Photos for the voenkomat: size and number for each step
A summary table covering every step of Russian military registration: how many photos to bring, what size, and whether they should be colour or black and white. With references to the relevant clauses of the Ministry of Defence order and government resolutions.
For initial military registration in Russia, done in the year a young man turns 17, you need six 3×4 photos: this is set out in the Regulation on Military Registration. A soldier's or sergeant's military ID (voenny bilet, военный билет) takes a black-and-white 25×35 mm photo on matte paper; a reserve officer's military ID takes a 30×40 mm photo. The legal acts don't say how many to bring for the military ID, so ask at your military enlistment office (voenkomat, военкомат).
This article covers photos only; call-up dates, deferments and summonses are out of scope. These are the rules for Russian military registration; other countries have their own procedures.
Which photos you need at each step of military registration
The size and number of photos depend on why you're going to the enlistment office. We compiled the table from the current versions of the legal acts and checked it in September 2026.
| Reason for your visit | Size | How many | Colour, background, paper | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registration (January–March of the year you turn 17) | 3×4 | 6 | not specified | Regulation on Military Registration, clause 34 |
| Pripisnoye (certificate of a citizen subject to conscription) | not specified | not specified separately | not specified | Instruction to Ministry of Defence Order No. 700, clause 14 |
| Military ID for soldiers, sergeants, warrant officers | 25×35 mm | one goes in the ID; ask how many to hand in | black and white, white background, matte | Instruction to Order No. 700, clause 10 |
| Military ID for reserve officers | 30×40 mm | one goes in the ID; ask how many to hand in | black and white, white background, matte | Instruction to Order No. 700, clause 9 |
| Call-up and medical board | photos not mentioned | - | - | Regulation on Conscription (Resolution No. 663) |
| Alternative civilian service | not needed for the application; 3×4 cm for the service certificate | one in the certificate | not specified | Federal Law No. 113-FZ, article 11; Order No. 167 of the Ministry of Health and Social Development |
If your summons or your enlistment office's information sheet says something different, go with that: the enlistment office staff make the call on the spot, and arguing about photo size at the counter gets you nowhere.
Registration and the pripisnoye: six 3×4 photos
Initial military registration requires six 3×4 photos. Registration runs from 1 January to 31 March of the year a young man turns 17, so if your birthday is after March, you'll go to the enlistment office while you're still 16. Clause 34 of the Regulation on Military Registration lists what to bring, including your passport, birth certificate, a certificate from your school or workplace, your education certificate and "photographs of size 3 x 4 - 6 pcs".
The text doesn't state the unit, but it clearly means centimetres. Clause 34 says nothing about colour, paper or a white corner (the blank corner often added to Russian ID photos). Strictly speaking, the list applies only to people who aren't yet in the state database (the Regulation calls it the "state information resource"). But unless the enlistment office tells you the photos aren't needed, bring them. Official information sheets repeat the same line, for example the one from the Sakhalin Region military enlistment office (in Russian).
If the information sheet doesn't specify colour, go for black-and-white photos on matte paper. Those are the parameters that Ministry of Defence (Минобороны) Order No. 700 sets for the military ID, which is the strictest case.
The certificate of a citizen subject to conscription, known colloquially as the "pripisnoye" (приписное), is issued at the same step. Under clause 14 of the Instruction to Order No. 700, the photo is glued onto the first page of the certificate and stamped with the enlistment office's official seal. The order sets no separate size for it; the list of documents for registration simply asks for six 3×4 photos to cover everything.
SelfieDoc works only with adults, so it's better to have photos for registration taken at a photo studio.
Military ID: 25×35 mm for soldiers, 30×40 mm for reserve officers
The photo size for a military ID depends on who it's issued to. For soldiers, sailors, sergeants, petty officers, warrant officers and naval warrant officers, clause 10 of the Instruction to Ministry of Defence Order No. 700 requires 25×35 mm; for reserve officers, clause 9 requires 30×40 mm. The other requirements are the same: a black-and-white photo on a white background, matte photo paper, head and shoulders in the frame, a sharp image of the face looking straight at the camera, no headwear. If you wear glasses all the time, you're photographed in them, with untinted lenses. The photo must match your age on the day you submit your documents. The wording of clause 10 hasn't changed since the first version of the order in 2021.
So why does nearly every website say "3×4"? The 3×4 size is set for registration, and it's probably just carried over to every document. And 30×40 mm is exactly 3×4 cm, but the order sets that size only for a reserve officer's military ID. In practice, the enlistment office may ask for 3×4 for a soldier's military ID too.
If the enlistment office asks for 3×4, bring 3×4: a larger photo can be trimmed, but a smaller one can't be stretched. If nobody has told you anything, go with 25×35 mm as per the order, or call the enlistment office. In places without an enlistment office, military registration is handled by the military registration desk of the local administration, so you can ask there as well. And if a photographer insists there's no such size, show them clause 10 of the order.
Clause 10 doesn't say how many photos to bring for the military ID: one goes into the ID, so check how many to bring with your enlistment office. If the ID is lost or damaged, a new one is issued on the same form, with the same photo requirements.
Do you need photos for the call-up, personal file, contract service or alternative service?
The call-up itself doesn't require separate photos: the word "photo" doesn't appear even once in the Regulation on Conscription for Military Service. The Instruction to Order No. 700 covers photos for military registration documents, such as the pripisnoye, the military ID, the personal electronic card and the certificate issued in place of a military ID.
Claims about 4×6 or 9×12 photos "for the conscript's personal file" get copied from article to article. There is no such requirement in Order No. 700, the Regulation on Military Registration or the Regulation on Conscription. If your enlistment office does ask for these sizes, bring as many as they ask for.
