India Passport Photo Size and Rules for 2026

The most useful fact about Indian passport photos is that most applicants do not need one. Passport Seva's own instruction booklet states it plainly: a photograph is not required for applications submitted at a Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK). Your photo is captured at the centre when you attend your appointment.

If that describes your application, you can stop reading here and stop searching for a photo studio. If it does not, the rules below are the ones that apply.

Everything below comes from the Ministry of External Affairs' own documents: the Passport Seva instruction booklet for filling the passport application form, the official guidelines for capturing photographs for minors below 4 years, and the Passport Seva application-form FAQ.

Size

4.5 cm length x 3.5 cm width (45 x 35 mm)

Minimum size

Not smaller than the box on the form

Number of photos

One, pasted in the box on the form

Colour

Colour only; black and white not accepted

Background

Plain white

Clothing

Dark colour; no uniform

Print

Good quality photo paper, continuous-tone

Computer prints

Not accepted

Signature on photo

Photograph is not to be signed

Photo needed at PSK / POPSK

No - image captured at the centre

Source: Passport Seva - Instructions for filling the passport application form

Who actually needs a photograph

The instruction booklet splits applicants into two groups, and the split is the single thing most third-party guides get wrong.

The re-issue document list in the same booklet repeats the point: a recent photograph is listed as "required only in case of DPC/SPC/CSC applications", and adds that the photo should show your latest appearance.

There is one more case worth knowing. The booklet also notes that a notarised statement is needed if a Sikh applicant wants to change from a turban photograph to a clean-shaven one, or the other way round.

The 4.5 x 3.5 cm specification

The booklet's wording is precise: paste your recent passport size photograph 4.5 cm length x 3.5 cm width in colour, in the box meant for affixing the photograph. In millimetres that is 45 mm tall by 35 mm wide, the same shape used for UK, Australian and Schengen photos.

Two related rules matter as much as the size itself:

• The photo must fit within the given box on the form.
• The photo's dimensions must not be smaller than that box.

In other words, it has to match the box, not merely sit inside it. A photo trimmed down from a larger print will fail on the second rule.

Do's, taken verbatim from the booklet

• One colour photograph, 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm, pasted in the box
• Plain white background with dark-coloured clothing
• Frontal view of the full face visible
• Printed on good quality photo paper with a continuous-tone quality
• Natural expression: no grinning, frowning or raised eyebrows
• Eyes open, with both edges of the face clearly visible
• Head centred in the frame with both ears visible
• Black and white photographs
• A dark background, a uniform, or eyes hidden behind coloured or dark glasses
• A photograph in computer print
• A signature on the photograph
• Distracting shadows on the face or on the background
• Eyes covered by hair, or glare on eyeglasses
• A photograph that is torn, creased or marked
• Head coverings, except for religious reasons with chin, forehead and both edges of the face visible
• Photographs cut out of a group photograph

Two of those deserve emphasis because they surprise people.

Both ears visible. Most countries ask only that both edges of the face are shown. India's booklet asks specifically for both ears. Long hair tucked behind one ear and loose on the other can fail this.

Do not sign the photograph. Several other countries want a signature or an endorsement on the back of the print. India does not want one on the photo at all.

Glare on glasses: the fix the booklet gives you

The booklet does not ban spectacles outright. It bans eyes hidden under coloured or dark glasses, and it tells you how to deal with reflections: "Glares on eyeglasses should be avoided with a slight upward or downward tilt of the head."

That is a photographer's instruction rather than a rule, and it works. Tilting the head a couple of degrees moves the reflection of the light source off the lens without moving your eyes off the camera. If the glare will not shift, take the glasses off.

Getting the photo right, step by step

1. 1

   Check where you are lodging the form

   If it is a Passport Seva Kendra or a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra, you need no photograph at all. Only DPC, SPC and CSC applications require one.

2. 2

   Wear something dark against a plain white wall

   The booklet asks for a plain white background and dark-coloured clothing, so that the edges of your face read clearly against the background. Avoid uniforms.

3. 3

   Have someone else take it from a few steps back

   Frontal view, head centred, both ears visible, eyes open and hair clear of them. If your glasses catch the light, tilt your head slightly up or down, as the booklet suggests, or take them off.

4. 4

   Crop to 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm

   The finished photo must match the box printed on the form. It must not be smaller than the box, and it must not be trimmed down from a larger print.

5. 5

   Get it printed on photo paper

   A computer print is not accepted. Take the file to a photo shop and ask for a continuous-tone print on good quality photo paper.

6. 6

   Paste it, do not sign it

   Affix the photo inside the box on the form. Indian passport photographs are not to be signed, and photos that are torn, creased or marked are rejected.

Photographs for children under four

The Ministry publishes a separate one-page guideline for minors below four years of age, and it is stricter about framing than the adult rules:

• Colour photograph, 45 mm x 35 mm
• White background
• A close-up of the head and top of the shoulders such that the face takes up 80-85% of the photograph
• Child looking directly at the camera, eyes open and clearly visible, no hair across the eyes
• Skin tones shown naturally, with appropriate brightness and contrast
• Uniform lighting, no shadows, no flash reflections, no red eye
• Full head shown from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin, centred in the frame
• Natural expression
• Head coverings only for religious reasons, with the chin, forehead and both edges of the face clearly shown

The 80-85% figure is the one to plan around. It is a much tighter crop than an adult photo, and the usual cause of a rejected child photo is a picture taken from too far away.

For practical setup advice, our guide on how to take a passport photo at home covers lighting and distance for small children.

