UK Passport Size Photo Maker — 45 × 35 mm Print & Digital

A printed UK passport photo is 45 mm high by 35 mm wide, with your head measuring 29–34 mm from chin to crown — roughly 70–80 per cent of the photo's height. RadiantSnaps sizes and checks every photo against these figures, so nothing has to be measured by hand.

Plain cream or light grey. Pure white is technically accepted but is the convention for US photos rather than UK ones, and it gives the automated checker too little contrast to read the outline of your head and shoulders. Avoid patterns, objects, other people and any shadow.

It depends on how you apply. Online applications take a digital file only — at least 600 × 750 pixels, JPEG, between 50 KB and 10 MB. Paper applications use the LS01 form and need two identical borderless prints on photo-quality paper, one of which may need countersigning on the back. This page gives you both.

A photo code — also called a digital photo code or IDPC — is a reference issued by a booth or shop that lets HM Passport Office pull your photo into an online application automatically. It is optional: you can upload a compliant digital file yourself instead, which is free. Codes expire, so use one promptly if you have it.

No smiling — keep a plain expression with your mouth closed and both eyes open. Glasses are best taken off; if you must wear them, there can be no glare, reflection or shadow over the eyes and no tinted lenses.

Within the last month. This is stricter than most countries, which allow six months, and it applies even to renewals where your appearance has not changed — an older reused photo will be rejected.

The child must be alone in shot with nothing covering the face and no toys or dummies. Children under six do not have to look straight at the camera or hold a neutral expression, and babies under one do not need their eyes open — lay them on a plain light-coloured sheet and photograph from above, keeping hands out of frame.

Both are legitimate routes, but both mean travelling during opening hours and paying per set of prints — and a booth gives you one attempt at the expression. Taking it here costs less, takes about three minutes, and the head height and background are checked before you download rather than after you have paid.

Yes. UK visas, driving licences, Biometric Residence Permits and PASS identity cards all use the same 45 × 35 mm specification with the same head height, so one compliant photo covers them. Non-UK authorities set their own sizes — pick that country in the selector instead.