Indian passport photo size: 35 × 45 mm
The short answer: 35 mm wide, 45 mm tall, plain white background, taken in the last six months. Everything else on this page is the detail that gets applications rejected.
The size, in the units you might need
| Unit | Value |
|---|---|
| Millimetres | 35 × 45 mm |
| Centimetres | 3.5 × 4.5 cm |
| Inches | 1.38 × 1.77 in |
| Pixels at 300 DPI | 413 × 531 px |
| Pixels at 600 DPI | 827 × 1063 px |
The shape is what matters most. 35:45 works out to a ratio of about 1:1.29 — noticeably taller than it is wide. A square photo cropped down will never fit.
The old square format is gone
For a while, a 2 × 2 inch (51 × 51 mm) square photo was common in Indian paperwork. For passports issued in India that square format has been replaced by 35 × 45 mm. If a shop hands you square photos for a passport application, ask again and say the size out loud.
The square 51 × 51 mm size is still used elsewhere — OCI cards and some Indian visa applications filed at missions abroad. Check which one your specific form asks for.
What gets photos rejected
- Glasses. Reported guidance is that eyewear of any kind is not accepted — prescription glasses included. Take them off.
- A background that is not plain white. No gradient, no shadow behind the head, no wall texture, no cream or grey.
- Hair over the ears. Both ears are expected to be visible.
- Expression. Neutral. Mouth closed, both eyes open, looking straight at the lens.
- Beauty filters. Phone skin-smoothing and portrait-mode blur are grounds for rejection. Turn them off before you shoot.
- Age. The photo should be from the last six months.
Uploading to Passport Seva
For online submission the portal expects a JPEG rather than a print. The figures reported most consistently are 630 × 810 pixels and a file under 250 KB, on a plain white background. Files outside those limits tend to be refused automatically rather than reviewed by a person.
Taking it at home
- Stand about half a metre from a plain white wall, so no shadow falls on it.
- Face a window. Daylight from the front is softer than any indoor bulb.
- Have someone hold the phone at your eye level, roughly an arm and a half away. Holding it yourself at arm's length distorts the face.
- Use the rear camera, not the selfie camera, and turn off any beauty mode.
- Shoot wide. It is easy to crop in later; it is impossible to add what you cut off.
Make a 35 x 45 mm photo now
Crop it, whiten the background, print 30 on one A4. First photo is free.
Open the photo maker