Indian passport photo size: when you need one and what it must look like

If you apply at a Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) in India, you don't need a photo at all: it is taken at the counter. You need your own photo in two cases. A paper application at a District Passport Cell, Speed Post centre or Citizen Service Centre needs one colour photo of 4.5×3.5 cm (height × width) on a plain white background. An application from abroad through Global Passport Seva 2.0 needs an uploaded colour photo of 630×810 pixels with a white background and the face filling 80–85% of the frame. You can make such a photo online from a good selfie in SelfieDoc: the service fits the size and head position and checks the photo against the requirements.

Indian passport photo requirements at a glance

Checked: October 2026 against the Passport Seva instruction booklet, the ICAO photo guidelines on the Passport Seva portal and notices of Indian missions abroad.

Do you need a photo for an Indian passport at all?

Most applicants in India don't. The Passport Seva instruction booklet says plainly that a photograph is not required for applications submitted at a PSK or POPSK. You fill in the form online, book a slot, and the photo is captured at the counter along with your fingerprints.

So who actually needs a passport photo? Three groups of people:

1. People submitting a paper form at a District Passport Cell (DPC), an authorised Speed Post centre (SPC) or a Citizen Service Centre (CSC) such as Bangalore One or e-Seva.
2. Indians abroad renewing or applying through an embassy or consulate.
3. People who simply want the "passport size" format for something else. That's a different question, covered in our guide to passport size photo dimensions in cm, inches and pixels.

Paper applications: the 4.5×3.5 cm print

For a paper form, you paste one colour photograph into the box on the application. The booklet sets 4.5 cm length and 3.5 cm width, and the photo must not be smaller than the box.

Here's what the booklet adds:

• Only one photo, in colour. Black and white is not accepted.
• Plain white background and dark-coloured clothes. A dark background or a uniform is a reason to reject.
• Printed on photo paper with a clear, continuous-tone print. A photo printed on an office printer counts as a "computer print" and is not accepted.
• Don't sign it. Many people sign across photos out of habit from other forms. Not here.
• No tears, creases or marks, and no photo cut out of a group picture.
• Natural expression: no grinning, frowning or raised eyebrows. Eyes open, both edges of the face visible.

Applying from abroad: the 630×810 px upload

Indian missions now take passport applications through Global Passport Seva Version 2.0. The Embassy of India in Doha, for example, advises that every applicant must upload an ICAO-compliant photograph, a scanned signature and the supporting documents themselves. Several missions announced that from 1 September 2025 only ICAO-compliant photos are accepted; the embassy in Bern set its own date, 1 December 2025.

The guidelines on the Passport Seva portal give these rules:

• colour photo, 630×810 pixels;
• close-up of the head and top of the shoulders, the face taking up 80–85% of the photo;
• full head visible, from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin, centred and not tilted;
• white background, uniform lighting, no shadows, no flash reflections, no red eye;
• looking straight at the camera, eyes open, mouth closed, natural expression;
• taken from about 1.5 metres, not blurred;
• unaltered by computer software.

630×810 is a 7:9 rectangle, the same shape as a 35×45 mm photo. If you measure the face from chin to the top of the hair, 80–85% of 810 pixels is roughly 650–690 pixels. A square 2×2 inch picture, the format many studios still hand Indians abroad, doesn't fit this frame and has to be re-cropped.

Printed copies are a separate matter. Missions and their outsourcing partners (VFS, BLS, CKGS and others) publish their own checklists, and print sizes differ between countries. Follow the checklist of the mission where you apply.

Glasses, turbans and expression

Glasses. For the upload, the ICAO guidelines on the portal say glasses should be taken off to avoid reflections. Paper forms are a little softer: the booklet only rejects coloured or dark glasses that hide the eyes, and suggests a slight upward or downward tilt of the head to avoid glare on clear lenses. Taking them off is still the simplest way to avoid trouble.

Turbans and other religious head coverings are allowed. The face from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead and both edges of the face must be clearly visible. The Bern embassy adds that the forehead must be visible for applicants wearing a turban.

Expression. Natural, with the mouth closed. The paper-form rules rule out grinning, frowning and raised eyebrows, so a calm face is the safe choice.

Common mistakes with Indian passport photos

• Bringing a photo to the PSK. Not a mistake that costs you anything, but it's unnecessary: the photo is taken there.
• A computer printout on a paper form. The booklet rejects it outright. Get a proper photo-paper print.
• Grey, cream or blue background. Both the booklet and the upload guidelines ask for white.
• The face too small in the upload. Mobile shots taken from a distance leave a small head in a large frame. The portal wants 80–85%.
• Re-using an old 2×2 inch photo for the upload. The shape is wrong, and an old photo may no longer look like you.
• Heavy beauty filters. Smoothing skin or reshaping the face breaks the "unaltered" rule. Phone portrait modes that blur the background can also leave soft edges around the hair.

How to get the photo: studio, home or online

At a photo studio. Ask specifically for a 4.5×3.5 cm print on a white background for an Indian passport paper form, or a 630×810 px file for an upload abroad. Check the head size before you leave.

At home. Stand about half a metre in front of a plain white wall, face a window in daylight and ask someone to take the photo from about 1.5 metres at eye level. Take off your glasses and push your hair away from your eyes.

Online from a selfie. SelfieDoc crops a good photo to the passport format, places the head and checks size and background before you download the file. It doesn't change your facial features. Before uploading to the portal, check the file properties: the guidelines ask for 630×810 pixels.

If you're applying for a Schengen visa with your new passport, the photo rules there are different: see our Schengen visa photo guide for Indian applicants.

Sources

• Passport application instruction booklet, Passport Seva, MEA: photograph section, Table 1 (DOs and DON'Ts for DPC/SPC/CSC).
• Guidelines for ICAO Compliant Photographs for Passport Applications, Passport Seva portal.
• Embassy of India, Doha: advisory on Global Passport Seva Version 2.0.
• Embassy of India, Bern: notice on ICAO photo requirements.
• Embassy of India, Vienna: notice on ICAO-compliant photographs from 1 September 2025.