Iran passport photo requirements
The 30 × 40 mm photo rules set by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the Iran passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Iran passport photo?
For an Iranian passport applied for through an embassy or consulate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks for three 3 x 4 cm (30 x 40 mm) photos taken within the past six months: full face, front view, eyes open, plain white background, and no hat, glasses or neck scarf. Women applicants should wear a headscarf. Write your personal details on the back of each photo. No head size or pixel size is published.
Iranian citizens who live abroad get their passports from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The Mikhak consular system states that, under current law, issuing passports to Iranians resident abroad is the ministry's job, carried out by Iran's embassies and consulates. The application starts online in Mikhak: you create an electronic profile, fill in the passport request, upload images of the required documents and send the file to the mission of your choice. You then go to that mission in person with the tracking code the system emails you, to complete the process and collect the passport.
The photo rules on this page come from the MFA's English consular pages for a first passport, a renewal and a student renewal, which all ask for printed 3 x 4 cm photos on white. Applications made inside Iran are outside these ministry pages: they are handled by the police, whose passport websites refused connections from outside Iran while this page was researched and have no usable archived copies. Their photo rules are therefore not given here, so check them at the office before you have photos taken.
Iran passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran:[1]
| Print size | 3 x 4 cm (30 x 40 mm), printed; three photos for a first passport or a renewal at an Iranian mission |
|---|---|
| Digital size | None published: the MFA lists printed photos, and Mikhak takes uploaded document images |
| Background | Plain white |
| Photo age | Taken within the past six months |
| File size | Mikhak uploads: at most 300 KB per image (Mikhak FAQ) |
| Print quality | Printed photos, with your personal details written on the back of each one |
| Pixels when printed | 354 × 472 px at 300 dpi · 709 × 945 px at 600 dpi (calculated) |
Key requirements
- Three photos at 3 x 4 cm
The MFA's requirements for a first passport and for a renewal both ask for three passport photos of 3 x 4 cm, which is 30 mm wide and 40 mm high. Student renewals also take three.
- Full face on plain white
The photo shows the full face from the front, with both eyes open, against a plain white background.
- No hat, glasses or neck scarf
Hats, glasses and neck scarves are not allowed. The ministry names one exception: the headscarf worn by women.
- Headscarf for women
The ministry states that, according to the regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, women applicants should be wearing head scarves. Its student page describes this as an exception for headscarves, hijab for women.
- No older than six months
Every list asks for photos taken within the past six months.
- Details on the back
Write your personal details on the back of every photo before you hand them in.
- Birth certificate with a photo from age 15
Applicants over 15 need an Iranian birth certificate (shenasnameh) that carries an ID photo. If yours has none, the MFA says you must first apply to replace it or to have a photo added to it.
- Clear uploads, 300 KB each
Mikhak caps each uploaded image at 300 KB. The ministry warns that passports are issued from the documents and details you upload, so unclear images or mistakes cause problems and delays.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Have three prints made at 3 x 4 cm (30 x 40 mm)
- Use a plain white background
- Face the camera with both eyes open
- Wear a headscarf if you are a woman applicant
- Write your personal details on the back of each photo
- Keep each Mikhak upload at 300 KB or less
- Take your tracking code and the original documents to the mission
Don't
- Do not wear glasses, a hat or a neck scarf
- Do not use photos taken more than six months ago
- Do not bring 35 x 45 mm or 2 x 2 inch prints: the ministry asks for 3 x 4 cm
- Do not upload blurred or unreadable document images
- Do not expect to correct identity details online once your Mikhak profile is final
Sample photos
How a Iran passport photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 30 × 40 mm and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Glasses
Glasses are not allowed. The MFA's lists for a first passport, a renewal and a student renewal all ask for photos taken without a hat, glasses or neck scarves, and none of them describes an exception for medical reasons.
If you cannot take your glasses off, ask the embassy or consulate handling your application before the photo is taken.
Headwear and religious dress
The ministry's rule has two parts. Hats and neck scarves must not appear in an Iranian passport photo. Women applicants, on the other hand, should be wearing a headscarf: the MFA's English pages say this follows the regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and its student passport page lists headscarves, hijab for women, as the exception to the no-headwear rule.
The pages do not say from what age a girl's photo must show a headscarf, how it should be worn or what colour it should be. The rest of the photo rules still apply: full face, seen from the front, eyes open, on plain white.
Babies and children
In Mikhak, a passport for someone under 18 is requested from a parent's profile, not the child's. The system's FAQ says the father or legal guardian creates his own profile and then registers the request for the child. A 2023 notice from the MFA's office for Iranians abroad says to log in with the national code and birth certificate details of the father or mother.
