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United Kingdom passport photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by HM Passport Office (GOV.UK) for the United Kingdom passport, with the official wording and sources.

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

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Quick answer

What size is the United Kingdom passport photo?

A printed UK passport photo is 35 x 45 mm (45 mm high), and your head must measure 29 to 34 mm from chin to crown against a plain cream or light grey background. Paper forms need 2 identical prints. Online applications take a digital photo instead: at least 600 x 750 pixels and 50 KB to 10 MB, on a plain light-coloured background. Every passport photo must be in colour and less than a month old.

British passports are issued by HM Passport Office (HMPO), part of the Home Office. How you supply your photo depends on how you apply. Online applications need a digital photo, which you either buy from a photo booth or shop together with a photo code, or take on your own device during the application with someone else holding the camera. Paper applications, sent by post or through the Post Office Check and Send service, need 2 identical printed photos.

Each new passport needs a new photo, even when your appearance has not changed, and the picture must be no more than a month old. HMPO says photos from a booth or shop are more likely to be approved than one taken on your own device, and a photo that fails the rules delays the whole application.

Behind the customer rules sits a longer caseworker manual, the HMPO photo standards, which tells examiners what to accept so that the image works with facial recognition at UK and foreign borders. It explains several points the short rules leave open, such as which background shades, selfies, filters and edits are acceptable.

United Kingdom passport photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by HM Passport Office (GOV.UK):[1]

Print size35 x 45 mm (1.38 x 1.77 in), printed photos
Digital sizeOnline: at least 600 x 750 pixels
Head height29 to 34 mm from chin to crown (printed photos)
BackgroundPrinted: plain cream or light grey. Digital: plain and light-coloured, in clear contrast with you
ColourColour only; black and white photos are refused
Photo ageTaken in the last month
File sizeOnline: 50 KB to 10 MB
Print qualityProfessional standard on plain white photo paper with no border; examiners refuse glossy or textured paper
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm29–34 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale, with the 29–34 mm head height from chin to crown. Background: printed: plain cream or light grey. Digital….

In the official words

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

Your photo must be: ... unaltered by computer software

Get a passport photo: Digital photos[1]

Do not crop your photo - it will be done for you.

Get a passport photo: Digital photos[1]

not be a cut down version of a larger picture

Get a passport photo: Printed photos[2]

different shades of white (cream, ivory or vanilla) and light grey

Get a passport photo: Printed photos[2]

Key requirements

  • Exact print size and head height

    Each print measures 45 mm high and 35 mm wide, the size UK photo booths produce. Your head, from the bottom of the chin to the crown (the top of the head, not the top of the hair), must measure 29 to 34 mm. A print that has been trimmed down from a bigger picture is not accepted.

  • Less than a month old

    The photo has to be taken within the month before you apply, and you need a fresh one for every passport. Examiners reject photos they believe are older, for example when a date stamp gives it away.

  • Plain, light background

    Prints should have a plain cream or light grey background; digital photos a plain light colour. The examiner manual accepts any plain light shade, including whites such as cream, ivory or vanilla, and even a textured wall if it is plain and shows no marks. Patterned wallpaper is refused.

  • Plain expression, mouth closed

    Look straight at the camera with your eyes open. Examiners reject a wide smile, a pout or a frown because they change the shape of the face. A relaxed mouth with lips slightly apart or teeth just visible can still pass if your features are not distorted.

  • No retouching of your face

    The customer rules say the photo must be unaltered by software. The examiner manual explains the limits: removing shadows or marks from the background can be accepted, but changing your hairline, removing blemishes, resizing features or adding textures, effects or age filters is refused, and so are mirror images.

  • Face fully visible

    No hair across your eyes, nothing over your face and no hat unless worn for religious or medical reasons. Earphones and headphones must come off; visible hearing aids are fine. Military or school uniform and bare shoulders are acceptable.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Get a photo code from a booth or shop if you apply online.
  • Have someone else take the picture if you use your own phone.
  • Keep your head, shoulders and upper body in a self-taken digital photo.
  • Light your face evenly so no shadows fall on it or behind you.
  • Take out piercings that might reflect the light, if you can.
  • Post the 2 prints loose, separate from each other and the form.

Don't

  • Do not trim a larger photo down to 35 x 45 mm.
  • Do not crop a photo you took yourself; the online service does it.
  • Do not wear sunglasses or tinted lenses.
  • Do not smooth skin, remove blemishes or reshape your features.
  • Do not submit a flipped (mirror image) selfie.
  • Do not write on the prints unless one must be countersigned.
  • Do not leave other people, objects or red eye in the picture.

Sample photos

How a United Kingdom passport 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.

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

Leave your glasses off unless you need to wear them. Sunglasses and tinted lenses are never allowed, and HMPO's examiner manual says this applies to blind and visually impaired applicants too: tinted glasses must be removed.

If you keep clear glasses on, both eyes must be fully visible. Frames may sit over the eyelids or eye socket but must not hide the white or pupil of either eye. Glare or reflection that covers an eye means the glasses have to come off, and strong lenses that visibly distort the side of the face can lead to a rejection if the photo has failed the online check.

