Irish passport photo · Passport Online

Checked and laid out to the official Irish Passport Service specification. Rules quoted from ireland.ie, checked by us on 2026-08-16.

Two things reject more Irish applications than anything else. First, selfies are not accepted — someone else has to hold the camera, even at home. Second, the Passport Service states that photos must not be digitally altered or edited in any way, so we never replace or repair your background; we crop, position and size, and tell you when a photo needs retaking. Ireland also publishes no head-height figure, so the proportion we lay out is our choice — and every photo is reviewed by a person after upload.

Which document is this photo for?

Check your photo

Free check, free watermarked preview — you pay only to download the finished file.

Head and shoulders in frame, with clear space above the hair — the head should fill about half the photo, not all of it.

This document needs a wider shot: include your chest, not just head and shoulders — the head can fill at most 62% of the photo height.

Drop your photo hereTap to choose a photoor click to browse your filestake one now or pick from your library

JPG · PNG · HEICshorter side at least 827pxup to 12 MBor paste with ⌘V

Official specification

Finished size	35 × 45 mm
Head height (chin to crown)	not published by this authority
Eye height	not published by this authority
Background	completely plain light grey, white or cream, with enough contrast and no shadows
File formats	JPG / JPEG
File size	up to 9 MB
Taken within	the last 6 months

Full rules

The photo must have been taken in the last six months — a requirement Ireland attributes to ICAO.
Online applications: the digital photo must not be less than 715 pixels wide and 951 pixels high.
Online applications: the digital photo must be in colour, in JPEG format, and no larger than 9 MB.
The digital photo must not be a scanned photo, and must not contain barrel or other distortion.
The digital photo must not have compression, loss or compression artefacts, and must not be digitally enhanced or changed.
Paper applications: include 4 identical photos, minimum 35 x 45 mm and maximum 38 x 50 mm, printed on photo-quality paper with a white, unglazed reverse.
The photo must capture your image from head to mid torso, with visible space between your head and shoulders and the edge of the photo.
Stand in front of a completely plain, light grey, white or cream background with enough contrast, no shadows on your face or behind your head, and no objects such as door panels or plants.
Keep a neutral expression: do not smile, close your mouth, do not tilt your head up, down, left or right, and look straight into the camera.
Glasses may be worn if the frames do not cover any part of your eyes and there is no glare on the lenses. Dark glasses and sunglasses are not permitted.
Head coverings are permitted for religious or medical reasons only, and your full facial features must be visible.
Uniforms — civil or military — and clothing bearing insignia are not permitted.
Selfies are not accepted. Someone else must take the photo, and applicants who submit selfies will be asked to provide another one, delaying the application.
Photos must not be digitally altered or edited in any way — the Passport Service answers the question about photo software and filters with exactly that sentence.
Submit a colour photo. It is printed into the passport in black and white by the Passport Service, so do not convert it yourself.
The Passport Service reviews every photo after the online system accepts it, and will contact you directly if it does not meet the guidelines.

Sources

https://www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/passports/photo-guidelines/
Department of Foreign Affairs — Passport Service, Ireland · we checked it 2026-08-16

You must submit a photo that has been taken in the last six months. This is a requirement from the International Civil Aviation Organisation. ... Your digital photo must meet these technical specifications: Not be a scanned photo. Be in colour. Not be less than 715 pixels wide and 951 pixels in height. Be in JPEG format. Not have compression, loss or compression artefacts. Not be digitally enhanced or changed. Not contain barrel or other distortion. Not be larger than 9 megabytes (9MB). ... Minimum: 35mm x 45mm Maximum: 38mm x 50mm ... You need to stand in front of a completely plain, light grey, white or cream background. ... The photo must capture your image from head to mid torso. ... I want to use photo software or filters to alter the image. What should I use? Photos must not be digitally altered or edited in any way ... Applicants who submit selfies will be asked to provide another photo for their application.

Questions

What are the Irish passport photo requirements?

For an online application the digital photo must be in colour, in JPEG format, at least 715 pixels wide and 951 pixels high, no larger than 9 MB, not scanned, not digitally enhanced or changed, and taken in the last six months. For a paper application you send 4 identical prints between 35 x 45 mm and 38 x 50 mm.

Can I use a selfie for my Irish passport?

No. The Passport Service says applicants who submit selfies will be asked to provide another photo, which delays the application. Someone else has to take the photo — but you can take it at home with a phone, tablet or camera.

What head size does Ireland require?

Ireland does not publish a head-height measurement. Its wording is that the photo must capture you from head to mid torso with visible space between your head and shoulders and the edge of the photo, which frames wider than the head sizes other countries specify. The proportion we lay out is our own choice, not an official requirement.

What background colour does Ireland want?

A completely plain light grey, white or cream background with enough contrast against you, no shadows on your face or behind your head, and no objects such as door panels or plants.

Can I edit or retouch the photo?

No. Asked directly about photo software and filters, the Passport Service answers that photos must not be digitally altered or edited in any way. We only crop, position and size — we never touch your background or your face.

Should I submit a black and white photo?

No. Submit a colour photo. The Passport Service converts it to black and white itself when printing your passport.

Our own assumptions

Ireland publishes a printed size range — minimum 35 x 45 mm, maximum 38 x 50 mm — rather than one size. We lay out at the minimum, 35 x 45 mm; that is our choice within the official range.
⚠️ Ireland does not publish a head-height figure, so the 62% head proportion is our own choice, not an official requirement. We set it from the official wording — head to mid torso, with visible space around the head and shoulders — which frames noticeably wider than the ICAO 70–80% face proportion used by other authorities.
We render at 600 dpi (827 x 1063 px) rather than the usual 300 dpi because 300 dpi would be 413 x 531 px, below Ireland's 715 x 951 px minimum for online applications.
The chin is measured by 68-point facial landmarks; the crown comes from the top of the cut-out outline. Assumed accuracy ±5%, calibrated only on synthetic fixtures.
The Passport Service reviews every photo by hand after upload, so acceptance is always at its discretion, not ours.

Where the authority does not specify something, we say so rather than pretending it does. The points above are our engineering choices, not official requirements.