UK passport photo size — 35×45 mm

UK passport photo requirements at a glance

Photo size

35 × 45 mm

In inches

1.4 × 1.8 in

Pixels at 300 DPI

413 × 531 px

Pixels at 600 DPI

827×1063 px

Shape

Portrait, about 1.3:1

Head height

29 – 34 mm (crown to chin)

Background

Cream or light grey

File size limit

10 MB

Copies per 4×6 in print

8

These figures were checked against an official or widely-cited source. Portals occasionally change their rules, so confirm on the page where you submit.

What UK passport asks for specifically

UK passports are issued by His Majesty’s Passport Office, and the photo rules are published as two separate sets — one for the digital photo you upload when applying online, one for the printed pair you send with a paper form. They are not interchangeable, and the printed set is the stricter of the two.

The one people get wrong

The background is the thing people get wrong. HMPO asks for “plain cream or light grey” — not white. A white wall is the default assumption everywhere else and it is the wrong answer here, because the standard is contrast against your face and hair rather than brightness for its own sake.

Background

Printed photos: a plain cream or light grey background, colour, on plain white photographic paper with no border. Digital photos: a plain light-coloured background, in colour, with your face in clear contrast to it and no other objects or people in frame.

Glasses

Do not wear glasses at all unless you have to. If you must, they cannot be sunglasses or tinted, the frames must not cover your eyes, and there must be no glare on the lenses.

Head coverings

No head coverings unless worn for religious or medical reasons, and no face coverings in any circumstance. No shadows across the face.

Expression

Face forward, look straight at the camera, neutral expression, mouth closed. Eyes open, visible, and not covered by hair.

Children

Children have to appear alone in the picture — no supporting hands in frame — and babies cannot hold a toy or use a dummy. Under 6, they do not have to look directly at the camera or hold a plain expression. Under 1, their eyes do not have to be open, and the practical route is to lay the baby on a plain light-coloured sheet and shoot from directly above.

How recent

Taken within the last month.

Exceptions

Printed: two identical photos, 45 mm high by 35 mm wide, with the head measuring between 29 mm and 34 mm from chin to crown, unmarked on both sides unless the application needs countersigning. Digital: at least 600 × 750 pixels, between 50 KB and 10 MB, and unaltered by computer software.

Source: HM Passport Office — Get a passport photo (photo requirements and digital photos). Checked 2026-08-29. Rules change — confirm on the authority’s own page before you submit.

Getting the head size right

Head height is the measurement most photos fail on, and it is not the same as “how much of the frame your face fills”. It runs from the top of the head — the crown, not the top of your hair if it stands up — down to the bottom of the chin. For UK passport that is 29 to 34 mm on a 45 mm tall photo, leaving the rest as space above the head and below the chin. The maker draws that band on screen while you position the photo, so you can see whether you are inside it before you export, and keeps the exported file under 10 MB.

Printing a UK passport photo at home

At 35×45 mm you get 8 copies on a single 4×6 in (10×15 cm) print, which is the cheapest size at almost every print counter and photo kiosk. Export at 300 DPI (413×531 px) for printing; some portals accept or prefer 600 DPI (827×1063 px) for digital submission. Cut along the guides with a straight edge rather than scissors — a crooked border is a surprisingly common reason for a photo to be handed back.