Guernsey passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by States of Guernsey for the Guernsey passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Guernsey passport photo?
The Guernsey Passport Office asks for 2 recent identical colour printed photographs with Form A (age 16 and over) or Form B (under 16). For a renewal they must be taken within the last month. Guernsey's web pages give no size, and say only that photographs must meet internationally agreed standards. The nearest published size for a British passport print is 35 x 45 mm. An online service is due in November 2026.
There is no separate Guernsey passport. Residents hold a Guernsey variant British passport, which the Guernsey Passport Office in St Peter Port issues on behalf of the Crown. The booklet is printed and delivered from the UK. The office deals with people who live in the Bailiwick and with UK residents who were born in Guernsey, and it cannot issue a passport to anyone who is physically abroad when they apply. People abroad apply to HM Passport Office through the overseas service on GOV.UK and receive a standard UK-type British passport instead.
Applications are made on paper. Form A is for applicants aged 16 or over and Form B is for children under 16. The forms cannot be downloaded or emailed, so you collect one from the Passport Office on the New Jetty at White Rock, from the States Office in Alderney, from the Greffe in Sark, or from one of the other collection points the office lists around the island. Two printed photographs go into the envelope with the form and your latest passport.
What Guernsey publishes about the photograph itself is short. The passport page asks for 2 recent identical colour photographs and says the guidance notes supplied with the form carry the detail. It gives no size, background colour or head measurement. This page sets out what is published, marks what is not, and names the standard that British passport photos follow elsewhere so that you know what to ask the office.
Guernsey passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by States of Guernsey:[1]
| Print size | Not stated on gov.gg. HM Passport Office prints are 35 x 45 mm (45 mm high) |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No digital file: send 2 printed photos with the paper form (online service due November 2026) |
| Background | Not stated on gov.gg. HM Passport Office prints: plain cream or light grey |
| Colour | Colour |
| Photo age | Recent; on renewal, two new photographs taken within the last month |
| Print quality | 2 identical prints; guidance notes say photos must meet internationally agreed standards |
| Pixels when printed | 413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
Key requirements
- Two identical colour prints
A renewal needs 2 recent identical colour photographs, sent with the completed form and your most recent passport, even if that passport has expired. Name changes and replacements of lost, stolen or damaged passports ask for new photographs as well.
- Taken within the last month
The Passport Office prints one line in capitals: even when you are instantly recognisable from your old passport photo and need no countersignature, you still need two new photographs taken within the last month.
- Standards sit in the guidance notes
Form A and Form B come with detailed guidance notes. They cover photographs, which the office says must meet internationally agreed standards. The web pages do not repeat those standards, so read the notes before you have the pictures taken.
- One print is certified
When a countersignatory is needed, one of the two photographs must be certified as a true likeness. The signer writes a short statement on the back, with the applicant's full name, then signs and dates it.
- When a countersignature is needed
It is required for a first adult passport, a replacement for a lost, stolen or damaged one, any child passport, a first adult 10-year passport after a 5-year child passport, and a renewal where your appearance has changed so much that you cannot be recognised from the old passport.
- Who can countersign
The signer must be over 18, hold a current British or Irish passport, have known you personally for at least 2 years and live in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. A relative, a partner or anyone at your address is excluded.
- Places that take passport photos
The office's list, as published in March 2026, names the Guille-Allès Library service in St Peter Port, photo booths at the harbour ferry terminal and the airport, Admiral Park Pharmacy, and Fitzgerald's Photographics in St Martins. Check with the office before relying on it.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Collect Form A or Form B in person; they are not issued as downloads or email attachments.
- Read the guidance notes on photographs before you have the pictures taken.
- Order 2 identical prints from the same image.
- Have the photographs taken in the month before you hand in the application.
- Ask the countersignatory to certify the back of one print, then sign and date it.
- Contact the Passport Office if the guidance notes leave any photo point unclear.
Don't
- Do not send a digital file while applications are paper only.
- Do not reuse the photo from your old passport; renewals need new photographs.
- Do not ask a relative, a partner or someone living at your address to countersign.
- Do not apply through the Guernsey office from abroad; use the overseas service on GOV.UK.
- Do not assume a size or background that the guidance notes do not give.
Sample photos
How a Guernsey passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 35 × 45 mm and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Glasses
Guernsey's web pages say nothing about glasses in the photograph. Any glasses rule sits in the guidance notes that come with the form, or in the standards the office refers to. Ask the Passport Office before you have the picture taken rather than guessing.
