Lebanon Passport Photo Requirements — 45 × 35 mm, White Background
For a Lebanese biometric passport or visa application. Lebanon's passport photo is 45 × 35 mm on a white background, and it carries a duty found almost nowhere else: your name and your registered residence must appear on the photo itself, and it must be signed and certified by the municipal mayor. Verified against the General Directorate of General Security, September 2026.
Official Lebanon passport photo specification
| Print size | 45 × 35 mm (4.5 × 3.5 cm), width × height |
| Background | White |
| Name on the photo | The individual's name must appear on the photo (passport) |
| Residence on the photo | The number and place of registered residence must appear (passport) |
| Certification | Signed and certified by the municipal mayor (passport) |
| Photos required | 1 for the biometric passport; 1 for the visa |
| New photo at renewal | Yes — a new photo is required at each renewal |
| Pixel size | Not published by the official source |
| Head-size ratio | Not published by the official source |
| File size and format | Not published by the official source |
The passport page states the rule in full:
A new colored photo ID photo on a white background, 4.5 x 3.5, on which the name of the individual appears, as well as the number and place of registered residence, signed and certified by the mayor.
The visa page is shorter:
One passport-size photo (3.5 × 4.5 cm).
The 45 × 35 mm frame
The official text gives the size as 4.5 x 3.5 — that is 45 × 35 mm, written as width × height. The passport page writes the pair as 4.5 x 3.5 while the visa page writes the same two dimensions as 3.5 × 4.5 cm: the order differs between the two official pages, the dimensions do not. Either way it is the familiar 35 / 45 millimetre family used across many passports, so if you already have a correctly framed photo for a compatible country you can reuse the crop geometry.
What the pages do not fix is the head. There is no chin-to-crown band and no percentage of frame given, so there is no official head-size figure to aim at — frame the face naturally inside the 45 × 35 mm rectangle and do not copy a head measurement from another country's rules. Compare other formats on the full size chart.
Background: white
The background must be white. What breaks a white background in practice is the light, not the colour: a shadow behind the head, a flash reflection on the skin or a hot spot from a lamp on one side. Stand a little forward from the wall so the flash does not bounce behind you, and check the result at full size before printing. See how white compares with the light backgrounds other countries use in the background guide.
The certification requirement: name, residence and the mayor's signature
This is the part of the Lebanese rule that surprises applicants. The photo is not just a picture: it has to carry your name, the number and place of your registered residence, and it has to be signed and certified by the mayor. A plain studio or home print without those elements does not satisfy the passport requirement, and a new photo is expected at each renewal.
Plan for it. Take a compliant, well-lit photo first — the picture still has to meet the normal quality bar — then have the name, residence details and the mayor's signature and certification added and completed before you submit. Confirm the exact wording and placement with your moukhtar or municipal office, because how the certification is applied is a local administrative step. If your first attempt is refused, the rejection reasons guide covers the common faults.
How many photos
- Passport: 1 new coloured photo, on a white background, carrying the name and residence details and certified by the mayor.
- Visa: 1 passport-size photo (3.5 × 4.5 cm), as stated on the visa page.
Because the passport photo is a single certified original, treat it as a one-off document rather than a stack of prints — get it right before the certification is applied. The how to take a passport photo guide walks through the capture, and the photo print sheet helps you lay out and check the size at home.
What the official source still does not publish
Three things are simply absent from the official pages, and it is safer to say so than to invent them:
- Pixel size — no minimum or maximum resolution is published.
- Head-size ratio — no chin-to-crown band or percentage of the frame.
- File size and file format — no digital limit or JPEG/PNG specification.
Any precise figure you see for these on a third-party site is an estimate, not an official requirement. If you are preparing a digital file for a different purpose, check it against the general digital file requirements guide and confirm the crop with the passport photo checker.
Frequently asked questions
What size is a Lebanon passport photo?
45 x 35 mm (4.5 x 3.5 cm), given as width x height. The official General Directorate of General Security states the biometric passport photo as 4.5 x 3.5 on a white background.
What background does a Lebanon passport photo need?
White.
Why is Lebanon's passport photo different from most countries'?
Because the photo itself carries personal data. The official passport page requires the name of the individual to appear on the photo, along with the number and place of registered residence, signed and certified by the mayor.
How many photos do I need?
One recent coloured photo for the biometric passport, and one passport-size photo for the visa. The visa page gives the size as 3.5 x 4.5 cm.
Does the official source publish a pixel size, head height, file size or file format?
No. The official General Security pages state the print size and the certification requirement but do not publish a pixel size, head-size ratio, file size limit or file format, so no such figure can be quoted.
Related: Lebanon's 45 × 35 mm frame sits in the same family as other national formats: compare it with the Turkey passport photo (50 × 60 mm) or the Taiwan passport photo (35 × 45 mm). Every format the site supports is in the full size chart, and paper copies are laid out with the photo print sheet, while the certified-document side of the process is worth double-checking with the size chart and the printing guide.