Italy passport photo requirements 2026 — the 35×40 mm trap explained
Italian biometric photos are 35×40 mm, not 35×45. Every measurement, the no-glasses rule, where to submit. Pass the Questura first try.
What Italian authorities check
Italian biometric passport and ID photos follow the Polizia di Stato spec published at poliziadistato.it. The single biggest gotcha: the print is 35 × 40 mm, not the EU-standard 35 × 45. A photo cropped to Schengen 35 × 45 fails on the spot. Live spec on our Italy passport photo page.
The numbers
- Print size: 35 × 40 mm. 5 mm shorter than most of Europe — this is the trap.
- Face height: 32–36 mm (chin to crown).
- Resolution: 300 DPI minimum.
- Background: white, uniform, no shadows.
- Maximum age: 6 months.
- No glasses — even fully transparent frames are rejected since the 2020 update.
- Mouth closed, neutral expression, both eyes visible.
Where you submit it
Passaporto: Questura appointment via passaportonline.poliziadistato.it. Carta d'identità elettronica (CIE): your local Comune, with optional online photo upload via the CIE portal at 300 DPI.
Take it at home
Daylight, plain wall, phone at eye level. Our AI measures face height in mm, crops to the unusual 35 × 40 mm Italian window (not 35 × 45 like the rest of Europe), replaces the background with white, and ships at 300 DPI — start your Italian passport photo.