Lebanon ID card photo requirements
The photo rules set by Directorate General of Personal Status, Ministry of Interior and Municipalities for the Lebanon ID card, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What are the Lebanon ID card photo requirements?
The Directorate General of Personal Status publishes no photo size or background for the Lebanese identity card. Its list asks for two new photos certified by the competent mukhtar, an individual civil status extract for the ID card issued within 6 months, proof of your blood group, and compulsory fingerprinting. Lebanese living abroad apply after they return to Lebanon, through the mukhtar or at a fingerprint station.
The Lebanese identity card is issued to citizens by the Directorate General of Personal Status (DGCS), part of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, through the civil registry offices in each governorate. It is a separate document from the passport, which General Security issues. Many other procedures lean on it: a passport application, for example, accepts an identity card issued less than ten years ago, while an older card, or one whose photo no longer shows your current features, has to be backed by an individual civil status extract issued within the last three months.
There are two ways to apply. You can go to the mukhtar of the village or neighbourhood where you are registered, or to one of the electronic fingerprint stations in the civil registry offices, chosen by your place of residence rather than your place of registration. Fingerprinting is compulsory for the card, and DGCS has set up a fingerprint station for people with special needs in the human rights section of the Ministry of Interior building in Sanayeh.
DGCS gives no photo dimensions. Its document list asks for two new photos certified by the competent mukhtar when you apply through the mukhtar. At a fingerprint station you bring an identification statement from the mukhtar of your residence instead, and the official form for that statement has two photo boxes: one for a certified photo pressed with the stamp, one for a certified photo stapled to the sheet.
Lebanon ID card photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Directorate General of Personal Status, Ministry of Interior and Municipalities:[1]
| Print size | No size published by the Directorate General of Personal Status; two new photos certified by the mukhtar |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No upload: the photos are prints attached to the paper form or the mukhtar's statement |
| Background | Not published for the identity card |
| Photo age | New photos; no age in months is given |
Key requirements
- Two new photos, certified
The DGCS list opens with two new photos certified by the competent mukhtar, for applications made through the mukhtar of your village or neighbourhood.
- Mukhtar's statement at a fingerprint station
Applying at a fingerprint station needs an identification statement from the mukhtar of your residence. The form has a box for a certified photo embossed with the stamp and a box for a second certified photo stapled on, and two witnesses sign it.
- Extract issued for the ID card
Attach an individual civil status extract issued specifically for the identity card and no more than six months old, or a certified copy of it.
- Proof of blood group
The card records your blood group, so bring a medical report or laboratory test that proves it, or a certified copy.
- Fingerprints are compulsory
Every applicant is fingerprinted. If your fingerprint lines were damaged by an accident, surgery or burns, a separate fingerprint report is requested with one photo certified by the mukhtar of registration that matches the photo on your civil status extract.
- Renewal and lost cards
A renewal needs the original card. For a lost card, report the loss to the public prosecution first; the police station report then goes with the form, and at a fingerprint station you also need a copy of the lost card.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Take two new photos to the mukhtar for certification
- Get a civil status extract issued for the ID card, under six months old
- Bring a medical report or lab test showing your blood group
- Bring your original card when you renew
- Use the special-needs fingerprint station in Sanayeh if upper floors are a problem
Don't
- Do not expect a Lebanese embassy or consulate to issue the card
- Do not hand in photos the mukhtar has not certified
- Do not request a new card before checking online that none is waiting at the registry
- Do not apply for a lost-card replacement before the police report is made
Headwear and religious dress
DGCS publishes no rules on head coverings, glasses or facial expression for identity card photos. Its pages only ask for new photos that the mukhtar certifies.
The detailed photo specification on General Security's website, with its white background and black hijab rule, is written for Lebanese passports and is not stated to apply to the identity card. If you are unsure what will be accepted, ask the mukhtar who certifies your photos before you print them.
Babies and children
Children can hold an identity card. The guardian of a child who has not turned 15 may file the request either with the neighbourhood mukhtar or at one of the electronic fingerprint stations in the civil registry offices. The DGCS document list says the stations take applications from people both over and under 15, although its description of the procedure elsewhere on the page ties the station route to applicants who have reached 15.
