UK Passport Photo Size: Official HMPO Requirements

UK passports are issued by His Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO), and its rules are specific enough that a photo passing elsewhere often fails here. Printed photos must measure 45 mm high × 35 mm wide against a plain cream or light grey background, the head 29–34 mm from crown to chin. Apply online and HMPO wants a digital image of at least 600 × 750 pixels, sized 50 KB to 10 MB, or supplied through the official digital photo code route from a participating booth. Either way the photo must be taken within the last month. As of 8 December 2025 HMPO no longer accepts the white, grey, or black bars once tolerated on children's photos — get the UK passport photo size right and your application passes first time.

UK Passport Photo Requirements at a Glance

Every value below is the current official requirement set by His Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO), the UK government body that issues passports. HMPO publishes the full photo rules on its official site at gov.uk, under the "get a passport photo" guidance — the table here mirrors those published specifications, including the printed 45×35mm size, the 600×750-pixel digital minimum, the 50 KB–10 MB file window, the cream or light grey background, the 29–34 mm crown-to-chin head height, and the within-the-last-month recency rule.

Exact Dimensions: MM and Pixels

The official UK passport photo size set by HM Passport Office is 35 mm wide × 45 mm tall for a printed photo submitted with a postal application. HMPO is explicit that the photo must not be trimmed down from a larger print — it has to be produced at 35×45mm. This is the same format used across most of Europe — including Schengen visa applications — so if you have been through the Schengen visa photo process, you already know this shape.

At 300 DPI (the standard for print), that translates to 413 × 531 pixels. At higher resolutions:

For digital online applications through GOV.UK, the pixel requirements differ from print. HMPO requires a minimum of 600 × 750 pixels in JPEG format, with a file size between 50 KB and 10 MB — note there is a lower bound as well as an upper one, so an over-compressed image under 50 KB will be rejected. The 600×750 minimum is well above the 300 DPI print equivalent, so shoot at higher resolution if you plan to submit digitally. HMPO also asks that you do not crop the photo yourself — the GOV.UK system crops it for you during upload.

Resize your photo to the exact pixel dimensions using Pixotter's resize tool. Set width to 413 and height to 531 for print, or 600 × 750 for the online portal minimum.

Face Position and Head Size Requirements

HMPO sets the head size by an exact measurement rather than a percentage: in both printed and digital photos, the distance from your chin to the crown of your head must measure 29 mm to 34 mm. In a 45 mm-tall printed photo that leaves a small, deliberate margin above the crown and below the chin — get the face too large or too small within that frame and the photo is rejected.

Translated to the 300 DPI pixel equivalent:

Head position rules:

• Face the camera directly — no three-quarter angle, no chin tilted down or up
• Both eyes fully visible and at the same horizontal level
• Head centered in the frame horizontally
• No head coverings (religious head coverings worn daily are permitted)

Crown clearance: Leave a small gap between the top of your head and the top edge of the photo — approximately 2–4 mm. Too much empty space above the head pushes the face below the required zone.

Background Requirements

HMPO requires a plain cream or light grey background for printed photos — not white. This is a genuinely UK-specific rule: many countries demand a pure white background, but HM Passport Office wants a light, neutral, slightly-off-white tone that gives clear contrast with your face and hair. For digital photos the requirement is a plain light-coloured background with no texture and nothing behind you. No patterns, no objects, no shadows. The background must be consistent across the entire image — a shadow cast by the subject on the background wall is grounds for rejection.

If your photo has the wrong background, Pixotter's background removal tool strips the existing background and lets you replace it with a plain cream or light grey tone. Then resize to the correct dimensions and you are done.

Lighting matters too. Photograph against a wall or sheet that reads as plain cream or light grey under even light. Use even front lighting — a window facing you, or two lamps at 45-degree angles. Avoid flash pointed directly at a close wall, which creates a hot spot on the background.

Expression and Appearance Rules

Expression: Neutral, relaxed face. Mouth closed. No smiling, no frowning, no raised eyebrows. HMPO's automated photo checker flags unnatural expressions.

Eyes: Open, looking directly at the camera lens. Both eyes must be clearly visible. If you wear contact lenses with visible tints or patterns, remove them — lenses that alter natural eye colour are not permitted.

