Lebanon passport photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by General Directorate of General Security for the Lebanon passport, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Lebanon passport photo?
A Lebanese passport photo is 3.5 x 4.5 cm (35 x 45 mm), in colour, on a plain white background and no more than six months old, with the face filling 70% to 80% of the picture. In Lebanon the print is certified by your mukhtar; abroad, by the Lebanese mission. At a General Security centre you are also photographed, and that capture is the picture used in the biometric passport.
Lebanese passports are issued by the General Directorate of General Security (GS). Every new passport is now biometric: GS announced that the old non-biometric 2003-model passports, whose numbers begin with RL, are cancelled when their holders enter Lebanon from 25 June 2026, and that from 1 October 2026 they can no longer be used inside the country or to leave it. Adults receive a ten-year passport and minors a five-year one.
In Lebanon you fill in the A4 application at the mukhtar and then go in person to the GS regional centre for your place of residence. The file still includes a printed photo: a recent colour photo of the full face on a white background, meeting the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), measuring 3.5 x 4.5 cm, not reproduced from an earlier photo, and stamped and signed by the mukhtar of your place of registration after he writes your name, register number and place on it. GS tells its regional centres to check each print against its sample images, and it states that the photo taken of you at the department or regional centre becomes the photo in your biometric passport.
Outside Lebanon, Lebanese embassies and consulates take passport applications and send them to GS. Their lists ask for a passport-size photo on a white background certified by the mission. First-time biometric applications abroad began at the embassy in Kuwait and are being extended to other missions; in the United States, GS equipped the embassy in Washington and the consulate general in Detroit to take biometric applications from 21 September 2026.
Lebanon passport photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by General Directorate of General Security:[1]
| Print size | 3.5 x 4.5 cm (35 x 45 mm) |
|---|---|
| Digital size | No upload: a printed photo goes in the paper file, and GS centres in Lebanon capture a new photo |
| Head height | Face 70% to 80% of the photo, from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin |
| Background | White, plain and without any pattern |
| Colour | Colour |
| Photo age | Not older than six months |
| Print quality | High-quality print without glare or sheen, sharp and not dotted; not reproduced from an earlier photo |
| 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:
وأن يكون الوجه بنسبة 70% إلى 80% من الصورة
من قمة شعر الرأس إلى أسفل الذقن
Key requirements
- Plain white, no shadows
The background must be white and unpatterned. GS also rejects shadows, both on the face and on the background behind it.
- Face fills 70% to 80%
The picture shows the whole face from the top of the hair down to the bottom of the chin. The head sits in the centre of the frame, upright at a right angle to the shoulders, and the face takes up 70% to 80% of the photo.
- Eyes open and visible
Both eyes must be open, clearly visible and not covered by hair, with no shine, light reflection or red eye. Coloured contact lenses are not accepted.
- Natural expression
Keep a natural facial expression so that your features are clear. GS lists this together with the ban on shadows.
- Certified by the mukhtar or the mission
In Lebanon the mukhtar of your place of registration stamps and signs the print after writing your name, register number and place on it. Abroad, the Lebanese mission certifies the photo.
- Photographed at every replacement
GS states that photographing the applicant is compulsory each time a passport replacement is requested, and the centre's own capture is the one printed in a biometric passport.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Use a plain white background with no pattern
- Show your whole face from the top of your hair to your chin
- Keep your head centred and upright above your shoulders
- Have the print stamped and signed by your mukhtar, or by the mission abroad
- Use a photo taken within the last six months
- Wear a black hijab if you cover your hair for religious reasons
Don't
- Do not wear coloured contact lenses
- Do not let your hair fall over your eyes
- Do not hand in a glossy, grainy or dotted print
- Do not reprint or copy an older photo
- Do not wear a hat or cap; only the hijab and clergy headwear are exempt
- Do not leave shadows on your face or behind you
Sample photos
How a Lebanon 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
Prescription glasses are allowed with conditions. GS's photo specification says that if you wear medical glasses they must not block a clear view of the eyes, there must be no reflection of light on the lenses, and the frame must not be so prominent that it hides part of the face.
The same specification wants both eyes open and plainly visible with no shine, reflection or redness, and it rules out coloured contact lenses. If your lenses catch the light, take the glasses off rather than risk a glare.
Headwear and religious dress
Head coverings of any kind are refused, with two exceptions. Women who wear the hijab may keep it on, provided the features of the face are clearly visible and the hijab is black. Men of religion may wear their religious headwear if they attach a statement from the competent religious authority confirming that they are clergy.
Whatever you wear, the photo must still show the full face down to the bottom of the chin, and nothing may cover the eyes.
Babies and children
A minor receives a five-year passport. The file needs an individual civil status extract issued within the last three months, with a copy, plus the same documents as an adult, including the certified colour photo. Under 18, both parents must consent and sign the application in front of the mukhtar of registration, who certifies each signature separately, or in front of the GS officer at the regional centre that receives the file. After a death, divorce or abandonment, the legal guardian, the custody holder or an agent with a special power of attorney signs instead; a travel permission is valid for three months.
Children under seven have to appear before the mukhtar, but they are not required to attend the GS centre. Abroad, if there is no identity document with a photo for a child under three, the head of mission issues a certificate confirming that the photo submitted is genuine.
