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Palestine ID card photo requirements

The photo rules set by General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers (Ministry of Interior entry) for the Palestine ID card, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 9 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What are the Palestine ID card photo requirements?

For a Palestinian identity card, the Ministry of Interior's civil affairs offices in the West Bank ask for four recent personal photos with a blue background, showing the face clearly and straight on, without a niqab, sunglasses or anything else that covers the features. No photo size is published. In the Gaza Strip, the ministry's guide asks for four photos bearing the Interior Ministry logo. The card is compulsory from age 16.

The identity card is issued by the Ministry of Interior's General Administration of Civil Affairs, set up in 1998, through 16 directorates and 15 offices across the governorates. Civil Status Law No. 1 of 1999 obliges every Palestinian who has reached 16 to obtain a card, issued on an application to the registry office where the person is recorded, and says no body other than the directorate may issue identity cards.

In the West Bank, the ministry's entries in the Council of Ministers' government services guide cover a first card, a replacement for a worn card and one for a lost card, all handled at the ministry's directorates in the governorates. Each entry asks for four recent photos on a blue background, and the first-card entry sets the face rules that the other two repeat. In the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Interior and National Security lists four photos "bearing the Interior logo" for a first card and for a replacement of a damaged one.

The card is printed in Palestine. The law lets Palestinians living abroad apply through Palestinian missions, and the delegation in Canberra describes the usual route: a power of attorney for a person in the West Bank, who applies with four certified photos.

Palestine ID card photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers (Ministry of Interior entry):[1]

Print sizeNo size published: the ministry asks for four recent personal photos with a blue background
Digital sizeNo upload: prints are handed in at a civil affairs directorate
BackgroundBlue, in the Ministry of Interior's West Bank entries; the Gaza Strip guide names no colour
Photo ageRecent photos; no time limit is given
Print qualityFour prints; in the Gaza Strip the photos must bear the Interior Ministry logo

Key requirements

  • Four blue-background photos

    The first-card entry asks for four recent personal photos with a blue background, handed in with the application form from the services office, a copy of the birth certificate and a copy of a parent's identity card.

  • Face clear and facing the camera

    The photos must show clear features, so that the details of the face are visible, and the face must look straight at the camera (translated from Arabic).

  • Nothing covering the face

    The ministry rules out a niqab for women, sunglasses, and anything else that covers the features of the face.

  • Same rules for a replacement

    A worn or lost card needs four recent blue-background photos too, and the ministry says the photo conditions of the first card apply. A lost card also needs a newspaper notice and a police report.

  • Gaza Strip: logo on the photos

    The Ministry of Interior and National Security's guide asks for four personal photos bearing the Interior Ministry logo for a first card, a damaged-card replacement and a first identification card. It does not say how the logo is applied.

  • No size or head measurement

    Neither ministry guide gives a photo size, a head size or a print standard for the identity card. Ask the directorate if you are unsure what it accepts.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Use a plain blue background
  • Face the camera directly with your features clearly visible
  • Bring four identical recent prints
  • Bring the copies the entry lists, such as your birth certificate and a parent's card for a first card
  • In the Gaza Strip, ask the directorate how to get photos with the ministry logo

Don't

  • Do not wear a niqab in the photo
  • Do not wear sunglasses
  • Do not let hair, hands or clothing cover the features of your face
  • Do not reuse an old photo; the ministry asks for recent ones

Glasses

Sunglasses are not allowed: the first-card entry lists them with anything else that covers the features of the face. The entry does not mention ordinary clear glasses, so if you wear them, the details of your face must still be clear in the photo.

Headwear and religious dress

Women may not wear a niqab in the identity card photo. The ministry's rule is about covering the face: it bans anything that hides the features and asks for the details of the face to be clear. It does not mention a headscarf that leaves the face uncovered.

Babies and children

Civil Status Law No. 1 of 1999 requires a card from the age of 16. In the West Bank, the first-card entry is for people who have completed 16, and in the Gaza Strip the guide applies it to citizens who apply three to six months before turning 16. A first card needs a copy of the birth certificate and a copy of a parent's identity card.

