Gosuslugi photo: where you need it, what to upload and how to take it

A Gosuslugi photo is simply a standard 35×45 mm passport photo in digital form: a plain white background, face looking straight at the camera, no retouching. You upload it with an application for a Russian internal or international passport. For the internal passport and the 5-year international passport, you'll also need printed photos for your appointment.

· 12 min read

Checked in September 2026 against the regulations of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD, МВД). Below: exactly where Gosuslugi (gosuslugi.ru, Russia's public services portal, «Госуслуги») asks for a photo, which requirements apply today, which "rules" you'll find online are long out of date, and how to take the photo at home.

These are the requirements for Russian documents. Passport and ID photos for other countries have their own rules.

Which Gosuslugi applications need a photo?

You upload a photo with applications for a Russian internal passport and for either type of international passport. For the internal passport and the 5-year international passport, you also bring printed photos to your appointment. For the biometric international passport and the driving licence, the photo that goes into the document is taken on site.

Here are the regulations' requirements in one table, so you don't have to dig through them clause by clause:

Gosuslugi application Photo uploaded with the application Printed photos for the appointment Photo in the document itself
Internal passport: replacement at 20 and 45, change of name yes 2, 35×45 mm your photo
Old-style international passport (5 years) yes 3; 2 for a child under 14 your photo
New-style international passport (10 years, with a chip) yes not needed: regulation No. 996 doesn't list photos among the required documents taken at the MVD
Russian driving licence - - taken by the traffic police (State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, Госавтоинспекция)
Hunting licence yes, 30×40 mm - your photo

Where this comes from:

  • internal passport: MVD regulation No. 773, clause 30 (digital photo), and the Regulation on the Passport, clause 13 (two personal photos); if the passport is lost or stolen, the application for a new one cannot be filed through the portal, only in person (Regulation on the Passport, clauses 22 and 23);
  • 5-year international passport: MVD regulation No. 186, clauses 30 and 36: if you apply through Gosuslugi, you hand in the prints in person;
  • 10-year international passport: MVD regulation No. 996, clause 34 (photo with the application) and clause 175.10.2 (you must come in within 15 days to be digitally photographed and fingerprinted);
  • driving licence: MVD regulation No. 80 as amended in 2024, clause 35.4: refusing to be photographed when the licence is issued suspends the service, which means the photo is taken on site;
  • hunting licence: Order No. 579 of the Ministry of Natural Resources (Минприроды), clauses 7 and 8.

A dash in the table means the regulation doesn't require you to provide your own photo for that step. For the new-style international passport, the application does need a photo, even though it won't appear in the passport.

The regulations for the internal passport and both international passports explicitly name two grounds for rejecting an online application: the photo is missing, or it doesn't meet the requirements.

Other "Gosuslugi photos" this article isn't about

Some searches for "photo on Gosuslugi" have nothing to do with ID photos:

  • traffic fine photos: the camera image of a violation that the portal shows alongside a traffic police (GIBDD) fine;
  • the verified photo for the QR code in the Gosuslugi app, which can be shown instead of a passport: this is a separate feature and has nothing to do with passport applications.

What are the Gosuslugi photo requirements?

The requirements for the internal passport and both international passports are almost the same: 35×45 mm, a plain white background, face looking straight at the camera with the mouth closed, crown to chin no more than 80% of the photo height, no retouching. The differences are in the details: for the internal passport the regulation also requires 5 ± 1 mm of clear space above the head, and for the chip passport a close-up, sharp image of the face.

What is checked MVD requirement
Size 35×45 mm
Colour colour or black and white
Background white, plain, no stripes, spots, shadows or other objects
Pose facing the camera squarely, looking straight ahead, neutral expression, mouth closed
Head in the frame head and top of the shoulders; crown to chin no more than 80% of the photo height (36 mm at most on a 45 mm photo); for the internal passport, also 5 ± 1 mm above the head
Headwear not allowed; the exception is religious beliefs, provided it doesn't hide the oval of the face
Glasses if you wear them all the time, wear them in the photo, with no tinted lenses; the frames must not cover the eyes
Contact lenses coloured lenses that change your eye colour are not allowed
Clothing no uniform, no outerwear, no scarf covering the chin
Editing no photos edited "to improve appearance"
Age the photo must match your age on the day you apply

Sources: clause 36 of regulation No. 773 (internal passport), clause 89 of regulation No. 186 and clause 35 of regulation No. 996 (international passports). In June 2026 the MVD restated the internal passport photo requirements in a comment to RIA Novosti; no new photo rules were added.

Where do "32–36 mm", "300 KB" and "no older than 6 months" come from?

All three figures get passed from site to site as "official", but none of them is in the current MVD passport regulations. Each has its own backstory.

"Face 32–36 mm". This rule comes from a 2006 instruction on issuing international passports, which was repealed long ago. The current rule is different: crown to chin no more than 80% of the frame. On a 35×45 mm photo that works out to the same "no more than 36 mm". The 32 mm minimum is no longer in the regulations.

"JPEG, 450 dpi, up to 300 KB". These figures come from the old 2012 regulation of the Federal Migration Service (FMS, ФМС) on international passports, which no longer applies. Today the same file requirements exist for the hunting licence, in an order of the Ministry of Natural Resources. The current MVD regulations for internal and international passports set no file format, size or resolution at all: they only say that the photo is attached in electronic form.

