UK Passport Photo — free online maker

For online UK passport applications and renewals. Works on your phone, nothing is uploaded.

Official specifications

Print size	35 × 45 mm, 2 identical copies for paper forms
Digital size	At least 600 px wide × 750 px tall, 35:45 ratio, JPEG; our export is 827 × 1063 px
File size (digital upload)	At least 50KB and at most 10MB
Background	Plain light-coloured (light grey or cream works best), no shadows or objects
Head height	29–34 mm from chin to crown on the 35 × 45 print
Glasses	Remove them if possible; no glare, no tinted lenses, frames must not cover your eyes
Recency	Taken within the last month — even if you look exactly the same
Expression	Plain expression (no smile), mouth closed, both eyes open, face straight on

Digital application rules (online upload)

Since UK passport applications moved online, most people submit a digital photo instead of paper prints. The digital track has its own file rules, checked automatically when you upload:

Minimum 600 × 750 px — the system rejects anything smaller; any current smartphone main camera is far above this.
At least 50KB — an under-50KB file usually means over-compression (social-app transfers are the classic culprit; always send the original file).
Light grey / cream plain background — the printed-photo rules name plain cream or light grey, and the digital rules say a plain light-coloured background. Pure white is not required; bright white walls under hard light tend to produce shadows and blowouts, which are common rejection causes.
Taken within the last month — a renewal needs a fresh photo even if your appearance has not changed.
No old-photo recycling — photos cannot be cut-down versions of a larger picture, so cropping or re-shooting an old passport photo fails twice: it breaks the one-month rule and the no-cut-down rule.
Untouched by editing software — no filters, no portrait-mode blur, no retouching. Cropping is done for you by the system.

One more UK quirk: you upload a framing shot — head, shoulders and upper body — and do not crop it yourself. The application system crops the photo for you. Selfie-stick arm's-length shots also fail because someone else needs to take the photo.

Babies and children: relaxed rules by age

Children get official allowances that adults do not. The child must still be alone in the frame — no toys or dummies, and supporting hands must stay out of the picture:

Under 1	Eyes closed is acceptable. Lying on a plain light-coloured sheet and photographed from directly above works well; a hand may steady the head as long as it does not show in the photo.
Under 6	No plain expression needed and the child does not have to look straight at the camera. From 6 up, the adult standards apply.

UK vs US passport photo, side by side

A UK photo cannot be reused for a US application (or the other way round) — the sizes, timings and even the glasses rule differ:

	🇬🇧 UK	🇺🇸 US
Print size	35 × 45 mm (portrait)	2 × 2 in / 51 × 51 mm (square)
Digital minimum	600 × 750 px	600 × 600 px
Head height	29–34 mm (chin to crown)	25–35 mm (1–1⅜ in)
Background	Plain light grey / cream	Plain white / off-white
Expression	Plain expression, mouth closed	Neutral expression
Glasses	Only if essential; no glare or tinted lenses	Not allowed (since November 2016)
Photo age	Within the last month	Within the last 6 months
Who crops	The system crops for you — submit head + shoulders + upper body	You crop to 2 × 2 in for prints; digital upload just needs head and shoulders

Why digital uploads get rejected

Most upload failures trace back to a handful of causes — all of them avoidable at shooting time:

File too small — under 50KB, usually from social-app compression. Send the original file from the camera roll.
Resolution under 600 × 750 px — screenshots, chat-app images and old front cameras fall short.
Self-cropping too tight — a head-only shot leaves the system's automatic crop with the head oversized. Submit head, shoulders and upper body.
Shadows — on the face or on the background, typically from side window light, overhead lamps or standing against a bright window.
Editing traces — filters, beauty modes and portrait blur all breach the "unaltered by computer software" rule.

UK quirks worth knowing

Fresh photo: the UK asks for a photo taken within the last month — stricter than most countries' 6 months (that six-month figure you may have read is about passport validity, a different rule — see the six-month rule guide).
Headroom check: the Passport Office photo checker measures chin-to-crown (29–34 mm); our framing guidance keeps you inside the band.
Photo code: photo booths and shops can hand you a code to enter in the application instead of uploading a file yourself.

How it works

Tap the button — the UK 35 × 45 format is pre-selected.
Upload a photo taken against a plain wall (see the home photo guide; for babies, the baby & child photo guide).
Face detection frames the crop; download the digital file for your online application.

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

Frequently asked questions

How big does a UK digital passport photo need to be?: At least 600 × 750 px, between 50KB and 10MB, in colour. Any current smartphone main camera clears this easily — send the original file, avoid social-app compression, and don't crop it yourself.
Can I take a UK passport photo at home with my phone?: Yes. GOV.UK supports photos taken on your own device during the application, but someone else must take the photo. Include head, shoulders and upper body, don't crop it, and use no filters or retouching.
Does the background have to be pure white?: No. The printed-photo rules say plain cream or light grey, and the digital rules say a plain light-coloured background. Light grey or cream is the safer choice; pure white under harsh light often creates shadows and blowouts.
Can I wear glasses?: Only if you have to. No sunglasses or tinted lenses, frames must not cover your eyes, and there must be no glare or shadows. The US bans glasses entirely, so the two photos are not interchangeable.
Can I reuse a photo from my last passport?: No. A renewal needs a photo taken within the last month, even if you look the same. Cropping or re-photographing an old passport photo fails on freshness and on the no-cut-down rule at once.
What about babies and young children?: Under 1: eyes closed is acceptable. Under 6: no plain expression needed and looking straight at the camera is not required. The child must still be alone in the frame — no toys or dummies. See the baby & child guide for shooting techniques.