Passport, visa and ID photos · Canada
Canada passport photo: check yours
Check your Canada passport photo against the official rules before you send it. We never change it. Official size: 50 x 70 mm. Background: plain white or light-coloured, clear difference between face and background. Rules read on canada.ca on 4 November 2026.
- Choose the photo file you were given
- We check it against the official rules, without changing it
- If it passes, send that same file
Free check. Once it passes, our Detail check, €6.99: unlimited re-checks for 30 days, and we never change your photo. Refund if the authority rejects a photo that passed.
Your photo stays on your device: nothing is uploaded, and no face is recognised.
What a passing photo needs
- Stand a step in front of a plain light wall, with nothing behind you.
- Face a window or soft light: even light on the face, no shadows on it or behind.
- Have it taken by a photo studio or commercial photographer, as the rules ask.
- Glasses only with no tint and no glare on them.
- A neutral face, mouth closed, eyes open, looking straight at the camera.
Check your photo
The first photo loads the face finder and the background outline from this site, about 15 MB, once.
Adjust the top-of-head line
See every measurement
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Before you send it: our Detail check
€6.99- Detail check of your own photo against the official rules: glasses, expression, shadows and more (opt-in: our AI model, run in the EU)
- It never changes your photo: you send the same file you checked
- Unlimited re-checks and the whole family's photos for this document, for 30 days
- Refund if the authority rejects a photo that passed
Choose a photo first.
Pay only once your photo passes: the button turns on once it passes every check. One payment, no subscription. No file and no print sheet: the official rules don't allow us to change this photo. Rejected by the authority after it passed here? Email us the rejection within 30 days and we refund you in full. While you pay, your photo waits in this browser on this device for up to 24 hours: it is never uploaded.
If your photo passes, send the same file you checked here, unchanged.
The face finder and the background outline run in this page from files served by this site (sources and licences). They find where a face is in the photo; they never recognise who it is.
Meets the published spec as checked on 4 November 2026. WinPhoto is not affiliated with any government.
For a baby or young child: Canada baby passport photo
This page only checks your photo: it never crops, edits or re-saves it.
Canada accepts only passport photos taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio, and rejects a photo altered in any way, even a new background. So this page checks the studio's photo as it is and never changes it.
The rules at a glance
For the Canadian passport, in person or by mail (printed photos), as the official rules state them.
- Size
- 50 x 70 mm
- Background
- Plain white or light-coloured, clear difference between face and background.
- Head size
- 44% to 51% of the photo's height, chin to top of head
- Glasses
- Allowed only with no tint and no glare, your eyes clearly visible
- Expression
- A neutral face, mouth closed, eyes open, looking straight at the camera.
- Taken by
- A commercial photographer or photo studio
- Taken
- In the last 6 months
- Edits
- None: this page only checks your photo, it never changes it. The official rules say: “You must submit 2 identical and unaltered photos with each passport application.”
All the official rules and sources
- taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio; professionally printed on plain high-quality photographic paper
- no home prints, no heavyweight paper
- no alteration of any kind: no colour/brightness/contrast/sharpness changes, no background replacement or shadow removal, no cut-and-paste onto white, no retouching, filters or AI tools
- face and shoulders centred and squared to the camera, not tilted
- uniform lighting, no shadows (around ears, background, face or shoulders), no glare or flash reflections; no red-eye or red-eye alteration
- no sunglasses or tinted glasses, including tinted prescription lenses
- avoid light-coloured clothing that blends into the background
- back of one photo: photographer writes or stamps the date taken and the studio name and full address; guarantor certifies and signs (not needed for adult renewal)
For: new adult passport; child passport; renewal in person or by mail.
Official source: www.canada.ca, checked on 4 November 2026.
You must submit 2 identical and unaltered photos with each passport application.
Go to a commercial photographer or photo studio to have your photo taken.
They must be 50 mm wide by 70 mm high (2 inches wide by 2¾ inches high).
The height of your face must measure between 31 mm (1¼ inches) and 36 mm (1⁷⁄₁₆ inches) from chin to crown (top of head).
Your photos may be in colour or in black and white.
be taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio
be professionally printed on plain, high-quality photographic paper
We don’t accept photos printed at home or on heavyweight paper.
This includes photo editing software, filters, and AI tools. We’ll reject your application if the photos have been altered in any way.
you’re not smiling or frowning
be taken against a plain white or light-coloured background
Your eyes must be clearly visible.
There must be no glare on the lenses.
This includes prescription lenses, even when your eyes are clearly visible.
hats and head coverings worn daily for religious beliefs or medical reasons
reflects how you look now (taken no more than 6 months before the date you submit your application)
Meets the published spec as checked on 4 November 2026. WinPhoto is not affiliated with any government. Rules change: check the official page before you apply.
How to use it
- Use the original photo file, as the photographer or the camera gave it.
- Choose it here. The page finds your face and checks the photo without changing it.
- Move Top of head if the dashed line is not at the top of your head.
- Fix what the page lists, and tick what only you can confirm.
- If it passes, send that same file, unchanged.
Questions
- What size is the Canada passport photo?
- Printed, 50 x 70 mm. The head takes 44% to 51% of the photo's height, from the chin to the top of the head. These are the official rules as checked on 4 November 2026.
- What background does the Canada passport photo need?
- Plain white or light-coloured, clear difference between face and background.
- Can I wear glasses in my Canada passport photo?
- Yes, but only with no tint and no glare, and with your eyes clearly visible.
- Can I smile in my Canada passport photo?
- Neutral: eyes open and clearly visible, looking straight at the camera, mouth closed, not smiling or frowning.
- Can I wear a head covering in my Canada passport photo?
- Only if worn daily for religious beliefs or medical reasons; full face clearly visible; no shadows on the face.
- How recent must my Canada passport photo be?
- Taken in the last 6 months. These are the official rules as checked on 4 November 2026.
- Can I take my Canada passport photo myself?
- No: the official rules ask for a commercial photographer or photo studio. This page checks the photo they give you.
- Is my photo uploaded?
- No. The photo is read and checked in your browser. The page tells our server only that a photo was checked, that it passed, or that a file was saved; never the photo, your face or any measurement. It finds where your face is in the photo; it never recognises who you are.
- How is the head measured?
- The page finds your chin and eyes in the photo and estimates the top of your head from your forehead, since hair hides it: the dashed line shows the estimate. If it is not at the top of your head, move it with Top of head and the checks follow.
- Will my photo be accepted?
- Only the issuing authority decides. A photo that passes every check here meets the published size, head and background rules as checked on 4 November 2026; you confirm the rest, such as glasses, expression and how recent the photo is.
- Why can't I save a new file here?
- This page only checks your photo: it never crops, edits or re-saves it. Canada accepts only passport photos taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio, and rejects a photo altered in any way, even a new background. So this page checks the studio's photo as it is and never changes it.
- What does the Detail check add?
- Detail check for your Canada passport photo, €6.99: the Detail check of your own photo against the official rules (opt-in; it never changes your photo), unlimited re-checks and the whole family's photos for this document for 30 days. No file and no print sheet: the rules don't allow us to change this photo. Pay only once your photo passes. Refund if the authority rejects a photo that passed. Paid once, with no subscription. In the Detail check our AI model, run in the EU, checks glasses, expression, shadows and more in the file you chose, if you choose to send it, and never changes it. Without buying you can check any photo here and save the acceptance report, free.