Netherlands ID card photo requirements
The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Government of the Netherlands for the Netherlands ID card, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Netherlands ID card photo?
The Dutch identity card (identiteitskaart) uses the RvIG passport-photo standard: a printed colour photo of 35 x 45 mm, taken no more than six months before you apply, with the head 26 to 30 mm from chin to crown from age 11 and a plain light grey, light blue or white background. You hand the print in at the municipality or mission; nothing is uploaded. The card is valid for 10 years from age 18 and 5 years for minors.
The Dutch identity card is a bank-card-sized alternative to the passport. It is cheaper, but it works as a travel document only in the EU, the EEA and a list of other countries such as Switzerland, Serbia and Turkey. It is not enough for Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten or the Caribbean Netherlands, where you must use a passport. You apply in person at the municipality where you are registered, or abroad at a Dutch embassy, consulate-general, VFS Global centre or border municipality.
Since 1 October 2026 the card has had its own legal basis, the Act on the Dutch identity card (Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart), which took the card out of the Passport Act. Under that act the card holds the facial image, two fingerprints and the signature of the holder, and an issuing authority can withhold a card whose facial image no longer sufficiently resembles the holder.
The photo itself follows the RvIG acceptance criteria that also govern passports, so the measurements in the table are the passport ones. This page concentrates on what is different for the card: who must consent, how long the photo has to keep looking like you, and how the card is handed over abroad.
Netherlands ID card photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Government of the Netherlands:[1]
| Print size | 35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in), width x height, printed in colour |
|---|---|
| Digital size | None: the office scans the printed photo you bring; there is no file upload |
| Head height | 26 to 30 mm chin to crown from age 11; 19 to 30 mm for children aged 10 or younger |
| Background | Light grey, light blue or white, plain and evenly coloured, with no gradient |
| Colour | Colour; black-and-white prints are refused |
| Photo age | Taken within the last 6 months; a photo from an earlier document is discouraged |
| Print quality | Smooth, high-grade photo paper, minimum 400 dpi; no copies, no damage, no software edits |
| 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:
unaltered by computer software
Key requirements
- Same measurements as the passport
The ID card has no photo rules of its own. The government page on photo requirements covers passports, identity cards and driving licences in one go: 35 x 45 mm, head 26 to 30 mm from chin to crown from age 11, face 16 to 20 mm wide, and a light grey, light blue or white background.
- The image must keep resembling you
The Act on the Dutch identity card lets the issuing authority withhold a card when the facial image no longer sufficiently resembles the holder. An adult card lasts ten years, so the photo has to be a natural, true likeness: RvIG refuses images altered by software and asks for natural skin colour and real detail in the face.
- Parental consent until 12
For an ID card, parents or guardians with authority must consent until the child turns 12; for a passport the age is 18. From 12 a child can apply for an ID card alone, including abroad, and still needs a photo that meets the rules.
- A photo for each application
You may hold a passport and an ID card at the same time. NetherlandsWorldwide asks for a separate application form for each, in Canada a separate appointment too, and lists a compliant photo among the documents every application needs.
- Fingerprints and chip
The chip stores your photo in colour and two fingerprints; the municipality keeps the fingerprints only until the card is handed over. Cards issued from 1 August 2021 no longer hold the citizen service number (BSN) on the chip, although the act still has it printed on the card.
- Collect it in person abroad
A new passport can usually be posted to you abroad, but an ID card normally cannot: in the UK and Canada NetherlandsWorldwide says to collect it where you applied. Plan for two visits, one to apply with your photo and one to pick up the card.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Bring a printed 35 x 45 mm colour photo for the card.
- Bring a second compliant photo if you also apply for a passport.
- Arrange consent from both parents for a child under 12.
- Keep your expression neutral and natural.
- Plan to collect the card in person if you live abroad.
Don't
- Do not use the photo from your old card.
- Do not hand in a black-and-white print.
- Do not smooth or retouch your face with an app.
- Do not wear a hat or cap unless an exception applies.
- Do not rely on the card for trips to Aruba, Curacao or Sint Maarten.
Sample photos
How a Netherlands ID card 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
Wearing glasses is fine. RvIG only requires that nothing about them hides the eyes: no frame across the eye area, no tinted or mirrored lenses, no shadow from the frame and no glare that disrupts the image. When the glare cannot be removed, the glasses must come off for the photo.
If you wear glasses only some of the time, the choice is yours.
Headwear and religious dress
A cap or hat is refused on the card photo. Two groups may cover their head: people whose religion or belief does not allow an uncovered head, and people who lost their hair through medical treatment or illness. The covering must be plain, a single colour and stand out against the background, while the face, including both sides, stays fully visible.
Babies and children
A child under 18 gets a card valid for five years. Because children's faces change quickly, the government reminds parents that the photo on a child's document must stay recognisable; if it no longer looks like the child, border checks can become difficult.
