Dutch passport photo requirements 2026: full ICAO checklist

What the Dutch government actually requires

A Dutch passport photo follows the Rijksoverheid's “Fotomatrix”, the brochure that municipal counters and embassies use to accept or reject the photo you bring in. If you have been rejected before, the reason is usually in that brochure. This guide walks through the same checks in plain English, so you know what the counter looks at. For the live spec we use to generate compliant photos, see our Netherlands passport photo page.

The five numbers that decide acceptance

• Print size: 35 × 45 mm. The usual European size. Stick to it exactly.
• Face height (chin to crown): 26-30 mm for adults, 19-30 mm for children up to age 10. A common mistake: a face cropped at 32 mm looks fine on screen but is too big for the ruler at the counter.
• Face width (ear to ear): 16-20 mm. Specific to the Netherlands. Selfies taken close to the camera stretch the face and can miss this range.
• Resolution: 400 DPI minimum. Below this and the printed face has visible pixelation, even if your phone shot looks crisp on the screen.
• Maximum age: 6 months. Photos older than half a year are refused outright, no matter how well they were taken.

Background colour: not just “white”

Rijksoverheid permits three background colours: light grey, light blue, or white. All three are named explicitly.

Whatever colour you choose, it must be uniform, with no shadows behind the head. That is why a wall right behind you often fails: light easily casts a small shadow at shoulder height. Either move further from the wall or replace the background digitally.

Glasses, headwear, expression

• Glassesare allowed only if the lenses are fully transparent (no tint, no reflection) and the frames don't cover the eyes. A small reflection on a lens is enough for a rejection, so taking them off is the safest choice.
• Headwear is allowed only for genuine religious or medical reasons, and even then the face must be visible from chin to forehead. No fashion hats, no caps, no hoodies.
• Expression must be neutral with mouth closed. No smiling, no raised eyebrows. Both eyes open and clearly visible: hair across an eyebrow can already fail the check.

Three common rejection reasons

1. Face too large or too small. 26-30 mm chin-to-crown is a 4 mm window. A ruler on the counter settles every dispute.
2. Shadow on background. Caused by standing too close to a wall under any directional light source.
3. Eyes not fully open or not centred. Often a 1° head tilt missed by the photographer that puts one eye visibly higher than the other.

Where you submit it

For a passport, ID card, or driving licence renewal, appointments run via rijksoverheid.nl: you book at your municipality. You hand in either a printed photo (most common) or, for certain digital flows, upload a 400-DPI JPEG.

Taking the photo at home

Two minimum-equipment paths work reliably:

• Phone selfie + AI cropping. Daylight at a window, plain wall behind you, take 4-6 frames. Software measures face height in mm and crops to the exact 35 × 45 window, then replaces the background. This is what we do.
• Self-timer + tripod. Same lighting, but the camera is on a tripod and the photo is straight-on rather than tilted-up like a selfie, which gives a more natural angle.

Quick answers

Can I smile? No, not even a little. Mouth closed, neutral expression.

Glasses on or off? Allowed with clear lenses and no reflection, but off is the safest choice.

White or grey background? Either is accepted, and so is light blue.

How many do I need? One for the application; we deliver four on a sheet so you have spares.

Need a photo right now? Take it with your phone and our AI checks it against these rules: start your Dutch passport photo.