Before then, children are added to the annex of a parent's identity card, a separate service in both ministry guides; the London embassy certifies a power of attorney to add a child to the card for the Gaza Strip only.

The identity card process uses prints only. No ministry page describes an online application or an upload: you fill in the form at the services office, hand the photos and copies to the civil affairs clerk, and collect the card from the directorate later.

A digital photo can be cropped and printed on a 4x6 inch sheet at a photo counter for the West Bank offices, which publish no size. In the Gaza Strip, the photos must carry the Interior Ministry logo, which a home-made or photo-counter print does not have.

Where to submit the photo

West Bank: the Ministry of Interior's civil affairs directorates in all West Bank governorates, through the reception clerk. You return with the receipt to collect the card and its annexes.

Gaza Strip: the civil section of the ministry's directorates in the Gaza Strip governorates, each applicant at the directorate for his or her place of residence.

Abroad: the law lets residents abroad apply through Palestinian missions, or through the directorate where there is no mission. The London embassy says identity documents can be requested by appointing a representative in Palestine or directly through its consular section. Canberra certifies a power of attorney for a named person in the West Bank, who then applies with four certified photos of you.

How to get your Palestine ID card photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Palestine ID card: blue background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: four blue-background photos; face clear and facing the camera; nothing covering the face; same rules for a replacement.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. The identity card process uses prints only. No ministry page describes an online application or an upload: you fill in the form at the services office, hand the photos and copies to the civil affairs clerk, and collect the card from the directorate later.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. West Bank: the Ministry of Interior's civil affairs directorates in all West Bank governorates, through the reception clerk. You return with the receipt to collect the card and its annexes.

Make this photo online

Palestine ID card photo FAQ

No size is published. The Ministry of Interior asks for four recent personal photos with a blue background and clear facial features, but neither its West Bank entries nor its Gaza Strip guide gives dimensions.

Blue. The ministry's entries for a first card, a worn card and a lost card all ask for photos with a blue background. The Gaza Strip guide names no colour but asks for photos bearing the Interior Ministry logo.

The ministry bans a niqab and anything else covering the features of the face. It does not mention a headscarf that leaves the face fully visible, so the face rule is the one to meet: the details of the face must be clear and the face must look straight at the camera.

At 16. Civil Status Law No. 1 of 1999 requires every Palestinian who has reached 16 to obtain a card. Until then, children are added to the annex of a parent's card, which the ministry issues and updates as its own service.

The card is issued in Palestine, but the law lets residents abroad apply through Palestinian missions. In practice the delegation in Canberra certifies a power of attorney for a person in the West Bank, who applies for you with four photos certified by a Justice of the Peace. The London embassy also accepts requests through its consular section.

Four recent blue-background photos meeting the first-card rules, a newspaper notice and a police report, with the form from the services office. The law says to report the loss to the police within 15 days and that a new card is issued only 15 days after that period ends.

Related photo specifications

Other Palestine documents

Identity cards nearby

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Official sources

  1. General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers (Ministry of Interior entry). Government services guide: first identity card (Arabic) palestinecabinet.gov.ps. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers (Ministry of Interior entry). Government services guide: replacing a worn identity card (Arabic) palestinecabinet.gov.ps. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers (Ministry of Interior entry). Government services guide: replacing a lost identity card (Arabic) palestinecabinet.gov.ps. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Ministry of Interior, State of Palestine. General Administration of Civil Affairs (Arabic) moi.pna.ps. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Ministry of Interior and National Security. Procedures guide: first identity card (Arabic) moidev.moi.gov.ps. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Ministry of Interior and National Security. Procedures guide: replacing a damaged identity card (Arabic) moidev.moi.gov.ps. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. WAFA, Palestinian News and Info Agency. Civil Status Law No. 1 of 1999 (Arabic) info.wafa.ps. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Replace a lost or damaged ID palestine-australia.com. Checked 2 November 2026.
  9. Embassy of the State of Palestine, United Kingdom. Consular services: identity documents uk.mfae.gov.ps. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers (Ministry of Interior entry) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

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"Palestine ID card photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/palestine/id-card-photo

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