French Passport Photo

French passport photo requirements

There should not be any problems with getting the appropriate photo, because the same format is commonly used in many official French documents. It is required that the photo size for a French passport is 35 mm in width and 45 mm in height and must show the full head from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin. The head should cover 70-80% of the photo and be between 32 mm and 36 mm in size.

Validity

Remember that the photo must be recent and taken within 6 months. You should look similar to your photo on the day of filing the application. Providing a valid photo is one of the most important requirements.

Background

The background of the photo should be plain and in a light color. We recommend light grey or light blue, but not white – this color is not allowed.

Quality

The photo must be in color and

• It must be in high-quality resolution, not pixelated.
• It needs to be well contrasted – showing the natural colors of the skin, hair and eyes.
• It should not be overexposed or underexposed.
• It can’t be blurry, too light, or too dark.
• Scanned photo has to be free of scratches.

Shadows and lighting

Shadows in the background or on your face and neck are not allowed, so try to take a photo in a well-lit area during daylight.

Facial expression

The photo should show a full-face frontal view, with open eyes and closed mouth. The head should be facing the camera directly, positioned straight in the picture. Smiling is not allowed – you need to show a neutral facial expression.

Glasses

You cannot wear sunglasses, but everyday prescription glasses are allowed. They cannot have tinted or colored lenses. Be careful not to use glasses with frames that are too thick, because they may cover your eyes. While taking a picture, don't let the light reflect on the lenses.

Head covering

You cannot wear:

• a hat
• a cap
• a scarf
• headphones
• facial piercings that obscure your face
• any other item covering your forehead or eyes

French passport photo - common mistakes 

Remember that the passport photo cannot be a selfie, so if you decide to take the photo at home, just ask someone for help. Going to a professional photographer might be expensive and not worth wasting time, so let us help you with a photo taken in your home. .

You cannot submit an old or damaged photo, nor one that has a white background. Don't leave your photo underexposed or overexposed, pixelated or blurry. Remember the right size of the photo - it’s supposed to be 35 x 45 mm. It’s important to prepare yourself: don't wear any items that cover your head or face, remember about closing your mouth, opening your eyes and having a neutral facial expression. It would be a mistake to provide a photo not taken within the last 6 months.

If you did everything correctly and remembered about avoiding the most common mistakes, then you just need to upload the photo on our Passport-photo.online website. First, artificial intelligence will carefully check your photo, and then our tools will take care of any imperfections:

Removing the existing background from the photo and replacing it with the correct one, if necessary. Our tool sets the light background professionally, so you can trust our AI checker.

Resizing your photo by preparing a frame which you’ll then be able to use as a guide when cutting your printout. You can print it again in the future for other use.

Verifying facial exposition - your head’s position , the color, lighting, and other elements and letting you know if you need to take another shot.

How to take a French passport photo at home?

• choose the right location with natural, bright light
• prepare the correct and permissible background that’s light, but not white
• ask someone to take a picture of you from about 1.2 m away
• while shooting, remember about open eyes, closed mouth, natural facial expression
• take as many shots as you would like, choose the image that you like most, and let us do the rest of the work!