Headwear and religious dress
The web pages carry no rule on head coverings either. If you wear one for religious or medical reasons, raise it with the Passport Office first so that you know what the guidance notes expect.
Babies and children
A child under 16 is covered by Form B, completed by someone with parental responsibility, and every child passport needs a countersignature. Where the application is for a person under 16, the countersignatory must have known the parent who signs the declaration for more than 2 years, and must have met the child in order to confirm that the photo is a true likeness. The page asks for the same 2 recent identical colour photographs for children.
Printed and digital photos
While the paper process lasts, only printed photographs are accepted, and there is no pixel size or file limit. A Guernsey notice dated 21 August 2026 says a new online passport application service is due to launch in November 2026, and that until it does, all applications must go through the existing paper-based process. The Isle of Man Government says its online service will be run through HM Passport Office's system, that Guernsey and Jersey will launch at the same time, and that applicants will upload or provide a digital photograph. Guernsey has not yet published digital photo rules on the pages read for this page.
Where to submit the photo
Hand the completed form, photographs and passport in at the Passport Office on the New Jetty, White Rock, in St Peter Port, or post them. The public counter keeps set hours, so check the opening times on the passport page. Alderney and Sark residents can collect forms from the States Office and the Greffe. When the form is posted or put through the letterbox, a member of staff phones for payment the next working day. Your passport is sent by Royal Mail Special Delivery to the address you give on the form.
How to get your Guernsey passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Guernsey passport: 35 × 45 mm print, not stated on gov.gg. HM Passport Office… background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: two identical colour prints; taken within the last month; standards sit in the guidance notes; one print is certified.
- Prepare a print or digital file. While the paper process lasts, only printed photographs are accepted, and there is no pixel size or file limit.
- Submit the photo with your application. Hand the completed form, photographs and passport in at the Passport Office on the New Jetty, White Rock, in St Peter Port, or post them. The public counter keeps set hours, so check the opening times on the passport page.
Guernsey passport photo FAQ
Guernsey's web pages do not state a size. They say the guidance notes with Form A and Form B cover photographs, which must meet internationally agreed standards. For comparison, HM Passport Office sets printed British passport photos at 45 mm high by 35 mm wide, and Jersey publishes the same size. Ask the Guernsey Passport Office to confirm before you print.
Two. The Passport Office asks for 2 recent identical colour photographs with a renewal, and new photographs for a name change or a replacement passport. On renewal they should be taken within the last month.
Not yet. A Guernsey notice dated 21 August 2026 says a new online service is due to launch in November 2026, and that until then every application must use the existing paper process. Photo rules for the online service had not been published on the pages read.
The Passport Office publishes a list. In its March 2026 version it names the Guille-Allès Library service, photo booths at the harbour ferry terminal and the airport, Admiral Park Pharmacy and Fitzgerald's Photographics. Booking is recommended at the library. Contact the office if you want a place added or the list confirmed.
Only some applications need it. The signer must be over 18, hold a current British or Irish passport, have known you for at least 2 years and live in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. They cannot be related to you, in a relationship with you or any family member, or living at your address.
No. The Passport Office says forms are not available to download or be emailed. Collect one from the office, or from the other collection points on its list, and take only one form per applicant.
With a strong connection to the Bailiwick you may still renew through the Guernsey Passport Office by asking it for a form, and its paper rules apply. You can instead apply to HM Passport Office, which issues a standard British passport rather than a Guernsey variant and uses GOV.UK photo rules. If you live abroad, you must use GOV.UK.
Related photo specifications
Passports nearby
- Åland Islands passport photo 36 × 47 mm
- Denmark passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Estonia passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Faroe Islands passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Finland passport photo 36 × 47 mm
- Iceland passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Ireland irish Passport Card photo
- Ireland passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Isle of Man passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Jersey 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 Guernsey photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Europe
Official sources
- States of Guernsey. Passports gov.gg. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Guernsey Passport Office. Where to get passport photographs and forms in Guernsey gov.gg. Checked 3 November 2026.
- States of Guernsey. Passport fees to increase in line with UK from September gov.gg. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Isle of Man Government. Passport applications to move online gov.im. Checked 3 November 2026.
- Home Office (GOV.UK). Guernsey, Alderney and Sark knowledge base profile gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
- HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Get a passport photo: Printed photos gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with States of Guernsey before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Guernsey passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/guernsey/passport-photo