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Germany Passport Photo Size & Requirements

A German passport photo is 35 × 45 mm. This is a requirements reference — what to check a studio's work against, and how to get a photo that is accepted.

Source: official Germany guidance, checked 2026-08-26.

No Germany rule is recorded here for whether edited photos are accepted, head height and eye line, plus 6 more, so this tool cannot check them. Check the official guidance.

These are automated checks, not an approval. The issuing authority decides whether your photo is accepted.

How to get a photo Germany accepts

No crop, resize or background fix changes the rule above, so this is the route that works.

  1. Have the photo taken at the counter, or sent from a studio

    Since 1 May 2025 the photo must either be captured at the Bürgeramt itself or transmitted to it electronically by a photo studio over a secure channel. A print you carry in is no longer accepted.

  2. Check whether your mission is exempt

    German missions abroad are generally exempt from the 2025 rule. If you are applying from outside Germany, ask your consulate what it accepts before booking a studio.

  3. Take the requirements below with you

    A studio that does passport work every day can still hand you the wrong country's frame. The size, background and expression rules on this page are what you check the result against before you leave.

German passport photo requirements

Photo size
35 × 45 mm (1.38 × 1.77 in)
Head height
Not published by this authority
Eye line
Not published by this authority
Resolution
Not published by this authorityThis tool uses 300 dpi (413 × 531 pixels) as an assumption.
Background
plain, light-coloured background contrasting with the face
Expression
Not published by this authority
Glasses
Not published by this authority
Ears
Not published by this authority
Head coverings
Not published by this authority
Photo you took yourself
Not accepted — see above
Edited photos
Not published by this authority

Taken from the official Germany guidance, last checked . Where a row says the authority publishes nothing, that is what it means — not that anything goes.

Common reasons German passport photos get rejected

  1. Taking the photo yourself

    Germany does not accept a photo you supply. This is the single most likely reason an otherwise good photo is refused here, and no amount of cropping fixes it.

  2. A background that is not plain

    Germany asks for plain, light-coloured background contrasting with the face. Patterned wallpaper, door frames and furniture edges are common causes.

  3. Shadows on the face or behind the head

    Standing close to a wall throws a shadow onto it, and overhead lighting casts shadows into the eye sockets. Move away from the wall and face a window.

  4. A blurry or low-resolution photo

    Cropping tightly into a small photo is the usual cause. Start from a full-resolution photo taken a couple of metres away rather than enlarging a small one.

  5. Something else in the frame

    Another person, a hand steadying a child, a chair back, a toy, headphones, or a face covering. Authorities list these individually because they see them constantly — the photo must show you alone, with your whole face visible.

  6. A photo that is too old

    Most authorities require a photo taken within the last six months, and one that still looks like you.

German passport photo questions

What size is a German passport photo?
35 × 45 mm (1.38 × 1.77 inches).
What background does a German passport photo need?
plain, light-coloured background contrasting with the face.
Can I take my own German passport photo?
No. Germany does not accept a photo supplied by the applicant. Check the official guidance for how photos must be taken.
What does Germany not specify?
No published rule was found for whether edited photos are accepted, head height, eye line, print resolution, an exact background colour, glasses, facial expression, whether ears must be visible and head coverings. That does not mean anything is acceptable — it means the authority has not stated a figure, so check its own guidance and err on the cautious side.
Where do these German requirements come from?
They were read from the official guidance at https://www.personalausweisportal.de/SharedDocs/faqs/Webs/PA/DE/Haeufige-Fragen/2_biometrie_faq/biometrie-liste.html, last checked on 2026-08-26. Requirements change, so confirm against that page before you apply.

This is a summary of published guidance, not advice. Germany’s issuing authority decides whether your photo is accepted. This site is not affiliated with any government.