Portugal ID card photo requirements
The 240 × 320 px photo rules set by Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado for the Portugal ID card, with the official wording and sources.
Quick answer
What size is the Portugal ID card photo?
Portugal's national identity card is the Cartão de Cidadão, which reads Identity Card in English. You do not supply a photo: the IRN or the consulate captures it digitally, at 240 x 320 pixels or more, when you apply. The card is valid for 5 years under 25 and 10 years from 25. The old Bilhete de Identidade is no longer issued, and foreign residents hold residence documents from AIMA instead.
Anyone asked for a Portuguese ID card needs the Cartão de Cidadão. It is the only national identity card Portugal now issues: Portuguese consulates stopped issuing the old Bilhete de Identidade (BI) on 1 January 2019, and a BI already held stays valid until its printed expiry date. The card shows your photo, name and civil identification on the front, your tax, social security and health numbers on the back, and its chip holds your fingerprints. The Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (IRN) issues it.
You never choose the photo on it. The picture is recorded on biometric equipment when you apply, under technical rules set by Portaria 286/2017 and last republished by Portaria 169/2024/1. Since 11 June 2024 the card follows the EU model set by Regulation 2019/1157, and the IRN says the photo on the new card is larger so the holder is easier to identify. A provisional citizen card model also exists for cases provided for in the law.
Portugal ID card photo size and specifications
The requirements as published by Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado:[1]
| Print size | No print: the image is captured digitally at the counter or consulate when you apply |
|---|---|
| Digital size | Captured image: at least 240 x 320 pixels, with 120 pixels or more between the eye centres, at 500 ppi or more |
| Background | Baby photo: neutral and light-coloured; otherwise removed by the capture software |
| Colour | Colour, full frontal |
Key requirements
- One identity card for nationals
The Cartão de Cidadão replaced the Bilhete de Identidade. Consular posts stopped issuing BIs on 1 January 2019 under Law 32/2017, and existing BIs remain valid until the date printed on them.
- Photo captured, not supplied
The service that takes your request records the facial image and fingerprints on dedicated equipment. Its software corrects position, face size, contrast and brightness, isolates the face, removes the background and runs ICAO quality checks before the card is personalised.
- Bigger photo on the 2024 card
Cards issued from 11 June 2024 follow EU Regulation 2019/1157 and print a larger photo. A card from before that date stays valid to its expiry, so there is no need to swap it.
- Validity decides how often you are photographed
The card is valid for 5 years until age 25 and for 10 years after. Under 25, each renewal updates the biometric data; from 25, automatic renewal reuses the photo if it was captured at the previous renewal.
- Travel within Europe
The national card has an ICAO-compliant travel application and is accepted as a travel document in EU and Schengen countries. Beyond them you need a passport.
- Brazilian equal-rights card
Brazilian citizens with equal-rights status under the Porto Seguro Treaty can obtain a Cartão de Cidadão at an IRN counter. It is valid as long as their residence title and cannot be used for travel.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Show a valid Cartão de Cidadão when a Portuguese ID card is required.
- Keep using an unexpired BI until its printed expiry date.
- Renew in person when you want a new photo on the card.
- Carry a passport for trips outside the EU and the Schengen area.
- Follow AIMA's notice for any biometric appointment if you hold a residence card.
Don't
- Do not ask a consulate for a new Bilhete de Identidade.
- Do not replace a valid older card just to get the larger photo.
- Do not expect automatic renewal to update an old picture.
- Do not travel on a Brazilian equal-rights citizen card.
- Do not apply for a Cartão de Cidadão if you are a foreign resident outside the Porto Seguro Treaty.
Sample photos
How a Portugal ID card photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 240 × 320 px and background colour.
Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.
Babies and children
Children carry the same card. A Portuguese baby's card has to be requested within 20 days of birth and is free in the first year of life; up to age 25 it is valid for five years, so a child is photographed again at each renewal. The only time a family provides the picture is a child's first card, when a parent hands over or uploads a digital photo of the child's face instead of having it taken at the counter.