Headwear and religious dress

Hats and head coverings are allowed only when worn for religious or medical reasons, such as a headscarf worn for faith or a bandage after surgery. Coverings worn for cultural reasons, for example a fez, keffiyeh, headdress or cowboy hat, are not accepted.

An allowed covering still must not hide any part of your face, throw shadows that obscure it, or pull so tight that it changes the shape of your face. A white or very light covering can blend into a light background, which examiners also reject. Ordinary hair bands and clips are fine as long as they do not change the outline of your head.

Babies and children

Children and babies need their own photo with nobody else in it. Babies must not hold toys or have a dummy, and no adult hand or arm may show if you are supporting the child.

Under-6s are not required to look straight at the camera or keep a plain expression, and babies under one may have their eyes closed. For a digital photo of a baby under one, lay the child on a plain light-coloured sheet and take the picture from above. From the age of 6, children have to meet the same standard as adults.

Online applications use a digital photo only. It must be at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, between 50 KB and 10 MB, sharp, in colour and unedited. If you take it yourself, frame your head, shoulders and upper body and leave the cropping to the service. An automatic check shows any problems and tips to fix them; if you cannot meet a rule for a religious, medical or disability reason, you can still submit and explain why.

Paper forms need 2 identical prints from the same image. HMPO wants them printed to a professional standard on plain white photo paper, without a border, creases or tears, and unmarked on both sides except for a countersignature. Home prints are accepted only if they are as good as booth or studio prints, and examiners turn down glossy or textured paper because it causes glare when scanned.

Where to submit the photo

Online, the photo becomes part of the application: you enter the photo code from the booth or shop, or take the picture on your device. If someone has to confirm your identity, they do it online and are shown your photo; nobody signs a print.

With a paper form, a countersignatory signs one of the 2 prints when you apply for a first adult or child passport, or renew one in which you can no longer be recognised. On the back they write that they certify it is a true likeness of you, using your title and full name, then sign and date it. The other print stays blank. Both go in the envelope unattached to the form. Disabled applicants who cannot meet the rules explain why in the online additional information box or in section 8 of the paper form, with a supporting letter.

How to get your United Kingdom passport photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the United Kingdom passport: 35 × 45 mm print, 600 × 750 px digital file, printed: plain cream or light grey. Digital… background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: exact print size and head height; less than a month old; plain, light background; plain expression, mouth closed.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. Online applications use a digital photo only. It must be at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, between 50 KB and 10 MB, sharp, in colour and unedited.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Online, the photo becomes part of the application: you enter the photo code from the booth or shop, or take the picture on your device. If someone has to confirm your identity, they do it online and are shown your photo; nobody signs a print.

Make this photo online

United Kingdom passport photo FAQ

A printed UK passport photo is 35 mm wide and 45 mm high, the standard size of UK photo booths. Your head, from chin to crown, must measure between 29 and 34 mm. For an online application there is no print size: the digital file must be at least 600 x 750 pixels and between 50 KB and 10 MB.

Only if you have to. Sunglasses and tinted lenses are not allowed. With clear glasses, both eyes must be fully visible, with no glare or reflection over them and no frame across the eye itself. If your lenses reflect the flash, take the glasses off for the photo.

No. HMPO asks for a plain expression with your mouth closed. Examiners reject a wide smile, a pout or a frown, because these change the shape of your face. A relaxed expression with lips slightly parted may be accepted if your features are not distorted.

Yes, for an online application. HMPO's examiner manual accepts photos you take yourself, including selfies, if they meet the standards, but the customer guidance asks you to have someone help and notes that booth or shop photos are more likely to be approved. Include your head, shoulders and upper body, do not crop it, and make sure the image is not mirrored.

The printed photo rules ask for plain cream or light grey, and digital photos need a plain light colour. HMPO's caseworker guidance tells examiners to accept any plain light shade, including whites such as cream, ivory or vanilla. Make sure there is clear contrast between you and the background, especially with light hair or a light head covering.

It must have been taken in the last month, and you need a new photo for every new passport even if you look the same. If HMPO itself holds up your application, examiners can use discretion to accept the photos you originally sent.

Only paper applications for a first adult or child passport, or a renewal where you cannot be recognised from your old passport, need a countersignatory to sign one print. Online applications use an online identity confirmation instead, so no photo is signed. You do not sign or date the photos yourself.

Not your face. Examiners refuse photos where blemishes have been removed, the hairline changed or features enlarged or shrunk, and filters that add effects or change your apparent age. Brightness and contrast changes are allowed, and so is cleaning shadows or marks out of the background, provided the photo remains a true likeness.

Related photo specifications

Other United Kingdom documents

Passports nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

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Official sources

  1. HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Get a passport photo: Digital photos gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
  2. HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Get a passport photo: Printed photos gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
  3. HM Passport Office. Photo standards: caseworker guidance (version 51.0) gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
  4. HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Countersigning passport applications and photos gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
  5. HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Passport services for disabled people gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
  6. HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Renew or replace your adult passport gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
  7. HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Apply online for a UK passport gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.
  8. HM Passport Office (GOV.UK). Passport fees gov.uk. Checked 3 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with HM Passport Office (GOV.UK) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"United Kingdom passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/united-kingdom/passport-photo

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