The rules in brief
Sources, checked September 28, 2026: Get a passport photo: Digital photos, GOV.UK; Get a passport photo: Printed photos, GOV.UK.
- HM Passport Office crops UK online passport photos itself, requiring uncropped uploads of at least 600 × 750 px and 50 KB to 10 MB.
- HM Passport Office sets the printed UK passport photo at 35 × 45 mm.
- HM Passport Office sets UK passport photo head height at 29–34 mm, from chin to crown.
- A UK passport photo needs a light gray or cream background.
An application from abroad starts on GOV.UK’s Overseas British passport applications page. Online, it takes a digital photo; on paper, two identical prints.
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Two ways to get the photo
GOV.UK’s photo page gives two ways to get a digital photo for an online application.
| Way | What GOV.UK says |
|---|---|
| A photo code from a booth or shop | Before you apply, get a digital passport photo from a photo booth or shop and choose the option to get a code. You enter the code during the application and the photo is added to it. |
| Your own device | You take the photo during your application. “You’ll need someone to help you take a photo during your application.” |
“Photos from a booth or shop are more likely to be approved than a photo taken using your own device.”
GOV.UK doesn’t say which booths or shops outside the UK give codes. The guidance HM Passport Office’s examiners work from adds that a photo you take yourself, including one taken at arm’s length, can be accepted “if they meet the other photo standards” (Photo standards, read September 30, 2026).
Why the photo stays uncropped
“If you’re using a photo taken on your own device, include your head, shoulders and upper body. Do not crop your photo - it will be done for you.”
A UK online photo is the whole picture, at least 600 × 750 px and 50 KB to 10 MB. HM Passport Office crops it itself, so send the photo as the camera took it, with your head, shoulders and upper body. Don’t pad it with a border or bars to change its shape either. HM Passport Office’s caseworker guidance has examiners reject a digital photo with a white, gray or black bar along its edge and ask for a new one.
Taking it at home
The online service’s own instructions, in the order you set them up.
- Step 1
Find a plain, light-colored wall
No texture, pattern or objects behind you. The service’s video says a light gray or cream wall works best (How to take a digital passport photo).
- Step 2
Stand about 50 cm (1.5 ft) from the wall
The service says this reduces the shadow behind you. It suggests natural light, for example facing a window, with no shadows on your face or behind you.
- Step 3
Have your helper stand about 1.5 m (5 ft) away
From there the photo fits your head, shoulders and upper body. Leave it at that, uncropped.
- Step 4
Face the camera with a plain expression
No smile, mouth closed, eyes open and hair away from your face. Take several; the service’s video calls smiling by accident a common mistake.
The rules for the photo
From GOV.UK’s digital photos page and the online service’s Rules for digital passport photos.
- Taken in the last month, and a good likeness. GOV.UK also asks for a new photo with each new passport, even if you look the same.
- Clear, in focus and in color, with no red eye.
- A plain light-colored background in clear contrast to you, with no other objects or people.
- Balanced light, with no shadows on your face or behind you.
- Facing forward, looking straight at the camera, with a plain expression and your mouth closed.
- Eyes open and visible, with no hair in front of them and nothing covering your face.
- No head covering unless it is for religious or medical reasons, and no decorative hair accessories.
- “Do not wear glasses in your photo unless you have to do so.” If you must, no sunglasses or tinted glasses, and no frames, glare, reflection or shadow over your eyes.
Editing and AI
“unedited – you can’t ‘correct’ your passport photo”
GOV.UK’s photo pages ask for a photo “unaltered by computer software”, and the online service’s rules add no effects or filters. The caseworker guidance lets examiners accept an edit that doesn’t affect the image of you, such as shadows removed from the background, and tells them to reject any photo where the face has been changed, “for example, altering the hairline, removing blemishes or making facial features larger or smaller”. A photo generated by AI is a new picture of your face, so it fails both. Can you use AI for a passport photo? has the U.S. and Korean rules.
Babies and children
- Children must be on their own in the picture. Babies can’t be holding toys or using a pacifier.
- Children under 6 don’t have to look straight at the camera or keep a plain expression.
- Children under one don’t have to have their eyes open. You can support the baby’s head with your hand if your hand doesn’t show in the photo, and GOV.UK suggests laying the baby on a plain light-colored sheet and taking the photo from above.
Printed photos for a paper application
A paper application takes 2 identical printed photos, 35 × 45 mm with the head 29–34 mm from the crown to the chin, on a plain cream or light gray background, printed on plain white photographic paper with no border, taken in the last month (Printed photos). If you use a photo booth outside the UK, GOV.UK asks you to check it can give you photos of that size.
“printed to a professional standard” and “not be a cut down version of a larger picture”
GOV.UK doesn’t say whether a photo cut from a print sheet meets those two rules, so ask HM Passport Office before you send one. Our UK order includes print sheets; for an online application you won’t need them.
What our order gives you
Our UK passport photo checks the photo your helper takes, or one you upload, against these rules before you pay. For the online application it leaves the photo uncropped, as GOV.UK asks, and saves it as a JPEG no larger than 2400 px on its long side. The check is free, and you pay once your photo passes our check. If a passport, visa or ID office rejects a photo we made, we refund 100% of the order or make a new photo free. Send us the rejection notice within 60 days of receiving it, and within 6 months of your order. See the full refund terms.