head 70–80 %no glasses
Free: cropping, background replacement, check
14-day refund if the authority rejects the photo
SourceRegistraduría Nacional del Estado Civil of Colombia
Verified
Quick answer: A Colombia ID card photo must be 40 × 50 mm. Plain light background without textures or noticeable gradients. Head occupies 70–80% of photo height. Neutral expression, glasses prohibited. Last verified .
Requirements
| Format | 40 × 50 mmICAO 9303: 35 × 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height | 70–80% of photo height |
| Background | Plain light background without textures or noticeable gradients. |
| Pose | Strictly full face, head without rotation or tilt, shoulders level. |
| Expression | Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open. |
| Glasses | Glasses not permitted. See full rules → |
| Lighting | Shadows on the face and background not permitted. |
| Head covering | Religious reasons only; must not cover the facial oval. |
| Attire | Neutral clothing, shoulders visible, without uniform or distracting accessories. |
| File format | JPEG · sRGB / 24-bit |
| Millimetres | 40 × 50 mm |
|---|---|
| Centimetres | 4 × 5 cm |
| Inches | 1.57 × 1.97″ |
| Pixels at 300 dpi | 472 × 591 px |
| Pixels at 600 dpi | 945 × 1181 px |
For a Colombian citizenship card the Registraduría asks that a physical photograph «meet the international ICAO standards, so that they are suitable for facial biometric authentication» and gives these recommendations: «the size of the photograph must be 4 cm wide, 5 cm high»; the face centred, with the portion from the crown to the chin «between 70 % and 80 % of the longest dimension»; «the full front face, the mouth closed and the eyes open» with the hair behind the ears — «no photographs half-side or tilted». Clothing: «it is essential to wear dark clothes or strong colours»; no straps, large collars or plunging necklines, and «photographs with white or other light-coloured garments are prohibited». Accessories: no headbands, bows, hairclips, hairstyles that affect the view of the face, large metal adornments (piercings) or anything that alters the shape of the face; «no photographs with dark glasses are permitted, preferably without glasses». A photograph that ignores these requirements gets the document rejected until a suitable one is provided. The photograph is needed only exceptionally — when the fingerprints must be taken on paper with ink and at consulates that do not yet have digital enrolment stations.
Examples and mistakes
One compliant example next to the six most common rejection causes for Colombia ID card applications. These are the differences that most often determine whether a document photo is accepted.
Typical reasons a photo is rejected under the rules Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil of Colombia publishes: what is wrong and what to change.
| Reason | Fix |
|---|---|
| White or other light-coloured clothing | Dark or strongly coloured clothing without straps, large collars or plunging necklines. |
| Dark glasses, headbands, bows, large piercings or a hairstyle that hides the face | No accessories that affect the face; preferably no glasses; hair behind the ears. |
| A half-side or tilted photograph | A fully frontal photograph with the mouth closed and the eyes open. |
| A print that is not 4 × 5 cm or whose crown-to-chin portion is outside 70–80 % | A 4 × 5 cm print with the crown-to-chin portion of 70–80 %. |
How to take it
Background: plain light
The tool puts in the required background. Stand half a metre from a plain light wall, face a window and shoot without flash — then there are no shadows on your face or on the wall.
Head: 70–80 % of the photo height
Camera at eye level, about a metre away; head and shoulders in the shot. The tool crops it to 40 × 50 mm.
Glasses prohibited
Take them off before the shot.
Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open
Look straight into the lens with your head level; keep hair away from your eyes and eyebrows.
An ordinary selfie will do: we fix the background, light and framing ourselves — to this document's rules. The preview is free.
Head straightHold the phone at eye level and your head straightens by itself.
Face uncoveredMove your hair away so your eyes and eyebrows show.
No glassesTake your glasses off — this document's rules require it.Printing and submission
| 10 × 15 cm · 4 × 6″ | 6 (3 × 2) |
|---|---|
| A4 · 21 × 29.7 cm | 28 (4 × 7) |
Print at 100% scale, borderless, and turn off fit-to-page so each photo keeps its exact size.
A Colombian citizenship card is applied for at a Registraduría office or a Colombian consulate, where the photograph is taken; a physical photograph — 4 × 5 cm to the ICAO standards — is asked for only in exceptional cases.
registraduria.gov.co — Registro civil e identificación
If a photograph is asked for: 4 × 5 cm, ICAO, dark clothing, no white.
Authority page| Authority | Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil of Colombia |
|---|---|
| Source | Si debo aportar fotografías físicas, ¿qué requisitos deben tener? — recomendaciones para la fotografía |
| Verified |
Questions
4 cm wide and 5 cm high, to the ICAO standards, with the crown-to-chin portion 70–80 % of the longest dimension.
Dark or strongly coloured clothes — no straps, large collars or plunging necklines; white and other light colours are prohibited.
Dark lenses are not permitted, and the Registraduría prefers no glasses at all.
Only exceptionally — when the fingerprints are taken on paper with ink and at consulates that do not yet have digital enrolment stations.
The Colombia ID card photo must be 40 × 50 mm. The head must occupy 70–80% of the photo height. The photo must reflect your current everyday appearance.
Plain light background without textures or noticeable gradients. Identity cards are used frequently in daily life — for banking, age verification and domestic travel — so the photo is scrutinised many times and minor background issues become more visible at print scale.
Yes. Stand against a flat light-coloured wall, face a window for even natural light, and use a phone with a timer. The tool handles the crop, background normalisation and ICAO alignment check automatically.
Identity card photos generally need to reflect your current appearance. Most authorities accept photos taken within the last six months, but significant changes to hair, beard or facial features since the photo was taken may require a new one.
Glasses not permitted. Removing glasses for the shoot is the safest option, especially given the long validity period of most identity cards. Glare that passes today may fail re-verification at a future biometric checkpoint.
Anfas.Pro provides a 14-day full refund if the Colombia authority rejects the photo and you supply the rejection notice.
40 × 50 mm = 4 × 5 cm = 1.57 × 1.97 inches. At 300 dpi that is 472 × 591 pixels; at 600 dpi, 945 × 1181 pixels.
Religious reasons only; must not cover the facial oval. The face must stay fully visible from chin to forehead and on both sides, with no shadow across it.
Yes. The same 40 × 50 mm format and head size apply to: citizenship application.