Printed and digital photos
There is no online passport application and no photo upload. In Lebanon the certified print goes in with the A4 application, and the regional centre then takes your fingerprints and a new face photo. People who are disabled or permanently ill at home or in hospital can be exempted from attending by decision of the Director General; their passport is then issued without the fingerprint and face capture.
Abroad, the mission asks for prints on a white background that it certifies itself: GS's table for missions lists one photo, and its summary of passport transactions at missions lists two. The embassy in Washington asks for two 35 x 45 mm pictures on white, says it can adjust their dimensions, and since 1 October 2026 photographs citizens who renew a biometric passport there.
A digital photo can be cropped to 3.5 x 4.5 cm and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter.
Where to submit the photo
In Lebanon, fill in the application with the mukhtar; for a replacement it must be the mukhtar of your place of registration. Then attend in person at the GS regional centre for your place of residence or at the Public Relations department at GS headquarters in Adliyeh, Beirut, which also issues passports the same day for an extra service fee. A first biometric passport is applied for at a regional centre only, with a second official identity document, and the head of the centre may order an investigation report to confirm the photo and your identity.
Abroad, apply through the Lebanese embassy or consulate that covers your place of residence. The mission forwards the file to GS in Lebanon; GS publishes processing times for applications sent through its DHL service, and the embassy in Washington also offers the slower diplomatic pouch.
How to get your Lebanon passport photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Lebanon passport: 35 × 45 mm print, white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: plain white, no shadows; face fills 70% to 80%; eyes open and visible; natural expression.
- Prepare a print or digital file. There is no online passport application and no photo upload. In Lebanon the certified print goes in with the A4 application, and the regional centre then takes your fingerprints and a new face photo.
- Submit the photo with your application. In Lebanon, fill in the application with the mukhtar; for a replacement it must be the mukhtar of your place of registration.
Lebanon passport photo FAQ
General Security sets 3.5 x 4.5 cm (35 x 45 mm) for the colour photo in a passport file, on a plain white background, with the face filling 70% to 80% of the picture from the top of the hair to the chin. Missions can word this differently, so check with the one handling your file if you apply abroad.
Yes. GS refuses head coverings in general but makes an exception for women who wear the hijab, as long as the facial features are clearly visible and the hijab is black. Clergy are the other exception, with a statement from their religious authority.
Medical glasses are allowed if they do not block a clear view of your eyes, show no light reflection on the lenses and have a frame that does not hide part of your face. Coloured contact lenses are not accepted.
In Lebanon, the mukhtar of your place of registration certifies the photo with his stamp and signature after writing your name, register number and place on it. If you apply through a Lebanese embassy or consulate, the mission certifies the photo instead.
Yes, at its departments and regional centres in Lebanon. GS says the photo taken there becomes your biometric passport photo, and you are photographed every time you replace a passport. You still bring a certified print for the file, and some applicants, such as children under seven, do not attend the centre.
Increasingly, yes. GS allowed first-time biometric applications at missions, starting with the embassy in Kuwait and extending to others in stages. In the US, the embassy in Washington and the consulate general in Detroit have taken biometric applications since 21 September 2026. Ask your mission whether it offers the service yet.
Not for long. GS cancels the non-biometric 2003-model passports, numbered from RL, when their holders enter Lebanon from 25 June 2026, and from 1 October 2026 they cannot be used inside Lebanon or to leave it. GS asks holders to replace them with a biometric passport.
Related photo specifications
Other Lebanon documents
- Visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- ID card photo
- Residence permit photo 35 × 45 mm
- Work permit photo
Passports nearby
- Azerbaijan passport photo 30 × 40 mm
- Bahrain e-passport photo 32.5 × 43 mm
- Bahrain passport photo 40 × 60 mm
- Georgia passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Iraq passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Israel passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Jordan passport photo 2 × 2 in
- Oman passport photo 40 × 60 mm
- Palestine passport photo 30 × 40 mm
- Qatar passport photo 35 × 48 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 Lebanon photo specifications
- Passports: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Asia
Official sources
- General Directorate of General Security. Obtaining a new biometric passport (Arabic) general-security.gov.lb. Checked 2 November 2026.
- General Directorate of General Security. Photo specifications (Arabic) general-security.gov.lb. Checked 2 November 2026.
- General Directorate of General Security. Replacing a biometric passport (Arabic) general-security.gov.lb. Checked 2 November 2026.
- General Directorate of General Security. Attendance or exemption when applying (Arabic) general-security.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.
- General Directorate of General Security. Biometric passport applications at Lebanese missions abroad general-security.gov.lb. Checked 2 November 2026.
- General Directorate of General Security. Lebanese Passport Transactions at Lebanese Diplomatic Missions general-security.gov.lb. Checked 2 November 2026.
- General Directorate of General Security. Biometric passports for Lebanese residing in the United States (Arabic) general-security.gov.lb. Checked 2 November 2026.
- General Directorate of General Security. End of use of 2003-model Lebanese passports (Arabic) general-security.gov.lb. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Embassy of Lebanon, Washington. Passports lebanonembassyus.org. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with General Directorate of General Security before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Lebanon passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/lebanon/passport-photo