Glasses: HMPO's current rule is "do not wear glasses in your photo unless you have to do so." Glasses are not outright banned, but they are strongly discouraged because they so reliably trip the automated checker. If you must keep them on, the conditions are strict: no tinted or transition lenses, no sunglasses, no glare or reflection on the lenses, no shadow cast around the eyes, and the frames must not cover any part of your eyes. Sunglasses and tinted lenses are never acceptable. Because glasses cause the largest share of UK photo rejections, the safe choice for almost everyone is to remove them.

Hair and accessories: Hair should not cover the face. Headbands and decorative hair clips worn across the forehead can cause rejection if they obscure any part of the face outline. Hearing aids and other medical devices are permitted.

Digital Upload Specs for the GOV.UK Online Application

The online passport application through GOV.UK uses different specs from print:

The face position and expression rules are identical to print. One thing the digital route is stricter on: HMPO requires the image to be unaltered by software — no beauty filters, no retouching, no digital background replacement. The portal can detect manipulation and will reject an edited photo.

Digital quality enforcement has tightened recently for a concrete reason. From December 2025 HMPO began a phased rollout of the new UK Series D e-passport. The underlying biometric facial-recognition standard is unchanged — it stays aligned with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) — but the new chip and border-control software make a clean, correctly captured digital image matter more, which is part of why the 600×750-pixel minimum and the unaltered-image rule are enforced strictly.

The GOV.UK Digital Photo Code. The most reliable way to supply a digital photo is the Digital Photo Code service. When you use a UK photo booth or a participating shop — Max Spielmann, Timpson, and many pharmacies — you can ask for a digital code instead of (or alongside) prints. You receive a slip with a unique code; during the GOV.UK online application you type that code in, and HM Passport Office pulls the image straight from the booth's server. Because the booth has already produced the image to spec, this route effectively guarantees the sizing, pixel, and quality rules are met — it removes the most common source of digital-upload rejections.

File size: JPEG compression means most passport-sized photos sit comfortably inside the 50 KB–10 MB window. If yours is over 10 MB, use Pixotter's image compression tool to reduce file size without visible quality loss.

Submitting a digital photo: During the online application, GOV.UK asks whether you are uploading a digital photo, using a Digital Photo Code, or having someone else confirm your photo. The portal applies automated checks — if it rejects your photo, the rejection message specifies which rule failed, so you can fix and resubmit.

Children's Passport Photos

Children under 16 must follow the same core rules as adults, but HMPO relaxes the expression and pose rules by age. Children under 6 do not need to look directly at the camera or hold a neutral expression — a natural, relaxed expression, including a slight open mouth, is accepted. Infants under 1 are relaxed further still: they do not need to have their eyes open, and you may support the baby's head with your hand as long as your hand is not visible in the photo. The child must always be alone in the picture, with no toys and no dummy in the mouth.

Practical adjustments for children:

• Lay babies on a plain cream or light grey sheet and photograph from directly above — keep the camera parallel to the face to avoid distortion
• For toddlers, photograph at eye level; do not tilt the camera down
• Remove dummies (pacifiers) and large hair clips before taking the photo
• The same 35×45mm dimensions and 29–34mm face height requirement apply

For babies: the face tends to fill a larger proportion of the frame naturally. Check that the face height measurement still falls within the 29–34mm window — an overly close crop fails the same way an adult photo does.

2025 rule change — no more white bars. HMPO used to make an exception for children's photos that showed a white bar across the bottom of the image, as long as it did not obscure the face. That exception ended on 8 December 2025: HMPO examiners are now instructed to reject any photo containing a white, grey, or black bar and to ask for a fresh photo. The official casework guidance behind this was last updated on 4 March 2026. If you are reusing an older booth photo for a child's application, check it has no bar of any kind before you submit.

Children's passport applications also require a countersignatory (a person who has known the child for at least two years and holds a valid British or Irish passport or another acceptable form of ID). The countersignatory signs and dates the back of one of the two printed photos.

How to Prepare Your Photo Step by Step

1. Take the photo — plain cream or light grey wall, face the camera directly, neutral expression, no glasses
2. Check face height — measure chin-to-crown against the 29–34mm window (or 343–402px at 300 DPI)
3. Remove the background if it is not a plain cream or light grey — use Pixotter's background removal tool
4. Resize to the correct dimensions — 413×531px for print, 600×750px minimum for digital — use Pixotter's resize tool
5. Check file format and size — JPEG, under 10 MB for digital submissions
6. Compress if needed — use Pixotter's compression tool if the file exceeds 10 MB

All three steps can be done in sequence in Pixotter without leaving your browser. Your image never leaves your device.

