UK passport photo requirements 2026 — GOV.UK and HMPO checklist
Every UK biometric passport-photo rule — 29-34 mm face, light grey or cream background, no glasses, 30-day max age, no computer alteration.
What HMPO actually checks
UK biometric passport photos follow the spec at gov.uk/photos-for-passports. Three rules make UK the strictest spec in our coverage: a 30-day max age (vs 6 months elsewhere), an explicit ban on “computer-altered” photos, and no glasses since 2018. Live spec on our UK passport photo page.
The numbers
- Print size: 35 × 45 mm (printed submission) or 600 × 750 px (digital).
- Face height: 29–34 mm (chin to crown). Mid-range — looser than Germany (32–36) but stricter than the Netherlands (26–30).
- Resolution: 600 DPI minimum for printed; ≥ 600 × 750 px for digital uploads.
- Background: light grey or cream — no pure white, no patterns.
- Maximum age: 30 days for digital, 1 month for printed. The strictest in the EU.
- No glasses since 1 April 2018, even fully transparent. Medical exemption requires letter from optician.
- No computer alteration. GOV.UK is the only national authority that explicitly bans digital-altered photos. AI face-smoothing or beautification fails immediately.
Why UK rejects more than elsewhere
Three avoidable reasons account for most rejections:
- Photo older than 30 days.A photo you took six weeks ago is rejected even if it's perfect. Always shoot fresh.
- White background. Easy to assume white is universal — UK requires light grey or cream.
- Visible AI edits. Any beauty filter, smoothing, or face-restoration model can trigger a rejection. Use identity-preserving processing only.
Where you submit it
Apply via gov.uk/apply-renew-passport. The digital-upload path is fastest — you submit a single 600 × 750 px JPEG and the HMPO scanner validates instantly. The printed-photo path takes 1-3 weeks longer.
Take it at home
Daylight at a window, plain light-grey wall behind you, phone at eye level. Our AI measures face height in mm, crops to the exact 29–34 mm UK window, replaces the background with light grey, and ships at 600 DPI ready for either printed submission or HMPO digital upload — start your UK passport photo.