UK Passport Photo Size: Digital (600x750) and Printed (35x45mm)

By NexGama Studio · Updated October 27, 2026 · 2 min read

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The UK Passport Office is strict about photos, and a rejected photo delays your passport. The rules are different for online and paper applications, and one of them surprises many people: your photo must not be edited. This guide sets out both sets of rules and the few things you may need to fix before uploading.

Digital photo (online application)

Requirement	Rule
Size	At least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall
File size	At least 50 KB and no more than 10 MB
Quality	Sharp, in focus, in colour, not edited with software
Background	Plain and light-coloured, contrasting with you, no other people or objects
Age	Taken within the last month

Almost every modern phone photo is far larger than 600 × 750 pixels, so you normally don’t need to resize anything. The online service lets you position and crop the photo during the application.

Printed photos (paper application)

Two identical photos, 45 mm high × 35 mm wide — the standard UK photo booth size.
Head (chin to crown) between 29 mm and 34 mm.
Plain cream or light grey background, printed on plain white photo paper with no border.
They must not be cut down from a larger picture or altered by software — use a photo booth or a shop that prints passport photos.

Rules for both

Face the camera with a plain expression, mouth closed, eyes open and visible, no hair over your eyes.
No shadows on your face or behind you, and no red eye.
Glasses only if you must wear them — no sunglasses or tinted lenses, and no glare or frames covering your eyes.
No head covering unless it is for religious or medical reasons.
Children must be alone in the photo. Children under 6 don’t need a neutral expression, and babies under one don’t need their eyes open.

Fixing common upload problems

Because the photo must not be edited, only use tools that change the file, not the picture:

iPhone photo won’t upload (.heic). Convert it with HEIC to JPG at a quality of 90% or more. This only changes the file format.
File bigger than 10 MB. Some phones in high-resolution mode produce huge files. Use the Image Compressor with a target of a few MB and a high quality setting — do not shrink it below 50 KB.
Photo too small. If the image is under 600 × 750 pixels, retake it with your phone’s normal camera rather than enlarging it. You can check the exact pixel size by opening it in the Image Resizer.

Do not use filters, beauty modes, background removers or retouching. The Passport Office checks for edited images and will ask for a new photo.

Taking the photo at home

Stand in front of a plain light wall, about half a metre away from it, so there is no shadow behind you.
Face a window for soft, even light on your face.
Ask someone to take the photo at eye level from about 1.5 metres away. Include your head and upper shoulders.
Upload the original photo and use the crop step in the online application.

Requirements can change, so check GOV.UK: Photos for passports before you apply.

Tools used in this guide

HEIC to JPGTurn iPhone HEIC photos into JPGs that open anywhere. Image CompressorShrink JPG, PNG or WebP files, optionally to a target size in KB. Image ResizerSet exact width and height in pixels, with aspect lock.