For children aged 10 or under the head may measure 19 to 30 mm from chin to crown. Under 6, the rules on level eyes, head tilt, straight shoulders, neutral expression, looking into the camera and closed mouth do not apply, but closed eyes are still refused and any hand holding the child must stay out of sight. Children must come to the appointment; from 12 they can apply for an ID card without parental consent.
Printed and digital photos
The card office works from the paper photo you hand in. No municipality or mission has a portal for sending a file, and the print has to be on smooth photo paper, at least 400 dpi, undamaged and not a copy.
RvIG plans to let municipalities capture the photo digitally at the counter, or receive it securely from a professional photographer, but has said this requires new legislation first. For now you can crop a digital photo to 35 x 45 mm and have it printed on a 4 x 6 inch sheet at a photo counter; the result must still pass the paper and no-editing rules.
Where to submit the photo
Apply at the municipality where you are registered and ask whether you need an appointment. Bring the photo and every passport and ID card you hold, including expired ones. You collect the card at the town hall, and some municipalities deliver it.
Living abroad, you can apply at a designated Dutch embassy or consulate-general, at a VFS Global centre where one is used, or at a border municipality in the Netherlands. In most places the card has to be collected in person. In Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba you apply to the civil affairs department, and in Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten to the Dutch representation.
How to get your Netherlands ID card photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Netherlands ID card: 35 × 45 mm print, light grey background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: same measurements as the passport; the image must keep resembling you; parental consent until 12; a photo for each application.
- Prepare a print or digital file. The card office works from the paper photo you hand in. No municipality or mission has a portal for sending a file, and the print has to be on smooth photo paper, at least 400 dpi, undamaged and not a copy.
- Submit the photo with your application. Apply at the municipality where you are registered and ask whether you need an appointment. Bring the photo and every passport and ID card you hold, including expired ones. You collect the card at the town hall, and some municipalities deliver it.
Netherlands ID card photo FAQ
Yes. The government publishes one set of photo requirements for passports, identity cards and driving licences: a 35 x 45 mm colour print, head 26 to 30 mm from chin to crown from age 11, a light grey, light blue or white background, and no more than six months old.
The rules allow it as long as each photo meets the requirements and is no more than six months old when you apply. Each application needs its own photo. What the rules discourage is reusing the photo from a previous document.
It is a travel document in the EU and EEA countries and a list of others, including Switzerland, Serbia, Turkey, Monaco, Montenegro and San Marino. You need a passport for the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom and for destinations not on the list.
Until the child is 12, yes: the parents or guardians with authority must agree, either by coming along or by signing a consent form with a copy of their own ID. For a passport, consent is needed until 18.
Usually not. NetherlandsWorldwide says a new ID card normally cannot be sent, unlike a passport; you collect it where you applied. Ask during your appointment in case your mission can make an exception.
Yes, if you cover your head for religious or philosophical reasons. The scarf must be plain and one colour, contrast with the background and leave the whole face, including both sides, visible.
A photo that fails any RvIG acceptance criterion is not approved at the application. After issue, the Act on the Dutch identity card lets the authorities withhold a card if the facial image no longer sufficiently resembles the holder.
Related photo specifications
Other Netherlands documents
- Passport photo 35 × 45 mm
- Visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Driving licence photo 35 × 45 mm
Identity cards nearby
- Austria civil engineer ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Austria ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Belgium ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Belgium Kids-ID photo 35 × 45 mm
- France ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Germany ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Switzerland ID card 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 Netherlands photo specifications
- Identity cards: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 35 × 45 mm photo
- Photo specifications in Europe
Official sources
- Government of the Netherlands. Requirements for photos government.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Rijksoverheid. Eisen aan de pasfoto voor paspoort of ID-kaart rijksoverheid.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Rijksoverheid. Wat is het verschil tussen een paspoort en een identiteitskaart? rijksoverheid.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Rijksoverheid. Naar welke landen kan ik reizen met de Nederlandse identiteitskaart? rijksoverheid.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Rijksoverheid. Heeft mijn kind een eigen paspoort of identiteitskaart nodig? rijksoverheid.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Rijksoverheid. Wat is een elektronisch reisdocument en welke gegevens staan op de chip hierin? rijksoverheid.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Rijksoverheid. Hoe kan ik een paspoort of identiteitskaart aanvragen? rijksoverheid.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Officiele Bekendmakingen. Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart (Staatsblad 2026, 180) zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Officiele Bekendmakingen. Besluit inwerkingtreding Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart (Staatsblad 2026, 263) zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Applying for or renewing my child's Dutch passport or ID card abroad netherlandsworldwide.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Renewing your Dutch passport or ID card, or applying for one in the United Kingdom netherlandsworldwide.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Applying for a Dutch passport or identity card if you live in Canada netherlandsworldwide.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
- NetherlandsWorldwide, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Which documents do I need to apply for a Dutch passport or ID card from abroad? netherlandsworldwide.nl. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Government of the Netherlands before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Netherlands ID card photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/netherlands/id-card-photo