What size is the German passport photo abroad?

Printed, 35 x 45 mm. The head takes 71% to 80% 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.

Can I wear glasses in my German passport photo abroad?

Yes, but only with no tint and no glare, and with your eyes clearly visible.

Can I smile in my German passport photo abroad?

Neutral, mouth closed, looking straight into the camera, eyes open and clearly visible.

Can I wear a head covering in my German passport photo abroad?

Only for religious reasons; face visible from the bottom of the chin to the forehead, no shadows on the face.

How recent must my German passport photo abroad be?

Taken in the last 6 months. These are the official rules as checked on 4 November 2026.

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.

What does the Detail check add?

Detail check for your German passport photo abroad, €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.

Passport, visa and ID photos · Germany

German passport photo abroad: check yours

Check your German passport photo abroad against the official rules before you send it. We never change it. Official size: 35 x 45 mm. Background: plain single colour, shadow-free, in clear contrast with face and hair; preferably light grey (BMI template); Addis Ababa: white or light grey. Rules read on wien.diplo.de 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

Choose your photo 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

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 grey wall, with nothing behind you.
Face a window or soft light: even light on the face, no shadows on it or behind.
Phone at eye level, about 1.5 m away: ask someone, or hold it at arm's length.
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

Drop your original photo file here, or choose it As the photographer or the camera gave it

The first photo loads the face finder and the background outline from this site, about 15 MB, once.

Guide lines Dashed: top of head. Solid: chin.

Adjust the top-of-head line

Top of head The top of your head is an estimate: move the dashed line to it. This moves the line only; your photo is not changed.

See every measurement

Check	Measured	Result

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.

Before you send it, confirm

Only you can see these: we never judge them from the photo.

If I wear glasses, they have no tint and no glare, and my eyes are clearly visible. My expression is as the rules ask (Expression, below). My eyes are open and clearly visible. The light on my face is even, with no shadow on my face or behind me. The photo was taken in the last 6 months.

If your photo passes, send the same file you checked here, unchanged.

Free: every rule your file was checked against, with the official words, made on this device.

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.

This page only checks your photo: it never crops, edits or re-saves it.

German embassies and consulates abroad still take a printed biometric photo, 35 x 45 mm with the face 32 to 36 mm high. Missions ask that the photo not be edited or retouched and that you don't cut it out yourself (Paris, Amsterdam, Addis Ababa), and several have a photo booth in the waiting room. So this page checks your photo as it is and never changes it: have it taken and printed by a photographer or a booth, and follow your mission's page.

The rules at a glance

For the German passport (Reisepass) and identity card photo, applied for at a German embassy or consulate abroad (printed 35x45 mm), as the official rules state them.

Size: 35 x 45 mm
Background: Plain single colour, shadow-free, in clear contrast with face and hair; preferably light grey (BMI template); Addis Ababa: white or light grey.
Head size: 71% to 80% 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: In the last 6 months
Edits: None: this page only checks your photo, it never changes it. The official rules say: “Please do not have the photos edited.”

All the official rules and sources

Printed size: 35 mm wide, 45 mm tall (35 mm wide x 45 mm high)
This page: Checks your photo as it is; it makes no file
Head height: 71% to 80% of the photo's height, from the chin to the top of the head
Background: plain single colour, shadow-free, in clear contrast with face and hair; preferably light grey (BMI template); Addis Ababa: white or light grey
Glasses: Allowed only with no tint and no glare, your eyes clearly visible
Expression: neutral, mouth closed, looking straight into the camera, eyes open and clearly visible
Head covering: only for religious reasons; face visible from the bottom of the chin to the forehead, no shadows on the face
Taken: In the last 6 months
Colour: Colour or black and white

printed photo, 35 x 45 mm, no border; brought to the appointment (no live capture or digital photo at missions abroad)
face height 32-36 mm (adults and children from 10); children 6-9: 22-36 mm; under 6: only size, frontal view, sharpness, lighting, background and quality are checked
eyes inside the marked area of the BMI photo template; head straight, centred, frontal
no retouching, filters or soft focus; not edited (Amsterdam, Addis Ababa)
do not cut the photo yourself (Paris, Amsterdam); a photo booth photo is usually good enough (Paris)
glasses: frames must not cover the eyes; no dark lenses or reflections
even lighting, no shadows or red eyes; sharp, good contrast; natural skin tone; no creases or marks
no other person, hand or object in the photo

For: Reisepass application at a German embassy or consulate-general abroad (printed photo brought to the appointment); Personalausweis application at a German mission abroad (printed photo); some missions ask for 2 photos (Embassy in Rome; 1 at the Consulate-General in Milan).

Official source: wien.diplo.de, checked on 4 November 2026.

Die Livebilderfassung/das digitale Passbild wurde in den Auslandsvertretungen noch nicht eingeführt.

