French Passport Photo Requirements
A French passport photo is 35 x 45 mm on a plain light background, and it must come from an approved photographer or booth. White backgrounds are banned.
The French passport photo size is 3.5 x 4.5 cm (35 x 45 mm), with your face measuring 3.2 to 3.6 cm from chin to the top of the head, on a plain light background such as light blue or light grey. White is not allowed, and the photo has to be taken by an approved professional photographer or in an approved photo booth. That last rule means a photo you take and print at home is not valid for a French passport, however well it is sized.
These rules come from service-public.gouv.fr, the French government's official information site, on its page Photo d'identité, last checked by the site on 8 October 2026 and read for this guide on 12 November 2026. The same rules apply to the national ID card. For the rules most countries share, see passport photo requirements explained.
What size and format does a French passport photo need?
| Size | 3.5 cm wide x 4.5 cm high |
| Face | 3.2 to 3.6 cm, about 70 to 80% of the photo, measured from the bottom of the chin to the top of the skull, not counting hair |
| Background | Plain and light, for example light blue or light grey. White is forbidden. |
| Who takes it | An authorised professional photographer, or a photo booth using an approved system |
| Age | Less than 6 months old, and it must look like you |
| Quality | Sharp, with no folds or marks, neither over- nor under-exposed, with no cast shadows. Colour is strongly recommended. |
| How many | One photo for a passport or ID card application |
The page gives no pixel size, resolution or file size. The photographer or booth produces the photo, so those are not figures you need to hit yourself.
Why is a white background not allowed?
Service-public.gouv.fr states it in one line: "Le fond blanc est interdit" (a white background is forbidden). It asks for a plain, light colour instead and gives light blue and light grey as examples. The page doesn't explain the reason.
This catches people out because so many countries ask for the opposite. Italy, for example, wants a white background, as covered in Italian passport photo requirements. A spare photo left over from another country's application, or one made with a tool that defaults to white, will not pass in France.
Pose, expression, glasses and head coverings
Face the camera and look into the lens, with a neutral expression and your mouth closed. Your eyes must be open and fully visible.
Glasses are not required, and you can keep them on if the frame is not thick and doesn't hide your eyes, and the lenses are not tinted, coloured or reflective. Smiling and glasses in passport photos explains why these two rules cause so many rejections.
Your head must be uncovered: no hat, scarf or headband. The service-public.gouv.fr page lists no exception to this rule. If you have a religious or medical reason to keep your head covered, ask the office handling your application before you have the photo taken.
If the photo doesn't meet these rules, the page is blunt about the result: the photo is refused and the passport is not issued.
Can I take a French passport photo at home?
No. The rule that the photo must come from an authorised professional or an approved booth applies to passport and ID card photos, so a picture taken on your phone and printed at home doesn't qualify, even at the right size and on the right background. Germany restricts home photos too, under a different rule, set out in German passport photo requirements.
To find an approved photographer or booth, service-public.gouv.fr links to a free locator on the ANTS passport site (ANTS is the agency that issues French secure documents): find authorised photographers and booths. You can search by postcode, town or département.
That is also why there is no do-it-yourself step in this guide: no photo tool, ours included, can produce a valid French passport photo. For other countries' rules, start from the passport photo maker hub, and check that country's own rules first.
Questions people ask
How many photos do I need?
One. Service-public.gouv.fr states that a single photo is enough for a passport or ID card application.
I live outside France. Do the same rules apply?
Abroad, you apply in person at the French embassy or consulate, and service-public.gouv.fr's passport page lists the same photo requirement there: less than six months old and compliant with the rules above. Check your consulate's own page for where to get an approved photo locally.
Is this the photo I need for a visa to visit France?
No. These rules are for French citizens' passports and ID cards. A short-stay visa for France is a Schengen visa, covered in Schengen visa photo requirements. The Schengen visa photo maker crops your photo to 35 x 45 mm with a box you can drag and resize, and saves a 413 x 531 pixel JPG in your browser without uploading it. Confirm the photo rules on your visa centre's checklist before you submit.