Printed and digital photos
The photo on the identity card comes from a digital capture. The capture station produces three files: a full-frontal colour image with ISO and ICAO metadata, a version optimised for printing on the card, and a JPEG2000 copy of at most 6 KB for the chip. Capture regulations still allow the equipment to scan a passport-type print where needed, but taking the picture on the spot is the normal route.
If you also need a printed photo for another Portuguese document, such as a temporary passport issued abroad or a visa, those follow their own rules.
Where to submit the photo
Portuguese citizens apply at IRN registry counters, Lojas do Cidadão, Espaços Cidadão, Lojas RIAC in the Azores or Portuguese consulates, and from age 25 can also renew online. Brazilian nationals living in Portugal apply at an IRN counter once AIMA has granted equal-rights status, or when their previous card is about to expire and they hold a valid residence title.
Other foreign residents do not receive a Cartão de Cidadão. EU nationals and their family members ask AIMA, the integration and migration agency, for permanent residence certificates and cards through its renewals portal; when biometric data are needed, AIMA books the appointment and the visit is only to record them.
How to get your Portugal ID card photo
- Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Portugal ID card: 240 × 320 px print, 240 × 320 px digital file, baby photo: neutral and light-coloured background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
- Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: one identity card for nationals; photo captured, not supplied; bigger photo on the 2024 card; validity decides how often you are photographed.
- Prepare a print or digital file. The photo on the identity card comes from a digital capture. The capture station produces three files: a full-frontal colour image with ISO and ICAO metadata, a version optimised for printing on the card, and a JPEG2000 copy of at most 6 KB for the chip.
- Submit the photo with your application. Portuguese citizens apply at IRN registry counters, Lojas do Cidadão, Espaços Cidadão, Lojas RIAC in the Azores or Portuguese consulates, and from age 25 can also renew online.
Portugal ID card photo FAQ
Yes. The Cartão de Cidadão is Portugal's national identity card and is labelled Identity Card in English. It replaced the Bilhete de Identidade, which consulates stopped issuing on 1 January 2019.
No. The IRN or the consulate captures your face and fingerprints when you apply, and the image must be at least 240 x 320 pixels and pass ICAO quality checks. Only for a child's first card does a parent provide a digital photo.
No. Portuguese consulates stopped issuing it on 1 January 2019, under Law 32/2017. A BI you already hold remains valid until the expiry date printed on it; after that you need a Cartão de Cidadão.
Within the EU and the Schengen area, yes: the IRN says the citizen card has an ICAO-compliant travel application and is accepted there as a travel document. Outside those countries you need a passport. The card issued to Brazilian citizens under the Porto Seguro Treaty is not a travel document.
From 11 June 2024 the card was redesigned to meet EU Regulation 2019/1157 on identity card security. The IRN says the larger photo identifies the holder better. Cards issued before then stay valid until they expire.
Not the Cartão de Cidadão, unless they are Brazilian citizens with equal-rights status under the Porto Seguro Treaty. Other residents hold residence documents from AIMA, which records biometric data at an appointment it schedules when needed.
Related photo specifications
Other Portugal documents
- Passport photo
- Visa photo 35 × 45 mm
- Citizen card photo 35 × 45 mm
Identity cards nearby
- Croatia ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Cyprus ID card photo
- Italy ID card photo 35 × 45 mm
- Spain ID card photo 26 × 32 mm
- All Portugal photo specifications
- Identity cards: photo rules by country
- Every document that uses a 240 × 320 px photo
- Photo specifications in Europe
Official sources
- Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado. Cartão de Cidadão (novo modelo e perguntas) irn.justica.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
- República Portuguesa / Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado. Novo Cartão de Cidadão (folheto) irn.justica.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Diário da República. Portaria n.º 169/2024/1 (republishes Portaria n.º 286/2017) files.diariodarepublica.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Portal das Comunidades Portuguesas, Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros. Bilhete de identidade portaldascomunidades.mne.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
- Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado (Justiça). Renovação automática do Cartão de Cidadão com entrega em casa justica.gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
- gov.pt. Pedidos de certificados e cartões de residência permanente no Portal de Renovações da AIMA gov.pt. Checked 2 November 2026.
Requirements can change, so always confirm with Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.
Cite this page
"Portugal ID card photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/portugal/id-card-photo