UK vs Other Passport Photo Sizes

Applying for multiple travel documents? Different countries use different formats:

UK and Australian passport photos share the same 35×45mm dimensions. The face height windows are close but not identical — do not assume one compliant photo works for both without checking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the UK passport photo size in mm and pixels?

HM Passport Office sets the printed UK passport photo size at 35 mm wide × 45 mm tall. At 300 DPI that is 413 × 531 pixels. For digital online applications through GOV.UK, HMPO instead requires a minimum of 600 × 750 pixels in JPEG format. HMPO is explicit that a printed photo must be produced at 35×45mm and not trimmed from a larger print.

How do I use the GOV.UK Digital Photo Code for my UK passport application?

When you use a UK photo booth or a participating shop such as Max Spielmann or Timpson, you can ask for a Digital Photo Code rather than printed photos. You receive a slip with a unique code, and when you fill in the online application on GOV.UK you type the code in. HM Passport Office then pulls the image directly from the booth's server. Because the booth has already produced the photo to HMPO spec, the Digital Photo Code is the most reliable way to avoid a digital-upload rejection.

Are glasses allowed in a UK passport photo?

HM Passport Office does not ban glasses outright — its current guidance is "do not wear glasses unless you have to." If you keep them on, the photo must show no lens glare, no reflection, no shadow around the eyes, and frames that do not cover any part of the eyes. Tinted lenses, transition lenses, and sunglasses are never accepted. Because glasses are the most common cause of UK photo rejections, HMPO recommends removing them.

What background colour does HM Passport Office require for a UK passport photo?

HMPO requires a plain light grey or plain cream background with a clear contrast between you and the background. There must be no patterns, no objects, and no shadows — a shadow cast on the wall behind you is grounds for rejection. If your background is wrong, remove and replace it before resizing to 35×45mm.

How recent does a UK passport photo need to be?

HM Passport Office requires the photo to have been taken within the last month. This is stricter than several other countries — Canada and Australia both allow photos up to 6 months old. If your existing photo is more than a month old, HMPO expects a new one.

Can I edit or retouch my UK passport photo before uploading it to GOV.UK?

No. HM Passport Office requires the digital image to be unaltered by software — no beauty filters, no blemish or red-eye removal, and no digital background replacement. The GOV.UK portal can detect manipulation and will reject an edited photo. You may resize and compress the file to meet the 600×750px and 50 KB–10 MB requirements, but you must not retouch the image itself.

Why was my UK passport photo rejected by the GOV.UK automated checker?

The GOV.UK portal runs an automated biometric check and names the rule that failed in its rejection message. The most frequent UK rejection causes are glasses glare or frames over the eyes, shadows on the face or background, a head height outside the 29–34 mm window, a non-neutral expression, and digital files outside the 50 KB–10 MB size range. Fix the specific rule named and resubmit — there is no penalty for resubmitting.

Can a UK passport photo have a plain white background?

Pure bright white is risky. HM Passport Office specifies a cream or light grey background for printed photos and a plain light-coloured background for digital ones — the point is clear contrast between your outline and the backdrop. A photo shot against a brilliant-white wall can lose that contrast, especially with pale hair or skin, and HMPO can reject it for the background blending into the subject. A neutral cream or light grey is the safe choice for a UK application, even though several other countries demand white.

Why might a white, grey, or black bar get my UK passport photo rejected?

Until late 2025 HMPO tolerated a thin bar across the bottom of some children's photos, provided it did not cover the face. That changed on 8 December 2025: examiners now reject any photo containing a white, grey, or black bar and require a new one, with the casework guidance last updated on 4 March 2026. Booth strips and older saved images sometimes carry such a bar, so check the full edge of the image before submitting — this is one of the newest UK-specific rejection reasons.

Do children need a different UK passport photo format?

No — the 35×45mm size and 29–34mm chin-to-crown face height apply to all ages. HM Passport Office relaxes the pose rules by age instead: children under 6 do not need to look at the camera or hold a neutral expression, and infants under 1 do not need their eyes open and may have their head supported by a hand that is not visible in the shot. The child must be alone in the picture, with no toys and no dummy.