Germany's Digital Passport Photo Rule: How the E-Passfoto Process Works Since May 2025

Anyone applying for a new German passport or ID card can no longer simply hand over the printed photo from the drugstore. Since 1 May 2025 Germany uses the E-Passfoto process: the biometric portrait reaches the authority digitally. This guide explains what that means for residents, expats and anyone dealing with German authorities, what it costs and where the exceptions are.

What changed

The Federal Ministry of the Interior and consumer advice centres describe the rule in the same way: for passports and ID cards — according to the Ministry also for electronic residence permits and travel documents for foreigners — only digital biometric photos are accepted. Authorities no longer take printed paper photos. The reason given is to make morphing attacks harder, where several faces are blended into one image.

A transition rule applied first: until 31 July 2025 paper photos were still allowed for identity documents. Since August 2025 only the digital route works.

Route 1: the photo at the citizen office

Many passport and ID offices capture the photo themselves, at a self-service terminal or with a staff member using a mobile device. An office does not have to provide its own device, but it must accept digital photos. The Ministry expects well over 90 percent of authorities to offer on-site photo capture.

• Price: if the office uses a Bundesdruckerei PointID system, the photo costs a flat €6 nationwide. Municipalities that use another provider’s system can charge differently — check the municipality’s website.
• Choice: on PointID devices you can usually pick one of up to three biometric-quality images.
• Use: the photos taken at the office are only for producing the ID document. For applications, visas or CVs you still need an ordinary photo.

Route 2: a photographer or drugstore with a code

1. The photographer takes the picture and checks that it is biometric-quality.
2. The image is encrypted and sent via a cloud certified to the BSI (Federal Office for Information Security) standard.
3. You receive a printout with a Data-Matrix code (similar to a QR code).
4. You show the printout at the office, which retrieves the photo from the cloud with the code.

Without the printout the office cannot find your image, so keep it safe until the appointment. Prices are set by each provider, so ask before you book.

Special cases

• Babies and toddlers: the terminals in offices are often unsuitable for very small children. Bring a coded photo from a registered photographer.
• Driving licences: paper photos are still possible; the change does not affect them.
• Applications abroad: according to the Ministry, paper passport photos (45 x 35 mm, portrait, no border) may still be accepted when you apply abroad.
• Direct delivery: finished documents can be mailed to your home for an extra €15.

The photo must still be biometric

Digital does not mean looser. The German sample sheets define a 35 x 45 mm image with a head height (chin to crown) of 32 to 36 mm. A picture taken at home and printed is no longer an option for a German passport or ID card.

For other purposes — a visa form, a CV or documents abroad — you can make a correctly sized photo with our Schengen visa photo tool.

Checklist before your appointment

1. Check on your municipality’s website whether the office has a terminal and what the photo costs.
2. If not, choose a registered photographer or a drugstore with an E-Passfoto service and ask for the price.
3. Keep the Data-Matrix printout and bring it to the appointment.
4. For a small child, ask the office in advance how they handle the photo.