"No older than 6 months". The regulations say something different: the photo must match your age on the day you apply. Six months is an unofficial rule of thumb; the MVD regulations set no such time limit. If you've grown a beard or changed your glasses in the last three months, a fresh photo is the safer choice.

What file should I upload to Gosuslugi?

Upload a JPEG of a 35×45 mm photo in which the face and background already meet the requirements. The MVD regulations set no technical limits for the file, so follow the hints in the application form on the portal:

  • if the form won't accept the file, read the error message or the hint next to the upload button: it may explain why;
  • don't compress the photo into a blurry mess just to cut the file size: blurred features are worse than a slightly larger file;
  • a scan of a printed photo with margins and paper edges won't do; you need just the 35×45 frame.

According to T-Zh magazine (Т—Ж), when you apply to replace your passport from your phone, the Gosuslugi app offers to take the photo right there and line your face up with on-screen guides. The photo requirements are the same as in the table above.

How to take a photo for Gosuslugi: three ways

You can have your photo taken at a photo studio, at an MVD office or MFC (a multifunctional public service centre, МФЦ) if they offer this, or take it yourself at home from a selfie. Which to choose depends on what matters more to you: prints right away, or a file without leaving home.

Photo studio MVD office or MFC Selfie at home
File for Gosuslugi usually yes, ask for it depends on the office yes
Printed photos yes depends on the office print at home, at a copy shop or at a photo studio
Who makes sure the requirements are met the photographer the officer you or an online service
Travel required required, often by appointment not required

The regulation for the 5-year international passport explicitly allows you to be photographed at an MVD migration office or an MFC, but not every office offers this, so check in advance.

If you're taking the photo at home:

  1. Stand facing a window in daylight so there are no harsh shadows on your face or behind you.
  2. Background: a white or very light plain wall, with no patterns or light switches in the frame.
  3. Shoot at eye level from arm's length, or better still, ask someone to take the photo with your phone's main camera.
  4. If you wear glasses all the time, keep them on: clean the lenses and turn or shift slightly relative to the window to get rid of glare, while keeping the light in front of you and your face straight to the camera; don't tilt your head. If you only wear glasses some of the time, take them off. Keep your hair off your face.
  5. Turn off beauty mode, filters and portrait mode (background blur).
  6. Crop the photo to 35×45 mm so that your head, from crown to chin, takes up no more than 80% of the frame height, and save it as a JPEG.

Step 6 is the easiest one to hand over to an online service. For example, SelfieDoc adjusts the size, background and framing to the document you choose and gives you two files: a JPEG for your application and a 10×15 cm sheet for printing the paper photos.

Why are applications rejected because of the photo?

Because of breaches of the same points as in the requirements table: background, pose, head proportions, glasses and retouching. The MVD regulations explicitly allow an application submitted through Gosuslugi to be rejected if the photo doesn't meet the requirements.

Common problems:

  • the background isn't white or has a shadow from the head;
  • smiling, an open mouth, a tilted or turned head;
  • the head is too big: more than 80% of the frame;
  • tinted glasses, glare, frames covering the eyes;
  • headwear without a religious reason, outerwear, a uniform;
  • hair covering the face or eyes;
  • the photo has been "enhanced" with a filter, retouching or AI.

The MVD issued a separate warning about that last point in September 2025 (reported by Moskva 24): a photo edited to improve appearance, including with AI (neural networks), may lead to a refusal to issue a passport. The state fee is not refunded in that case. A skin-smoothing filter isn't worth a fresh application.

Checklist before you upload

Go through these points before you click "Upload":

  1. The photo is 35×45 mm and shows your head and the top of your shoulders.
  2. Crown to chin is no more than 80% of the photo height.
  3. The background is white and plain, with no shadows or objects.
  4. Face straight to the camera, eyes on the lens, mouth closed, hair clear of your eyes.
  5. Glasses only if you wear them all the time: untinted and without glare.
  6. No filters, retouching or "enhancements".
  7. The photo looks like you do today.
  8. A JPEG file without margins or borders; if the form shows an error, read its hint.
  9. For the internal passport, bring 2 printed photos to your appointment; for the 5-year international passport, 3.

If everything checks out, you're ready to upload. Guides for other documents are on the SelfieDoc blog.

Sources

All sources are in Russian.

FAQ

Can I upload a selfie to Gosuslugi?

Yes, if the photo meets the MVD requirements: a plain white background, face looking straight at the camera with a neutral expression, head and top of the shoulders in the frame, no filters or retouching. An arm's-length selfie usually needs to be cropped and straightened to 35×45 mm.

Do I need a photo for a new-style international passport application on Gosuslugi?

Yes. The application for the biometric international passport also requires a photo that meets the MVD requirements. The photo for the passport itself is taken at an MVD office, which you must visit within 15 days of being notified that your application has been accepted.

How many printed photos should I bring after applying online?

For the Russian internal passport, two 35×45 mm photos. For the old-style (5-year) international passport, three photos, or two for a child under 14. For the biometric international passport, no prints are needed: you're photographed on site.

Can a Gosuslugi photo be black and white?

Yes. The MVD regulations for the internal and international passports allow both colour and black-and-white photos.

Can I wear glasses in the photo?

If you wear glasses all the time, you must wear them in the photo, with untinted lenses and frames that don't cover your eyes. Coloured contact lenses that change your eye colour are not allowed.