A child's request uses the same documents as an adult's: two certified photos, the civil status extract issued for the ID card and proof of blood group.
Printed and digital photos
Everything happens on paper. The photos are prints certified by the mukhtar, either with the identity card form or on the identification statement used at a fingerprint station. There is no online application for the card itself.
Online, DGCS only offers a search to check whether a finished card is waiting at the civil registry office, using the form number on your receipt or your name, father's name, family name, register number and date of birth. It started this search because many finished cards were never collected and some new requests were refused for applicants who already had a card.
With no published size, a common passport-size print is the practical choice; a digital photo can be printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter.
Where to submit the photo
Apply through the mukhtar of the village or neighbourhood where you are registered, or at a fingerprint station in any civil registry office that serves your place of residence, whatever your place of registration. The fees are paid in fiscal stamps, plus a mukhtar stamp.
Lebanese living abroad cannot apply through an embassy. DGCS says they must request the new card when they return to Lebanon, through the mukhtar of their place of registration or at a fingerprint station. Corrections of a material error on a new card, such as a wrong date, name or register number, are made the same way, with the card to be corrected.
How to get your Lebanon ID card photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Lebanon ID card. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: two new photos, certified; mukhtar's statement at a fingerprint station; extract issued for the ID card; proof of blood group.
- Prepare a print or digital file. Everything happens on paper. The photos are prints certified by the mukhtar, either with the identity card form or on the identification statement used at a fingerprint station. There is no online application for the card itself.
- Submit the photo with your application. Apply through the mukhtar of the village or neighbourhood where you are registered, or at a fingerprint station in any civil registry office that serves your place of residence, whatever your place of registration.
Lebanon ID card photo FAQ
DGCS does not publish a size or background colour. Its document list asks for two new photos certified by the competent mukhtar. Ask the mukhtar who will certify them before printing; a standard passport-size print is the usual choice.
The Directorate General of Personal Status of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, through its civil registry offices. General Security issues passports and residence permits, not the identity card.
No. DGCS states that Lebanese residing abroad must apply for the new identity card on their return to Lebanon, either through the mukhtar of their place of registration or at a fingerprint station.
Yes, through the mukhtar. At a station you bring an identification statement from the mukhtar of your residence, and its official form has two photo boxes for certified photos, one embossed with the stamp and one stapled on.
DGCS has an online search on its website. Enter the form number from your receipt, or your name, father's name, family name, register number and date of birth, to see whether the card is waiting at the civil registry office.
If an accident, surgery or burns damaged your fingerprint lines, you request a fingerprint report. It needs a signed request certified by the mukhtar of registration, his statement that fingerprinting was impossible, the refusal receipt, a civil status extract and one certified photo matching the photo on the extract.
It is if it was issued less than ten years ago and its photo still shows your features. An older card, or one whose photo no longer matches you, needs an individual civil status extract issued within three months, and an older card also a second identity document.
Related photo specifications
Other Lebanon documents
- Passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Residence permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Work permit photo
Identity cards nearby
- Armenia ID card photo 30 × 40 mm
- Azerbaijan ID card photo 30 × 40 mm
- Bahrain ID card photo 40 × 60 mm
- Iraq ID card photo
- Israel ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Jordan ID card photo
- Oman ID card photo 40 × 60 mm
- Palestine ID card photo
- Qatar ID card photo 38 × 48 mm
- Saudi Arabia ID card photo
- All Lebanon photo specifications
- Identity cards: photo rules by country
- Photo specifications in Asia
Official sources
- Directorate General of Personal Status, Ministry of Interior and Municipalities. Identity card (Arabic) dgcs.gov.lb. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Directorate General of Personal Status, Ministry of Interior and Municipalities. Identity Card Department: application procedures (Arabic) dgcs.gov.lb. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Directorate General of Personal Status, Ministry of Interior and Municipalities. Identification statement for the identity card application (form) dgcs.gov.lb. Checked 2 November 2026.
- General Directorate of General Security. Criteria for accepting the identity document for a Lebanese passport (Arabic) general-security.gov.lb. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Directorate General of Personal Status, Ministry of Interior and Municipalities before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Lebanon ID card photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/lebanon/id-card-photo