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Singapore ID card photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) for the Singapore 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 size is the Singapore ID card photo?

For a Singapore Identity Card (IC, often called the NRIC), you upload a digital colour photo of 400 x 514 pixels, up to 8 MB, as JPG, JPEG, HEIC, HEIF or PNG. It must be taken within the last 3 months against a plain white background, with your full face, hair and shoulders visible and a neutral, closed-mouth expression. ICA applies the same photo guidelines to IC and passport applications.

The Identity Card is compulsory for Singapore citizens and permanent residents and is issued by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). You register for your first card at 15, before your 16th birthday, and re-register at 30 and again at 55, each time with a new photograph. A new photo is also needed to replace a lost or damaged card, or to update the photograph, name or race shown on it.

These applications are made through ICA's IC e-Service with Singpass, and the photo is uploaded as a digital file alongside your other documents. ICA uses one set of photo guidelines for IC and passport applications, with the same dos and don'ts. You collect the finished card in person, and ICA verifies your face against the submitted photo at that point.

Singapore ID card photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA):[1]

Print size35 x 45 mm passport size; a print is needed only for registration at the counter
Digital size400 x 514 pixels, uploaded through the ICA e-Service
BackgroundPlain white
ColourDigital colour photograph
Photo ageTaken within the last 3 months
File sizeUp to 8 MB
File formatJPG, JPEG, HEIC, HEIF or PNG
Print qualityPrinted copies on a matte or semi-matte (non-reflective) finish
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale. Background: plain white.

In the official words

Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:

You can also use the image editing software on your computer to resize your digital photograph. However, do not alter or enhance the photograph in any other way.

Photo Guidelines[1]

Key requirements

  • A new photo at every registration

    Registration at 15, re-registration at 30 and 55, replacement cards and changes of particulars each need a photograph taken within the 3 months before you apply.

  • Hair and shoulders in the frame

    Frame the picture so your whole head, including the hair, and both shoulders appear. ICA's examples reject a crop that cuts into the hair or leaves out the shoulders.

  • Dark head gear and clothes

    Because the background is white, ICA asks for head gear and attire that are dark in colour. A pale headscarf merging into the white is one of its rejected examples.

  • Full frontal view

    Turn your face square to the camera and look into the lens. A head turned to one side, or eyes looking away, does not meet the guidelines.

  • Original image only

    Resizing the digital file is allowed. Changing your features, applying filters or otherwise retouching the picture with software or an app is not.

  • Checked when you collect

    ICA asks for a fresh photo because it verifies your identity against it when you collect the new card.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Have someone else take the photo
  • Use a plain white background with even lighting
  • Show your full head of hair and both shoulders
  • Upload a 400 x 514 pixel file of 8 MB or less
  • Take a new photo for each registration or replacement

Don't

  • Do not wear a white or pale head covering
  • Do not let hair or a head covering hide your eyes
  • Do not turn your head or look away from the camera
  • Do not use beauty filters or retouching apps
  • Do not upload a blurred or pixelated image

Sample photos

How a Singapore 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 and background colour.

Correct
Open-mouth smile
Head tilted
Too close: head too big
Too far: head too small
Busy background
Shadows on face or background
Glare on glasses

Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.

Glasses

Glasses can stay on if your eyes are clearly visible through clear, untinted lenses. ICA's examples reject tinted lenses and reflections on the lenses, and its written rules for passport photos, which share the same guidelines, add that the frames must not cover any part of the eyes and that sunglasses are not allowed.

Coloured contact lenses are not accepted, and the photo must not show red eye.

Headwear and religious dress

Take off hats and caps. Head coverings worn habitually for religious or racial custom are allowed, as long as your eyes stay fully visible and the covering is not white. ICA's dos and don'ts accept a dark patterned headscarf and reject a pale one that blends into the background.

Babies and children

The first IC is applied for at 15. Students at government and government-aided schools are notified about 2 weeks before the biometrics enrolment at school and must register online, with their photo, before that date. Other 15-year-olds are notified on their birthday and enrol their biometrics at the ICA Services Centre after registering online. The photo rules are the same as for adults.