Bitte bringen Sie daher weiterhin ausgedruckte aktuelle biometrische Passbilder mit.

biometrisches Passfoto pro Antrag (bisher keine Live-Bilderfassung, bitte bringen Sie das Passfoto ausgedruckt mit).

Official source: bruessel.diplo.de, checked on 4 November 2026.

Die Livebilderfassung ist für die deutschen Auslandsvertretungen noch nicht umgesetzt.

Auch eine Zertifizierung eines Fotografen im Ausland für die Übermittlung eines elektronischen Passfotos ist aus datenschutzrechtlichen Gründen in absehbarer Zeit im Ausland nicht umsetzbar.

Die Beantragung erfolgt somit weiterhin mit herkömmlichen, papierbasierten Lichtbildern.

Official source: bern.diplo.de, checked on 4 November 2026.

Die Livebilderfassung bzw. das digitale Passbild wird im Ausland noch nicht umgesetzt. Bitte bringen Sie daher weiterhin ausgedruckte aktuelle biometrische Passbilder mit.

Official source: italien.diplo.de, checked on 4 November 2026.

2 Passbilder bei deutscher Botschaft Rom bzw. 1 Passbild bei deutschem Generalkonsulat Mailand

Die Livebilderfassung/das digitale Passbild wurde in den Auslandsvertretungen noch nicht eingeführt. Bitte bringen Sie daher weiterhin ausgedruckte aktuelle biometrische Passbilder mit.

Official source: wien.diplo.de, checked on 4 November 2026.

Bildgröße 35 × 45 mm?

Optimale Gesichtshöhe, maximal (36 mm)

Optimale Gesichtshöhe, minimal (32 mm)

Hintergrund einfarbig (vorzugsweise hellgrau)?

Herkömmliches Passbild, sofern zulässig: auch in Schwarz-Weiß möglich

Für Dokumente, bei deren Beantragung digitale Lichtbilder nicht verpflichtend sind, sowie in sonstigen Ausnahmesituationen unterstützt die Lichtbild-Schablone bei der Bewertung papierbasierter Lichtbilder.

Official source: wien.diplo.de, checked on 4 November 2026.

Das Gesicht nimmt 70 bis 80 % der Höhe des Fotos ein.

Der schattenfreie Hintergrund ist einfarbig und bildet zum Gesicht sowie zu den Haaren einen deutlichen Kontrast.

Kopfbedeckungen sind nur aus religiösen Gründen zulässig.

Der Gesichtsausdruck ist neutral. Der Blick ist geradeaus in die Kamera gerichtet und der Mund geschlossen.

Mit Retuschen/ Filter

Brillengläser zu dunkel, Spiegelung

Das Gesicht nimmt 50 bis 80 % der Höhe des Fotos ein.

Official source: niederlande.diplo.de, checked on 4 November 2026.

Not older than 6 months.

Please inform the photographer of our different dimensions: image size 35 x 45 mm, face height for adults and children over 10 years of age no more than 36 mm and no less than 32 mm; for children aged 6 to 9 years of age no more than 36 mm and no less than 22 mm.

Please do not have the photos edited.

Official source: niederlande.diplo.de, checked on 4 November 2026.

Please do not cut the photos yourself.

Official source: allemagneenfrance.diplo.de, checked on 4 November 2026.

ein aktuelles biometrisches Passfoto (bitte nicht selbst zuschneiden!)

Die Qualität eines Fotos aus einem Passfotoautomaten ist in der Regel ausreichend.

Official source: addis-abeba.diplo.de, checked on 4 November 2026.

Das Lichtbild muss folgende Anforderungen erfüllen:

35 mm x 45 mm groß

ohne Umrandung

weißer oder hellgrauer Hintergrund

ohne Retuschierungen oder Bearbeitungen

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 German passport photo abroad?: Printed, 35 x 45 mm. The head takes 71% to 80% 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 German passport photo abroad need?: Plain single colour, shadow-free, in clear contrast with face and hair; preferably light grey (BMI template); Addis Ababa: white or light grey.
Can I wear glasses in my German passport photo abroad?: Yes, but only with no tint and no glare, and with your eyes clearly visible.
Can I smile in my German passport photo abroad?: Neutral, mouth closed, looking straight into the camera, eyes open and clearly visible.
Can I wear a head covering in my German passport photo abroad?: Only for religious reasons; face visible from the bottom of the chin to the forehead, no shadows on the face.
How recent must my German passport photo abroad be?: Taken in the last 6 months. These are the official rules as checked on 4 November 2026.
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. German embassies and consulates abroad still take a printed biometric photo, 35 x 45 mm with the face 32 to 36 mm high. Missions ask that the photo not be edited or retouched and that you don't cut it out yourself (Paris, Amsterdam, Addis Ababa), and several have a photo booth in the waiting room. So this page checks your photo as it is and never changes it: have it taken and printed by a photographer or a booth, and follow your mission's page.
What does the Detail check add?: Detail check for your German passport photo abroad, €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.