Passport Photo Size by Country: US, UK, Canada and More

Sizes at a glance

The table lists the printed photo each authority asks for. Head height means the distance from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. Every row comes from the government page or form listed under Sources, checked in October 2026. Rules change, so open your country's page again before you print.

Country	Photo size	Head, chin to crown	Background	Taken within
United States	2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm)	1 to 1 3/8 in (25 to 35 mm)	Plain white or off-white	Less than 6 months
United Kingdom	35 × 45 mm	29 to 34 mm	Plain cream or light grey	Last month
Canada	50 × 70 mm	31 to 36 mm	Plain white or light-colored	No more than 6 months
France	3.5 × 4.5 cm (35 × 45 mm)	32 to 36 mm, hair not counted	Plain light color, such as light blue or light grey; white is not allowed	Less than 6 months
India (paper forms)	4.5 cm high × 3.5 cm wide	Not stated	Plain white	Recent

The US row comes from the State Department's application form DS-11, whose instructions point to travel.state.gov/photos for the full list of photo rules. Read that page too before you apply.

United States

Form DS-11, edition 04-2025, asks for one color photo, 2 × 2 inches in size. The head must measure 1 to 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head and face the camera directly with the full face in view. The photo must be taken less than six months ago, printed on matte or glossy photo quality paper, against a plain white or off-white background.

The form also bans eyeglasses unless you submit a signed doctor's statement explaining why you cannot remove them, and head coverings unless you submit a signed statement that they are religious attire worn continuously in public or a doctor's statement about daily medical use. Uniforms and clothing that looks like a uniform are not allowed.

United Kingdom

For a paper application you need two identical printed photos, 45 mm high by 35 mm wide, the standard UK photo booth size. The head from crown to chin must be between 29 and 34 mm. GOV.UK asks for a plain cream or light grey background, color photos on plain white photographic paper with no border, printed to a professional standard, unaltered by software, and taken in the last month. The photo must not be a cut-down version of a larger picture.

Applying online works differently. The digital photo must be at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, between 50 KB and 10 MB, and taken in the last month, against a plain light-colored background. You can take it with your own device, and GOV.UK says to include your head, shoulders and upper body and not to crop it, because it will be cropped for you.

Canada

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada asks for two identical photos, 50 mm wide by 70 mm high, with a face height of 31 to 36 mm from chin to crown. They must be taken in person by a commercial photographer or studio no more than six months before you apply, professionally printed on plain, high-quality photo paper, in color or black and white, against a plain white or light-colored background. Home-printed photos are not accepted, and no alteration of any kind is allowed, including cropping, filters and AI tools.

For online renewal the photo is a JPEG in 3:2 portrait format, at least 1,200 pixels wide and 1,800 high and at most 3,000 by 4,500, with a file size of 200 KB to 5 MB. The head from chin to crown must take up 45 to 50 percent of the photo's height. It has to be the original camera file from a commercial photographer, not a scan of a print, and you enter the studio's name, address and the date it was taken when you upload.

France, as an example for 35 × 45 mm in the EU

Many European countries use a 35 × 45 mm photo, but the details differ, so this guide shows one national authority in full. The French government's Service-Public page asks for a photo 3.5 cm wide and 4.5 cm high, with the face between 3.2 and 3.6 cm from the bottom of the chin to the top of the skull, hair not counted, which it describes as 70 to 80 percent of the photo. The background must be plain and light, for example light blue or light grey, and white is not allowed. The photo must be less than six months old, color is strongly recommended, the expression neutral with the mouth closed. It must be taken by an authorized professional or in a booth with an approved system.

Germany's interior ministry uses the same proportion on its sample board for document photos, dated July 2025: the face fills 70 to 80 percent of the photo's height for adults, and 50 to 80 percent for children, with small deviations allowed up to the tenth birthday. The board asks for a plain, shadow-free background with clear contrast to the face and hair, and a neutral expression with the mouth closed.

India

The Passport Seva instruction booklet says no photograph is needed when you apply at a Passport Seva Kendra or a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra. For applications at other collection centers, you paste one recent color photo, 4.5 cm high by 3.5 cm wide, into the box on the form. The background must be plain white, with dark clothing. Black and white photos, photos with a dark background, and photos in computer print are not accepted, and the photo must not be smaller than the box.

