Crop a photo to 35 × 45 mm — Germany driver's license
Upload a photo — the frame is already set for a Germany driver's license. Ready to print or upload.
Upload your photo
The document is already selected — the frame is locked to 35 × 45 mm. The proportions are set for you and cannot be broken.
The photo is cropped in your browser. It is not uploaded to a server and we do not store it.
How to crop it, in three steps
- Upload a photo taken face-on, in even light
- The tool finds the face and aligns the frame itself — check that the head lands in 70–80%
- Save the 35 × 45 mm result — print it or attach it to the application
Exact numbers for this document
| Parameter | What it must be |
|---|---|
| Print size | 35 × 45 mm |
| Pixels at 300 dpi | 413 × 531 px |
| Pixels at 600 dpi | 827 × 1063 px |
| Aspect ratio | 7:9 |
| Head, share of height | 70–80% of photo height |
| Eye line from the bottom edge | 55–70% |
| Background | Plain neutral background with clear contrast to the face. |
| Glasses | Eyes must be fully visible; no tinting or reflections. |
| Head covering | Religious reasons only; must not cover the facial oval. |
What these millimetres work out to
- In a 35 × 45 mm frame a head band of 70–80% is 31.5–36 mm from the chin to the crown.
- Of the 45 mm of height that leaves 9–13.5 mm for the gap above the crown and the space below the chin together.
- At 300 dpi that is a head 372–425 pixels tall — below 372 px the file is too small to print, however good the crop is.
What cropping will not fix
- A wrong background — cropping does not repaint the wall behind you. This document needs: plain neutral background with clear contrast to the face
- A shadow on the face or on the wall. Step 1–2 m away from the wall and shoot facing a window.
- Glare on the lenses. Take the glasses off or turn away from the light source and shoot again.
- A smile, raised brows or a half-open mouth. Cropping keeps the face it was given.
- Too few pixels. If the original is smaller than 413 × 531 px, enlarging it only blurs the face.
Printing on a single sheet
4 × 2 frames fit on one 10×15 cm sheet — 8 copies from a single print.
Photos per print sheet
| 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.
Where these numbers come from
Source: Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung (FeV) § 21 Abs. 3 Nr. 2 in Verbindung mit der Passverordnung (PassV). Last checked against the official page on 2026-08-31.
- § 21 Abs. 3 Nr. 2 FeV lists among the documents that must accompany a driving-licence application «ein Lichtbild, das den Bestimmungen der Passverordnung vom 19. Oktober 2007 (BGBl. I S. 2386), die zuletzt durch Artikel 2 der Verordnung vom 20. August 2021 (BGBl. I S. 3682) geändert worden ist, entspricht».
- Anlage 8 PassV states the head requirement as a percentage only: «Das Gesicht nimmt 70 bis 80 % der Höhe des Fotos ein.» It publishes no millimetre head height, so this profile carries the percentage band and no headHeightMm values.
- Anlage 8 PassV on the background: «Der schattenfreie Hintergrund ist einfarbig und bildet zum Gesicht sowie zu den Haaren einen deutlichen Kontrast.»
- Anlage 8 PassV on expression and eyes: «Der Gesichtsausdruck ist neutral. Der Blick ist geradeaus in die Kamera gerichtet und der Mund geschlossen.» and «Die Augen sind klar und deutlich erkennbar. Sie sind nicht verdeckt.»
- § 16 Abs. 2 PassV requires the photo to show the person «in einer Frontalaufnahme, ohne Kopfbedeckung und ohne Bedeckung der Augen sowie ohne Uniformteile»; Anlage 8 allows head coverings «nur aus religiösen Gründen».
- The federal Bundesportal service entry for «Führerschein beantragen» requires «ein aktuelles biometrisches Passfoto (35 x 45 Millimeter)», and the Düsseldorf licensing authority lists «ein Lichtbild (biometrisch) (Mindestgröße 35 x 45 Millimeter ohne Kopfbedeckung)».
- The driving licence is excluded from the digital-only photo regime that has applied to German passports and ID cards since 1 May 2025. The Uckermark licensing authority states: «Eine Ausnahme von den digitalen Lichtbildern ist der Führerschein – hier ist weiterhin ein Papierfoto erforderlich.»
- Berlin's licensing authority lists for the conversion of a non-EU/EEA driving licence «1 aktuelles, biometrisches Passfoto auf Papier» and adds «Bitte bringen Sie ein Foto mit. Vor Ort werden keine Papierfotos gedruckt.» — the applicant supplies the photo.
FeV § 21 — Antrag auf Erteilung einer Fahrerlaubnis (gesetze-im-internet.de)
Questions people ask before cropping
35 × 45 mm. 70–80% of photo height.
413 × 531 px (300 dpi) · 827 × 1063 px (600 dpi).
70–80% of photo height.
Plain neutral background with clear contrast to the face.
A wrong background — cropping does not repaint the wall behind you. This document needs: plain neutral background with clear contrast to the face. A shadow on the face or on the wall. Step 1–2 m away from the wall and shoot facing a window. Glare on the lenses. Take the glasses off or turn away from the light source and shoot again. A smile, raised brows or a half-open mouth. Cropping keeps the face it was given. Too few pixels. If the original is smaller than 413 × 531 px, enlarging it only blurs the face.
4 × 2 frames fit on one 10×15 cm sheet — 8 copies from a single print.