule, in particular for religious reasons, and exceptions to the other requirements for medical reasons that are not merely temporary.
Where a covering is accepted, Annex 8 requires the face to be visible from the lower edge of the chin to the forehead, with no shadows falling on it. A cap and a burqa are both shown as refused examples.
Babies and children
A child applying for a passport, even a newborn, must be present at the appointment, and the parents make the application. Annex 8 relaxes the photo rules with age: for children the face may take up 50 to 80% of the height, smaller deviations are allowed until the 10th birthday, and before the sixth birthday the photo only has to be frontal, with further leeway on head position, expression and visible eyes. No fingerprints are stored for children under six.
Berlin recommends having the digital photo of babies and children under six taken in advance by a certified photo provider, from whom the office then retrieves it. Passports issued before the 24th birthday are valid for six years, so children need new photos more often.
Printed and digital photos
In Germany the photo is digital from start to finish. A photographer, photo shop or other business that takes passport photos commercially uploads the image, encrypted end to end, to a certified cloud service and gives you a code. At your appointment the office uses the code to retrieve the image. The cloud provider must delete it once the office has collected it, and at the latest six months after receiving it, so do not have it taken too early.
The alternative is the office's own camera, often a self-service terminal, for a fee that is the same nationwide. An image taken there stays on the device until the office retrieves it, for no more than 96 hours. Not every office has a terminal, so check first.
Applications at German missions abroad work differently. The photographer upload is only available for applications to passport authorities in Germany, and section 16(3) of the Passport Regulation allows a current 45 x 35 mm portrait print without a border wherever the mission cannot capture the photo electronically. The German Embassy in Vienna says live capture has not yet been introduced at missions and asks applicants to keep bringing printed biometric photos. For that route a digital photo can be printed at exactly 35 x 45 mm on a 4 x 6 inch sheet at a photo counter.
Where to submit the photo
In Germany you apply at the citizens' office of the municipality where you are registered; in Berlin any citizens' office in the city will do, by appointment. Bring your previous passport or ID card if you have one. For a child, the legal representatives apply, and a parent who cannot attend gives written consent, with their own ID document brought along so the signature can be compared.
If you live abroad, apply to the German embassy or consulate general for your area, or to an honorary consul who takes passport applications, always by appointment. The embassy in London is piloting online applications for adults through the Consular Services Portal, but biometric data are still recorded at the embassy. Missions set their own photo rules: London wants one print per document no older than three months, Dublin two identical prints no older than three months, and the missions in India two prints no older than six months.
How to get your Germany passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Germany passport: 35 × 45 mm print, 1244 × 1600 px digital file, one plain colour background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: face fills 70 to 80% of the height; no paper in German offices; plain, contrasting background; neutral face, eyes on the lens.
- Prepare a print or digital file. In Germany the photo is digital from start to finish. A photographer, photo shop or other business that takes passport photos commercially uploads the image, encrypted end to end, to a certified cloud service and gives you a code.
- Submit the photo with your application. In Germany you apply at the citizens' office of the municipality where you are registered; in Berlin any citizens' office in the city will do, by appointment. Bring your previous passport or ID card if you have one.
Germany passport photo FAQ
No. Since 1 May 2025 passport offices in Germany accept only an image sent electronically by a registered photo provider or one taken with their own camera. A transitional exception for paper photos in special cases, described by the City of Stuttgart, ran only until 31 July 2025. Prints are still used at German missions abroad that cannot take the photo themselves.
The photographer uploads your picture, encrypted end to end, to a certified cloud service and hands you a code. You give the code to the passport office when you apply, and the office downloads the picture with it. The cloud deletes the image once it has been collected, or six months after the upload if nobody collects it.
Where a mission cannot take the photo itself, it accepts a current print of 45 x 35 mm in portrait format without a border, which is 35 mm wide and 45 mm high. The face should measure 32 to 36 mm from chin to crown. Each mission decides how many prints it needs and how old they may be.
Not for an application in Germany. The law allows only a commercial photo provider's secure upload or the office's own camera, and the BSI guideline excludes selfies. At a mission abroad the regulation describes the print, not who takes it, but it must meet the biometric criteria and be printed on high-quality paper at 600 dpi or more. The missions in India, for example, list local photo studios.
From the tip of the chin to the top of the head, your face must fill 70 to 80% of the image height. On a 45 mm print that is 32 to 36 mm. For children the range widens to 50 to 80%. The head must be centred and upright.
Yes, as long as your eyes are clearly visible. Frames must not cover any part of the eyes, and tinted lenses, sunglasses and reflections on the lenses are refused.
No. Annex 8 asks for a neutral expression with the mouth closed and the eyes looking straight into the camera. Laughing and an open mouth are both shown as faults. Children under six are given more leeway on expression.
Yes. A baby's passport needs a photo like any other, but the rules are softer: before the sixth birthday the photo only has to be taken from the front, and eyes, expression and head position may deviate. Berlin recommends having it taken in advance by a certified photographer, because office terminals may not suit very small children.
Related photo specifications
Other Germany documents
- Visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Driving licence photo 35 × 45 mm
Passports nearby
- Austria passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Belgium passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- France passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Luxembourg passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Monaco passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Netherlands passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Switzerland passport photo 35 × 45 mm
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 Germany photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Europe
Official sources
- Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de). Passgesetz, § 6 Ausstellung eines Passes gesetze-im-internet.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de). Passgesetz, § 4 Passmuster (fingerprints in the chip) gesetze-im-internet.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de). Passgesetz, § 5 Gültigkeitsdauer gesetze-im-internet.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de). Passverordnung (full text: §§ 4, 5, 9, 16 and Anlage 8) gesetze-im-internet.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de). Passverordnung, Anlage 8: Anforderungen an das Lichtbild gesetze-im-internet.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Technical Guideline TR-03121-3.2, Biometrics: German Identity Documents, version 7.1 bsi.bund.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Land Berlin, Service-Portal. Reisepass beantragen service.berlin.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart. Digitales Lichtbild für Personalausweise und Reisepässe stuttgart.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart. Ab 1. Mai: Fotos für Ausweisdokumente und elektronischen Aufenthaltstitel nur noch digital (press release, 24.04.2025) stuttgart.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- German Embassy Vienna. Reisepass/Personalausweis wien.diplo.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- German Embassy London. Applications for adult passports and for ID cards for persons aged 16 and over uk.diplo.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- German Embassy London. Online passport application uk.diplo.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- German Embassy London. Sample photos for ID cards and passports uk.diplo.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- German Embassy Dublin. Passport applications for persons over the age of 18 dublin.diplo.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- German Missions in India. Passports and ID cards india.diplo.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Personalausweisportal (BMI). New rules for passport photos from 1 May 2025 personalausweisportal.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- BMI. Fotomustertafel – quality criteria for biometric photos (PDF) personalausweisportal.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Bundesgesetzblatt 2025 I Nr. 260. ordinance of 29 October 2025 replacing PassV annex 8 (PDF) recht.bund.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de). photos and applications abroad gesetze-im-internet.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Personalausweisportal (BMI). Fees and validity personalausweisportal.de. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Bundesministerium der Justiz (gesetze-im-internet.de) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Germany passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/germany/passport-photo