Head size as a share of the photo

The millimeter rules are easier to compare as a share of the photo's height. A guide on your screen or the passport photo maker works with these proportions:

Country	Head height	Photo height	Head share
United States	1 to 1 3/8 in (25 to 35 mm)	2 in (50.8 mm)	50% to 69%
United Kingdom	29 to 34 mm	45 mm	64% to 76%
Canada	31 to 36 mm	70 mm	44% to 51%
France	32 to 36 mm, hair not counted	45 mm	71% to 80%

The spread is wide. A Canadian head fills about half the photo, a French one up to four fifths. That is why a photo made for one country almost never passes in another, even after cropping to the right outline.

Pixels for a 300 dpi print

Print resolution is counted in dots per inch. At 300 dpi, the lower of the two resolutions the passport photo maker offers, you get the pixels a photo needs by dividing the millimeters by 25.4 and multiplying by 300. These are plain conversions, not official rules:

Photo size	Pixels at 300 dpi	Used by
2 × 2 in	600 × 600	United States
35 × 45 mm	413 × 531	United Kingdom, France, India (paper forms)
50 × 70 mm	591 × 827	Canada

For a sharp print, crop from a photo that has at least that many pixels in the cropped area. A small screenshot, or a face cut out of a group shot, often has fewer, and enlarging it makes the print soft.

Digital file rules side by side

Online application	Pixels	File size	Who takes it
UK passport online	At least 600 wide × 750 tall	50 KB to 10 MB	You can use your own device
Canada online renewal	1,200 × 1,800 up to 3,000 × 4,500, JPEG, 3:2 portrait	200 KB to 5 MB	Commercial photographer only

Making the photo with free tools

Where the rules let you prepare the photo yourself, three tools on this site cover the steps. Always check the country's page first: Canada bans any alteration, France requires a professional or an approved booth, and the UK tells you not to crop a digital photo.

The passport photo maker is built for the US 2 × 2 inch photo. A guide shows where the top of the head and the chin go so the head lands between 1 and 1 3/8 inches, and it lays copies on a 4 × 6 in, 5 × 7 in or Letter sheet with cut marks.
The image cropper crops to any ratio or exact pixel size, for example 413 × 531 pixels for a 35 × 45 mm print at 300 dpi. Line up the chin and crown with the head share in the table above.
The image resizer changes the pixel dimensions, for example to meet the UK minimum of 600 × 750. Scaling a small photo up adds pixels but no detail, so start from a large original.
If a form sets a file size limit, compress image to target size finds the best JPEG quality that fits under it, such as the 10 MB UK maximum. Check the minimum as well: a UK photo under 50 KB is rejected too.

All four run in your browser, so your photo is not uploaded anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

Is a 2x2 inch photo the same as 35x45 mm?

No. 2 × 2 inches is about 51 × 51 mm, a square. 35 × 45 mm is a portrait rectangle, about 1.38 × 1.77 inches. Trimming a US photo down will not give you a valid UK or French photo, because the head size rules differ too, and the UK says the photo must not be cut down from a larger picture.

Can I take a passport photo at home?

It depends on the country. The rules in the US form DS-11 cover size, head size, background, eyewear, clothing and paper; for anything more, the form points to travel.state.gov/photos. The UK lets you take a digital photo with your own device for an online application. Canada requires a commercial photographer, France requires an authorized professional or an approved booth, and India does not accept a photo in computer print on its paper forms.

Can I edit my passport photo?

Keep edits to what the rules allow. Canada bans alterations of any kind, including cropping, color changes and background changes. The UK says photos must be unaltered by computer software and asks you not to crop a digital photo because it will be cropped for you. If you crop a US print photo to size, do not retouch the face or replace the background.

Why does my UK online application reject the photo?

Check the basics GOV.UK lists for digital photos: at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, a file between 50 KB and 10 MB, taken in the last month, and a plain light-colored background with your head, shoulders and upper body in view. A photo with sunglasses, tinted glasses, glare on lenses, or hair over your eyes also fails.

Do I need a photo when I apply at an Indian Passport Seva Kendra?

No. The Passport Seva instruction booklet says a photograph is not required for applications submitted at a Passport Seva Kendra or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra. The 4.5 × 3.5 cm photo rules apply to applications handed in at other collection centers, such as a District Passport Cell or Speed Post Centre.

Sources

Written by Tobias. Updated October 21, 2026.