head 70–80 %
Free: cropping, background replacement, check
14-day refund if the authority rejects the photo
SourceMinistry of the Interior and Administration of Poland (gov.pl)
Verified
Quick answer: A Poland passport photo must be 35 × 45 mm. Uniform light background with even lighting. Head occupies 70–80% of photo height. Neutral expression, clear lenses only, no glare. Last verified .
Requirements
| Format | 35 × 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Head height | 70–80% of photo height |
| Background | Uniform light background with even lighting. |
| Pose | Strictly full face position, maintaining vertical symmetry. |
| Expression | Neutral expression, mouth closed, eyes open. |
| Glasses | No dark glasses; eyebrows and pupils must be clearly visible. See full rules → |
| Lighting | Shadows, overexposure, and reflections not permitted. |
| Head covering | Religious reasons only; must not cover the facial oval. |
| Attire | Face from the crown to the upper part of the shoulders must be fully visible. |
| Digital resolution | 768 × 1004 px |
| File format | JPEG · sRGB / 24-bit |
| File size | max 2.5 MB Compress photo to 2 MB — Poland passport → |
| Millimetres | 35 × 45 mm |
|---|---|
| Centimetres | 3.5 × 4.5 cm |
| Inches | 1.38 × 1.77″ |
| Pixels at 300 dpi | 413 × 531 px |
| Pixels at 600 dpi | 827 × 1063 px |
The rules for a Polish passport photo are written on gov.pl by the Ministry of the Interior and Administration and repeated by the voivodeship offices that take the applications: a colour photograph of 35 × 45 mm, taken no earlier than 6 months before the day you apply, showing the whole head from the crown to the upper shoulders so that the face fills 70–80 % of the photo, from the front and symmetrical. The background is white, evenly lit, without shadows or decoration, the face is lit evenly with no reflections on skin or hair, the picture is sharp («without visible pixels»), with natural skin colour and a clear head outline (no overexposed background).
You look straight ahead with a natural expression and the mouth closed, hair off the face, the eyebrows, eyes and pupils visible, no red eyes; no head covering and no dark glasses. Clear glasses are allowed if the eyes are well visible, the frames do not cover the eyebrows and the lenses show no reflection; contact lenses if they do not change the natural shape and colour of the eyes; a beard or jewellery if they do not hinder recognition or cover the face outline; the ears need not be visible.
Exceptions are narrow: dark glasses with a disability certificate, a religious head covering with the whole face visible and a certificate from a religious community registered in Poland, and children up to 5, who may have closed eyes, an open mouth or an unnatural expression. At the office you hand in a printed photo; the file route (at least 768 × 1004 pixels, up to 2.5 MB) is described only for a child under 12. «A photograph that does not meet the requirements» means the passport application will not be accepted (art. 45 of the Act on passport documents).
Examples and mistakes
A photo that will be accepted, next to the six most common reasons Poland passport photos get rejected.
Typical reasons a photo is rejected under the rules Ministry of the Interior and Administration of Poland (gov.pl) publishes: what is wrong and what to change.
| Reason | Fix |
|---|---|
| A face outside 70–80 % of the photo, or a head cut off or too small | Frame from the crown to the upper shoulders so that the face fills 70–80 % of a 35 × 45 mm photo. |
| A photo older than 6 months | Take a new photo no earlier than 6 months before you apply. |
| A background that is not white or not uniform, shadows or reflections on the face, an overexposed background | Use an evenly lit plain white background and light the face evenly. |
| An open mouth, a smile or grimace, hair over the eyes or eyebrows, red eyes, a half-profile | Look straight ahead, mouth closed, natural expression, eyebrows and pupils visible. |
| Dark glasses, a head covering without a religious reason and certificate, or glasses with reflections or frames over the eyebrows | Take dark glasses and hats off; keep clear glasses only without glare and with the eyebrows visible. |
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 35 × 45 mm.
Clear lenses only, no glare
If you wear glasses, check the shot: no glare on the lenses, eyes clearly visible.
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 glare on glassesStand so that no light reflects in the lenses.Printing and submission
| 10 × 15 cm · 4 × 6″ | 8 (4 × 2) |
|---|---|
| A4 · 21 × 29.7 cm | 36 (6 × 6) |
Print at 100% scale, borderless, and turn off fit-to-page so each photo keeps its exact size.
A Polish passport is applied for at a passport office of a voivodeship office in Poland (or at a Polish consulate abroad) with a printed photograph; a child under 12 can also be applied for online with a photo file.
gov.pl — passport points of your voivodeship
Printed colour photo 35 × 45 mm, face 70–80 %, within 6 months.
Authority page| Authority | Ministry of the Interior and Administration of Poland (gov.pl) |
|---|---|
| Source | Polish passport and ID photo rules |
| Verified |
Questions
A colour photo of 35 × 45 mm taken within 6 months, showing the head from the crown to the upper shoulders with the face at 70–80 %, on a white evenly lit background without shadows, sharp, from the front, with a natural expression and the mouth closed, the eyebrows, eyes and pupils visible, no head covering and no dark glasses.
35 × 45 mm (width × height) printed on paper for an application at the office. For a child under 12 applied for online, a file of at least 768 × 1004 pixels, up to 2.5 MB, in the proportions of 35 × 45 mm.
Clear corrective glasses, yes, if your eyes are well visible, the frames do not cover the eyebrows and no light is reflected in the lenses. Dark glasses are allowed only for a vision defect, with a disability certificate attached.
No: gov.pl says the ears need not be visible and the hairstyle may extend beyond the edge of the photo, but the face must not be covered by hair and the eyebrows, eyes and pupils must be visible. A religious head covering must leave the whole face oval and the line of the ears uncovered.
The Poland passport photo must be 35 × 45 mm. The head must occupy 70–80% of the photo height. For digital upload, use 768 × 1004 px.
Uniform light background with even lighting. Behind you there should be only a plain wall: no pattern, shadows or objects. Any light wall at home will do — the tool sets the exact background colour.
Yes. A phone and a light wall near a window are enough. The rear camera is sharper than the front one, so ask someone to take the photo or use a 3-second timer. The tool crops it to size, fixes the background and checks it against the Poland passport photo rules.
For this document the photo must be no older than 6 months. It should look like you today: after a new haircut or beard, take a new one.
We refund the payment in full. Email us within 14 days of purchase with your order number and the rejection notice from the Poland authority — the refund policy page has the details.
35 × 45 mm = 3.5 × 4.5 cm = 1.38 × 1.77 inches. At 300 dpi that is 413 × 531 pixels; at 600 dpi, 827 × 1063 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 35 × 45 mm format and head size apply to: ID card.