For contract service, the Ministry of Defence's publicly available legal acts contain no current list of photos, so check the size and number at the selection centre. The Ministry's previous list did include front-facing 9×12 cm photos, but Order No. 733, which contained that list, was repealed with effect from 1 December 2020.
An application to replace military service with alternative civilian service (ACS) must be accompanied by an autobiography and a reference from your workplace or place of study; photos aren't on that list (article 11 of the Law on Alternative Civilian Service). You'll need a photo later: a 3×4 cm photo goes into the certificate issued to a citizen doing ACS, under Order No. 167 of the Ministry of Health and Social Development.
Colour, corner, glasses: online myths vs the order
Many popular "rules" about photos for the enlistment office aren't in the documents at all. We checked the most common ones against the text of Order No. 700 and the Regulation on Military Registration.
| What people say | What the documents say | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Black and white only" | True for the military ID (clauses 9 and 10 of Order No. 700). For registration, colour isn't specified | Go for black and white unless the enlistment office says otherwise |
| "You need a white corner" | The word "corner" appears neither in Order No. 700 nor in the Regulation on Military Registration | No corner unless you're specifically asked for one |
| "Glossy photos won't be accepted" | The military ID requires matte photo paper | Print on matte paper |
| "You have to take your glasses off" | If you wear glasses all the time, you must wear them in the photo, with untinted lenses | If you always wear glasses, keep them on for the photo |
| "They'll make you shave your beard" | The order says nothing about beards or moustaches; the photo must match your age on the day you submit your documents | Be photographed as you look now |
| "The photo must be no more than 6 months old" | The order sets no such time limit, only that the photo must match your age | Bring recent photos |
| "A cap or hood is fine" | No headwear at all | Take off your cap or hood |
Checklist before you go to the enlistment office
Run through this list the day before your visit:
- Find out why you've been called in: registration, getting a military ID or something else.
- Count your photos: 6 for registration; for the military ID, as many as the enlistment office tells you.
- Check the size: 3×4 for registration, 25×35 mm for a military ID, 30×40 mm for a reserve officer, or whatever size the enlistment office has given you.
- The photos are black and white, on a white background, printed on matte paper.
- Sharp image of the face, looking straight at the camera, head and shoulders in the frame, no headwear.
- Glasses on if you wear them all the time; untinted lenses.
- The photos are recent and look like you do today.
- No corner unless the enlistment office asked for one.
Where to get photos for the enlistment office
Any of these three options will do, as long as the size, background and printing meet the requirements.
| Option | How it works | What to watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Photo studio | Photos taken and printed in one visit | Give the exact size (25×35 mm, 30×40 mm or 3×4) and ask for black-and-white prints on matte paper |
| Phone photo at home, printed at a copy shop | You shoot against a light wall in even light and crop the photo yourself | It's easy to get the size in millimetres wrong when printing; print at 100% scale on matte photo paper |
| Online selfie service | You upload a selfie, and the service adjusts the size, background and head position | Make sure the right document is selected; printing is up to you |
With SelfieDoc you can turn an ordinary selfie into a 25×35 mm military ID photo on a white background and get a file plus a sheet for printing. The service is for adults only. Print the sheet in black and white on matte paper at 100% scale so the size doesn't change.
Sources
Checked on 26 September 2026. All sources are in Russian.
- Order of the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation No. 700 of 22 November 2021, Instruction on organising the military registration system - clauses 9, 10, 11, 14, as amended on 9 July 2025
- Government Resolution No. 719 of 27 November 2006, Regulation on Military Registration - clause 34, as amended on 24 March 2026
- Government Resolution No. 663 of 11 November 2006, Regulation on Conscription for Military Service - as amended on 24 March 2026
- Federal Law No. 113-FZ of 25 July 2002 "On Alternative Civilian Service" - article 11
- Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development No. 167 of 19 October 2004 - certificate of a citizen doing alternative civilian service
- Order of the Minister of Defence No. 733 of 7 December 2015 (no longer in force)
- Military enlistment office of the Sakhalin Region: documents for initial military registration
FAQ
How many photos do I need for the voenkomat?
For initial military registration, six 3×4 photos (Regulation on Military Registration, clause 34). Ministry of Defence Order No. 700 doesn't say how many to hand in for a military ID: one is glued into the ID, so check the number with your enlistment office.
What size photo does the voenkomat need?
It depends on the step. For registration, 3×4. A soldier's or sergeant's military ID takes a 25×35 mm photo, and a reserve officer's military ID a 30×40 mm photo (clauses 10 and 9 of the Instruction to Ministry of Defence Order No. 700). If your enlistment office's information sheet asks for a different size, go with that.
What photo do I need for the pripisnoye (conscript certificate)?
"Pripisnoye" is the everyday name for the certificate of a citizen subject to conscription. It's issued at registration, which requires six 3×4 photos. The photo is glued into the certificate and stamped by the enlistment office; Order No. 700 sets no separate size for it.
Should voenkomat photos be colour or black and white?
For the military ID, only black and white, on a white background and matte paper. For registration, the Regulation on Military Registration doesn't specify colour; unless the enlistment office says otherwise, go for black and white here too.
Do voenkomat photos need a white corner?
Neither Ministry of Defence Order No. 700 nor the Regulation on Military Registration mentions a corner. Go without one unless the enlistment office asks for it.
Can I wear glasses in my military ID photo?
If you wear glasses all the time, you must wear them in the photo, and the lenses must be untinted. This is set out in clauses 9 and 10 of the Instruction to Order No. 700.