Diplomatic and official passport forms

The Passport Seva FAQ answers this separately. For a Diplomatic or Official passport application form filled online and then printed, applicants need two coloured photographs, 4.5 x 3.5 cm, with a white background, affixed to the printed form:

1. The first photograph goes on page one of the form, with no signature or stamp on it.
2. The second photograph goes on page three and is then stamped across with the office stamp and the signature of the Head of Office.

That second photo is the only Indian passport photo that is deliberately marked, and the marking is done by the office, not by you.

If you are applying through an Indian Mission abroad

Here the picture genuinely is muddier, and we would rather say so than paper over it.

Indian missions publish their own applicant guidance, and some of it describes a different photograph. The High Commission of India in Ottawa's photo specification document, for example, describes a colour photograph of 2 inch x 2 inch (51 x 51 mm) on a plain white or off-white background, with a head height of 1.4 to 1.6 inches (35 to 40 mm) from the top of the hair to the bottom of the chin, printed on thin photo paper with a continuous-tone quality and no retouching.

That is a square US-style photograph, not the 45 x 35 mm rectangle the domestic instruction booklet specifies. We are not going to guess which supersedes which. Follow the checklist published by the mission or centre you are actually applying to, and if the two conflict, the office receiving your application is the one that decides.

About the claimed February 2026 change

A number of photo-tool blogs state that India switched to a 35 x 45 mm standard on 16 February 2026, that the 2 x 2 inch format is no longer accepted anywhere, and that the digital file must be a JPEG of exactly 630 x 810 pixels between 10 and 250 KB.

We could not confirm any of that on a Passport Seva or Ministry of External Affairs page, and we are not going to repeat it. Here is what is actually true as far as we can verify:

• The Passport Seva instruction booklet specifies 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm. That is the same 45 x 35 mm shape those posts describe, but it is what the booklet has specified for years, not a sudden 2026 switch.
• We found no official pixel dimension or file-size limit for an Indian passport photograph anywhere on Passport Seva. The photo the booklet describes is a printed photograph pasted onto a printed form. The online application flow does not ask you to upload one.
• Some Indian missions abroad do still publish a 2 x 2 inch specification, as above.

If an official circular changing the standard exists, it is not linked from the pages an applicant would reasonably read, and a requirements guide that cites an unverifiable date is worse than one that says "we could not confirm this."

Where our tool fits, honestly

If you are applying at a PSK or POPSK, you do not need us and you do not need a studio. Book the appointment and let the centre take the photo.

If you are applying at a DPC, SPC or CSC, you need a printed photograph, and the booklet rules out computer prints. What we can do is get the file right before it reaches a printer: crop to 45 x 35 mm and check tilt, background evenness, sharpness and exposure. There is an optional replace-background switch for the two Indian formats, which is off by default; a real white wall is still the safer route. We can't detect glasses or glare on lenses, so check those yourself against the rules above. The check is free; you pay only if you download, $4.99 for the digital file or $6.99 with a 4x6 print sheet. Take the file to a photo shop for the print itself.

You can start from the home page. We are an independent service: we are not connected to Passport Seva or the Ministry of External Affairs, we cannot submit or track an application, and the office receiving your form decides whether the photograph is acceptable. If you also need photos for a UK or US application, those have their own rules, covered in our UK passport photo requirements and US passport photo requirements guides.

Indian passport photo checklist

• Confirm whether you need a photo at all: PSK and POPSK applicants do not
• 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm, matching the box on the form
• Colour, never black and white
• Plain white background
• Dark-coloured clothing, no uniform
• Frontal view, head centred, both ears visible
• Eyes open, no hair across the eyes, no glare on glasses
• Natural expression, no grinning or raised eyebrows
• No shadows on the face or the background
• Printed on good quality photo paper, not a computer print
• Not signed, not creased, not cut from a group photo
• Children under 4: face filling 80-85% of the frame

For how India's format compares with other countries, see our passport photo sizes by country table, and for the mistakes that cost the most time, why passport photos get rejected.

Sources

• Passport Seva - Instructions for filling of passport application form and supplementary form (V3.0)
• Passport Seva - Guidelines for capturing photographs for minors below 4 years of age (v2.1)
• Passport Seva - Application form FAQ (diplomatic and official passport photographs)
• High Commission of India, Ottawa - Photo specification

Frequently asked questions

What is the passport photo size in India?

Passport Seva's instruction booklet specifies a photograph 4.5 cm long by 3.5 cm wide, which is 45 x 35 mm, in colour on a plain white background. The photo must not be smaller than the box printed on the application form.

Do I need a photo for an Indian passport application?

Usually not. The official instruction booklet states that a photograph is not required for applications submitted at a Passport Seva Kendra or a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra, where your photo is captured at the centre. Photos are needed for applications lodged at a DPC, SPC or other citizen service centre.

Did India change its passport photo size to 35x45 mm in February 2026?

We could not confirm any February 2026 change on a Passport Seva or Ministry of External Affairs source. The official instruction booklet already specifies 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm, which is the same 45 x 35 mm shape. Treat undated claims about a sudden switch with caution.

What background does an Indian passport photo need?

Plain white. The instruction booklet also asks for dark-coloured clothing, so that you contrast with the background, and rules out photographs with a dark background or taken in uniform.

Can I print an Indian passport photo at home?

No. The instruction booklet says a photograph in computer print will not be accepted, and asks for a print on good quality photo paper with a continuous-tone quality. Use a photo studio for the print itself.

What size photo does a child under 4 need for an Indian passport?

The official guidance for minors below four years asks for a colour photograph 45 mm x 35 mm on a white background, framed so the face takes up 80 to 85 percent of the photograph, with the child looking directly at the camera.