Home / Digital Passport Photos UK
What your file needs
For an online UK passport application, your digital image must be at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall, with a file size from 50KB to 10MB. It must be a sharp colour photograph taken in the last month and unaltered by computer software.
Use a plain light-coloured background and even lighting. Include your head, shoulders and upper body when taking your own photo; do not crop it yourself. Ask someone to take the photo. Face the camera with your mouth closed and eyes visible; avoid shadows, red eye and anything obscuring your face.
Do not use beauty filters, facial retouching or software to change your appearance or replace the background. If the lighting or background is unsuitable, take another photograph. Official guidance requires an unaltered photo.
Guidance checked on 10 October 2026 against GOV.UK passport photo guidance and its digital and printed photo guide. HM Passport Office makes the final acceptance decision.
A digital image or a photo code?
A digital image is the photograph itself. A photo code allows the online application to retrieve a supplier-provided photograph. Check the named product before ordering so you receive the output you need.
Before you upload
Keep the original camera file. Avoid screenshots, messaging-app copies and social-media downloads, which may reduce image quality. Do not stretch an undersized photograph to meet a pixel minimum: take a clearer original instead.