The ministry publishes no separate photo rules for children, so the same 3 x 4 cm, white-background rules apply. A child over 15 also needs a birth certificate that carries an ID photo.
Printed and digital photos
The MFA's published lists describe printed photos: three prints at 3 x 4 cm, each with your details on the back. Mikhak, where applications now begin, takes uploaded images of the required documents and caps each image at 300 KB. Its FAQ suggests reducing a larger file with the Resize tool in Paint, by percentage or by pixels. The ministry does not publish a pixel size for a photo.
Take the originals of everything you uploaded when you go to the mission. A digital photo can be printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter and cut to 3 x 4 cm.
Where to submit the photo
Abroad, register on Mikhak, fill in the passport request, upload the documents and send the file to the Iranian embassy or consulate you choose. Then go there with the tracking code you were emailed and the originals of the documents you uploaded. The FAQ says you must attend in person to receive the passport.
Mikhak lists these reasons for a new passport: the current one has six months or less left, its pages are full, your name or date of birth has changed on your Iranian birth certificate, or the place of residence recorded in it has changed. Names, father's name and date of birth must be typed exactly as on the birth certificate, because the system checks them against the civil registry.
How to get your Iran passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Iran passport: 30 × 40 mm print, plain white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: three photos at 3 x 4 cm; full face on plain white; no hat, glasses or neck scarf; headscarf for women.
- Prepare a print or digital file. The MFA's published lists describe printed photos: three prints at 3 x 4 cm, each with your details on the back. Mikhak, where applications now begin, takes uploaded images of the required documents and caps each image at 300 KB.
- Submit the photo with your application. Abroad, register on Mikhak, fill in the passport request, upload the documents and send the file to the Iranian embassy or consulate you choose. Then go there with the tracking code you were emailed and the originals of the documents you uploaded.
Iran passport photo FAQ
3 x 4 cm, that is 30 mm wide and 40 mm high. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks for three photos of this size for a first passport or a renewal through an Iranian embassy or consulate. It does not publish a head size or pixel dimensions.
Yes. The MFA's passport pages say that, according to the regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, women applicants should be wearing head scarves. Hats and neck scarves are otherwise not allowed. The pages do not give an age from which girls must wear one.
No. The ministry asks for photos without a hat, glasses or neck scarves and does not publish a medical exception. If you cannot remove your glasses, ask your embassy or consulate before the photo is taken.
Plain white. The MFA's lists for first passports, renewals and student renewals all ask for a white background, and none of them mentions any other colour as acceptable.
Through Mikhak and an Iranian mission. Create a profile, fill in the passport request, upload images of the required documents and send the file to the embassy or consulate you choose. Then attend in person with the emailed tracking code, the original documents and your photos.
The Mikhak FAQ gives 300 KB as the largest size for an uploaded image. It suggests reducing bigger files with the Resize tool in Paint, either by percentage or by pixel size.
From a parent's Mikhak profile. The FAQ says the father or legal guardian registers the request for a child under 18, while a 2023 ministry notice refers to the father's or mother's details. The child's photos follow the same rules as an adult's.
Yes. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says Iran does not recognise dual nationality and that all Iranian nationals must enter and leave Iran on an Iranian passport.
Related photo specifications
Other Iran documents
Passports nearby
- Afghanistan passport photo 40 × 50 mm
- Bangladesh passport photo 89 × 127 mm
- Bhutan passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- India passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Maldives passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Nepal passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Pakistan passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Sri Lanka passport photo 35 × 45 mm
Also 30 × 40 mm
- Armenia ID card photo 30 × 40 mm
- Azerbaijan passport photo 30 × 40 mm
- Azerbaijan visa photo 30 × 40 mm
- Azerbaijan ID card photo 30 × 40 mm
- Belarus citizenship photo 30 × 40 mm
- Bolivia safe conduct photo 30 × 40 mm
- Botswana residence permit photo 30 × 40 mm
- Brazil ID card photo 30 × 40 mm
- Brazil SPTrans Bilhete Único photo 30 × 40 mm
- Brazil employment record book photo 30 × 40 mm
- All Iran photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 30 × 40 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Asia
Official sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Issuing First Passport en.mfa.gov.ir. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Passport Renewal en.mfa.gov.ir. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Student Affairs (student passport renewal) en.mfa.gov.ir. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mikhak integrated consular services system: passport affairs (in Persian) mikhak.mfa.gov.ir. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mikhak frequently asked questions (PDF, in Persian) mikhak.mfa.gov.ir. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Secretariat of the High Council of Iranians Abroad, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Points to note when registering in the Mikhak system (in Persian) iranian.mfa.gov.ir. Checked 2 November 2026.
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. Iran travel advice: entry requirements gov.uk. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Iran passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/iran/passport-photo