Germany Passport Photo — official biometric rules and free maker

For German passport (Reisepass), ID card (Personalausweis) and residence-permit photos. The specification comes from the Passverordnung (PassV), Annex 8. Works on your phone, nothing is uploaded.

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Official specifications (PassV Annex 8)

Print size	35 × 45 mm, portrait, no border
Face height	70–80% of the photo height — about 32–36 mm in a 45 mm photo (the official template marks 32 mm minimum / 36 mm maximum for ages 10+)
Background	Single colour, no shadows, contrasting with the face and hair; the official template prefers light grey
Lighting	Even, no reflections, no red-eye
Head position	Centred and straight — not tilted, rotated, or off-centre
Expression	Neutral, looking straight at the camera, mouth closed
Eyes	Clearly visible and unobstructed
Colour	Digital photos must be in colour; printed photos may be black-and-white
Glasses	Allowed (no ban) — see the section below

Glasses: allowed, with limits

Germany does not ban eyeglasses. The current official text lists glasses only among the rejection examples — a frame covering the eyes, or lenses that are too dark or produce reflections. So you may keep your glasses on, provided the frame does not hide the eyes, the lenses are not tinted dark, and there is no glare. (The full glasses ban is a US rule that has applied since November 2016 — don't mix the two countries up.)

Head coverings

Coverings are permitted for religious reasons, and the official templates additionally list medical exceptions (for example facial paralysis or asymmetry). The face must remain visible from the lower edge of the chin up to the forehead, with no shadows.

Children and babies

The rules relax with age, all from Annex 8 and the BMI templates:

Face height 50–80% of the photo for children; up to the completed 10th year, smaller deviations are allowed.
Up to the completed 6th year, further exceptions apply to head position, facial expression and eye visibility.
Ages 6–9: the template's minimum optimal face height drops to 22 mm (maximum still 36 mm).
Age 5 and under: no biometric-suitability check at all — only size (35 × 45 mm), a frontal shot, sharpness and contrast, lighting, background and overall photo quality are required.

2025: photos must be submitted digitally

Since 1 May 2025, ID cards, passports and residence permits accept only digital photos. They are captured either at an on-site terminal or by a registered photographer who uploads them through a BSI-certified cloud; you receive a code that the authority uses to retrieve the image. Paper photos were accepted as a transition exception until 31 July 2025. Documents that are not on the digital-photo requirement can still use a printed photo. (PassV was last amended on 30 January 2026.)

Common rejection reasons

The official rejection examples are worth scanning before you shoot:

Shadows — a hard shadow on the face, or a shadow on the background.
Exposure and contrast — too dark, too bright, too low contrast, or a reflection on the face.
Sharpness — insufficient focus or resolution, or a blurred/softened image.
Background — a patterned background, or one without contrast against the subject.
Retouching — any retouch or filter applied to the photo.
Pose — the head tilted sideways, up or down, or not centred.
Expression — laughing, an open mouth, a grimace, or closed/screwed-up eyes.
Eyes and glasses — a frame covering the eyes, lenses too dark or reflecting, hair over the eyes, or red-eye.
Headwear — a cap, or any covering that leaves the face insufficiently visible.

How it works

Tap the button — the Germany 35 × 45 format is pre-selected.
Upload a photo taken against a plain wall (see the home photo guide).
Face detection frames the crop; download for printing at 413 × 531 px (300 DPI).

Everything runs locally in your browser — the photo never leaves your device.