A teenager who was overseas and missed registration before turning 16 must go to the ICA Services Centre in person with a parent, bringing a printed passport-sized colour photo taken within the last 3 months.

Nearly every IC application is online, so the photo is a digital file: 400 x 514 pixels, no more than 8 MB, in JPG, JPEG, HEIC, HEIF or PNG. ICA lets you resize a photo to these dimensions with image software and suggests phone apps made for ID photos.

A paper photo is asked for when you register in person at the ICA Services Centre, for example after missing registration at 15 while overseas. Bring a 35 x 45 mm colour print on matte or semi-matte paper.

Where to submit the photo

Log in to ICA's IC e-Service with Singpass and upload the photo with your application. For re-registration at 30 or 55, ICA sends a digital notification by SMS or through the Singpass app, and you then have 1 year to re-register at the subsidised fee. Re-registration is not needed if you received a replacement card within the last 10 years.

After approval, book an appointment within 3 months to collect the card at a participating SingPost outlet or the ICA Services Centre. If you live overseas during your re-registration period, re-register within 1 year of returning to Singapore.

How to get your Singapore ID card photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Singapore ID card: 35 × 45 mm print, 400 × 514 px digital file, plain white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: a new photo at every registration; hair and shoulders in the frame; dark head gear and clothes; full frontal view.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. Nearly every IC application is online, so the photo is a digital file: 400 x 514 pixels, no more than 8 MB, in JPG, JPEG, HEIC, HEIF or PNG. ICA lets you resize a photo to these dimensions with image software and suggests phone apps made for ID photos.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Log in to ICA's IC e-Service with Singpass and upload the photo with your application. For re-registration at 30 or 55, ICA sends a digital notification by SMS or through the Singpass app, and you then have 1 year to re-register at the subsidised fee.

Make this photo online

Singapore ID card photo FAQ

A recent passport-sized, digital, colour photograph taken within the last 3 months, uploaded through ICA's e-Service. It follows ICA's Photo Guidelines: 400 x 514 pixels, plain white background, neutral expression and no edits beyond resizing. Permanent residents also upload the particulars page of their passport.

ICA lists a recent digital colour photograph among the documents you provide when you register online. The biometrics enrolment at your school or at the ICA Services Centre is a separate, mandatory step, and the online registration has to be done before the school enrolment date given in your notification.

Yes. ICA requires a new photograph taken within the last 3 months for a replacement card, because it verifies your identity against that photo when you collect the new IC. Report the loss online and apply for the replacement within 14 days.

Yes, through a Change of Particulars application on ICA's e-Service, which issues a replacement IC showing the new photograph. This is also the route if you want a different photo after collecting a re-registered card, and a replacement fee applies.

Yes, if you wear it habitually in keeping with your religious or racial custom. It must not hide your eyes, and ICA asks for dark head gear rather than white so that it stands out from the white background.

ICA's e-Services accept JPG, JPEG, HEIC, HEIF and PNG files of up to 8 MB, and the photo must be 400 x 514 pixels when you upload it.

Not if your card is a replacement issued within the last 10 years. Otherwise, citizens and permanent residents must re-register before turning 31 and again before turning 56.

Related photo specifications

Other Singapore documents

Identity cards nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

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Official sources

  1. Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Photo Guidelines ica.gov.sg. Checked 1 November 2026.
  2. Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Identity Card Registration for 15-Year-Olds ica.gov.sg. Checked 1 November 2026.
  3. Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Identity Card Re-Registration for 30/55-Year-Olds ica.gov.sg. Checked 1 November 2026.
  4. Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Loss/Damage of Identity Card ica.gov.sg. Checked 1 November 2026.
  5. Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Change of Particulars on Identity Card ica.gov.sg. Checked 1 November 2026.
  6. Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Identity Card Collection ica.gov.sg. Checked 1 November 2026.
  7. Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Application for Singapore Biometric Passport Submitted Overseas, form IMM(E)11 (PDF) ica.gov.sg. Checked 1 November 2026.
  8. Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). Identity cards (registration at 15) ica.gov.sg. Checked 1 November 2026.
  9. Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA). IC re-registration at 30 and 55 ica.gov.sg. Checked 1 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

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

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