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Syria ID card photo requirements

The photo rules set by Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) for the Syria ID card, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 8 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What are the Syria ID card photo requirements?

No photo size is published for the Syrian personal ID card. Under Civil Status Law No. 13 of 2021, every Syrian must obtain the card within a year of turning 14 from a civil registry centre in Syria, and the photo and ten fingerprints are added to the electronic civil record. The Interior Minister said on 29 September 2026 that registration for a new card should open after the first quarter of 2027, with photos taken at dedicated centres.

The personal ID card (al-bitaqa al-shakhsiya, often called the hawiya) is issued by the civil affairs administration of the Ministry of Interior through its civil registry centres. Civil Status Law No. 13 of 2021 obliges every Syrian man and woman to obtain one within a year of turning 14, from any civil registry centre in the country. The card is valid for ten years. A card that is lost or damaged, or whose details have changed in the register, must be replaced within 30 days.

A new card is being prepared. On 29 September 2026 the Interior Minister told SANA that the ministry had signed a contract with a company specialising in ID card printing about 20 days earlier, and expected registration centres to be ready after the first quarter of 2027, with issue starting after a set period. Dedicated centres, separate from civil affairs offices, are being equipped to collect personal data and biometric details and to take photographs. At the Damascus International Fair in August 2026 the General Administration for Civil Affairs showed the new issuing system, which it said will apply once the new card is issued.

The official sources read for this page publish no photo size, background or print rule for the card, and do not say whether the current card is still being issued while the new one is prepared. The 40 x 60 mm format in the photo tool has no official basis that we could find.

Syria ID card photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA):[1]

Print sizeNo photo size published for the personal ID card; the new card's photo is to be taken at dedicated centres
Digital sizeNo upload: the photo is stored in the electronic civil record when the card is issued (Law No. 13 of 2021, Article 11)
BackgroundNot published for the personal ID card

Key requirements

  • Compulsory from age 14

    Article 49 of the Civil Status Law requires every Syrian citizen, male or female, who has turned 14 to obtain a personal ID card within one year.

  • Applied for in Syria

    The law says the card is obtained from a civil registry centre in the country. The Foreign Ministry's list of consular services, as captured in August 2026, covers passports, civil registration and civil status documents but not the ID card.

  • Photo and fingerprints join the civil record

    Article 11 adds the citizen's personal photo and ten fingerprints to the electronic civil record when the ID card is obtained. The card's design and its application form are set by decision of the Interior Minister (Article 50), not by the law.

  • Identity confirmed by a relative or two witnesses

    Under Article 52, an applicant is identified by the guardian or a relative up to the fourth degree, or, for a first card or a replacement after loss or damage, by two people aged 18 or over who hold valid ID cards.

  • Valid for ten years

    The card expires ten years after issue. Apply to replace it no earlier than six months and no later than 30 days before it expires; the minister may extend validity for compelling reasons.

  • New card photos taken at centres

    For the new card announced in 2026, the Interior Ministry plans to collect data, biometric details and photographs at dedicated centres, so applicants are photographed there.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Apply at a civil registry centre in Syria, not at an embassy
  • Bring your guardian, a close relative or two adult witnesses with valid ID cards to confirm who you are
  • Replace a lost or damaged card within 30 days
  • Apply to renew between six months and 30 days before the card expires
  • Carry the card and show it when the authorities ask for it
  • Follow Interior Ministry announcements for the opening of registration for the new card

Don't

  • Do not print photos for the new card before rules are announced; the ministry plans to photograph applicants itself
  • Do not expect a Syrian embassy to issue an ID card; it is not among the listed consular services
  • Do not treat 40 x 60 mm as an official size; no official source publishes one
  • Do not keep using a card you reported lost once a replacement is issued; the law makes this an offence

Babies and children

A child's guardian is responsible for obtaining the child's first ID card, a replacement or a new model of card while the holder is a child (Article 51). The obligation itself begins at 14, so younger children do not need the card.

For a child born abroad, the Foreign Ministry describes a different photo document. Once the birth has been recorded at the embassy and registered in Syria, an individual civil registry extract bearing a personal photo is issued, and that extract is used to apply for the child's passport.

No print size is published because the card photo is part of the electronic civil record: under Article 11 the personal photo and the ten fingerprints are added to the record when the card is obtained. For the new card, the Interior Minister said in September 2026 that the photographs will be taken at dedicated centres, alongside personal and biometric data.

Abroad, the document the Foreign Ministry accepts in place of the card for a passport application is an individual civil registry extract no more than six months old. It must carry a recent personal photo certified by the local mukhtar, identified by a witness from the area, and certified by the Foreign Ministry.

Where to submit the photo

Inside Syria, at the civil registry centres of the Ministry of Interior. A civil affairs centre opened at the Yalbugha complex in Damascus in September 2025, and two new civil affairs offices opened in Hama in September 2026. Since June 2026 the ministry's Civil Affairs app lets people book appointments, check documents with a built-in barcode reader and follow complaints.

Abroad, Syrian missions can issue civil status documents for use outside Syria, such as an individual or family extract, through a link with the Civil Affairs Directorate. The ID card itself is not on the ministry's list of consular services.

How to get your Syria ID card photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Syria ID card. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: compulsory from age 14; applied for in Syria; photo and fingerprints join the civil record; identity confirmed by a relative or two witnesses.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. No print size is published because the card photo is part of the electronic civil record: under Article 11 the personal photo and the ten fingerprints are added to the record when the card is obtained.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Inside Syria, at the civil registry centres of the Ministry of Interior. A civil affairs centre opened at the Yalbugha complex in Damascus in September 2025, and two new civil affairs offices opened in Hama in September 2026.

Make this photo online

Syria ID card photo FAQ

None is published. The Civil Status Law leaves the card's design and application form to a decision of the Interior Minister, and the sources read for this page give no photo size or background. For the new card, the ministry plans to take the photographs itself at dedicated centres.

The law says the card is obtained from a civil registry centre in Syria, and the Foreign Ministry's consular services list contains no ID card service. Missions can issue civil status extracts instead.

On 29 September 2026 the Interior Minister said centres should be ready to take registrations after the first quarter of 2027, with the cards issued after a set period according to the project's phases. No exact date had been announced.

At 14. Article 49 of Civil Status Law No. 13 of 2021 requires every Syrian who has turned 14 to obtain a personal ID card within one year, and the child's guardian is responsible for the first application.

Ten years from the date of issue. The holder should apply to replace it between six months and 30 days before it expires, and must replace a lost or damaged card within 30 days.

For a passport application at a mission, the Foreign Ministry accepts an individual civil registry extract under six months old with a recent personal photo certified by the local mukhtar, identified by a witness from the area and certified by the ministry.

Related photo specifications

Other Syria documents

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Official sources

  1. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Law No. 13 of 2021, the Civil Status Law (full text, Arabic) archive.sana.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Interior Ministry prepares launch of new personal ID cards (29 September 2026) sana.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Civil Affairs presents its records and services at the Damascus International Fair (Arabic, 28 August 2026) sana.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Interior Ministry launches the Civil Affairs app (Arabic, 19 June 2026) sana.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic. Consular services mofaex.gov.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic. Obtaining a civil status document through a mission mofaex.gov.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Syrian Arab Republic. Issuance of a passport for the first time (service page) mofaex.gov.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). Interior Minister opens the Immigration and Passports Center at Yalbugha (Arabic, 9 September 2025) sana.sy. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

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

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