Background that is not plain white
Only plain white is accepted — off-white, cream and light grey are flagged, and Indian photo studios often default to blue or grey. Faint shadows behind you are the single most reported failure.
Upload the photo you already have and get it to the current India passport size — 35 × 45 mm, head 36–38 mm, plain white background, and the exact 630 × 810 px file Passport Seva asks for.

India moved to the ICAO standard in September 2025 and enforces it from February 2026 — these are the current Passport Seva rules, not the old square format.
The photograph should present full head from top of hair to bottom of chin, with the head centred in frame and no distracting shadows on the face or the background.
— Passport Seva — Government of India
Compiled 24 September 2026 from Passport Seva photo guidance at passportindia.gov.in.
Since the switch to ICAO rules the checks are stricter than most people expect. These four account for the overwhelming majority of rejections.
Only plain white is accepted — off-white, cream and light grey are flagged, and Indian photo studios often default to blue or grey. Faint shadows behind you are the single most reported failure.
Chin to crown has to fill 80–85 per cent of the frame. Most photos people already have were taken too far away, leaving the face too small to pass.
Glasses of any kind are not permitted since September 2025 — prescription, reading, frameless and anti-glare included, with no medical exception. Tinted lenses and sunglasses were always out.
The upload has to be exactly 630 × 810 px and not merely close. Wrong pixel counts, PNG or HEIC instead of JPEG, and files over 250 KB are rejected by the portal before anyone looks.
Create your online passport photo in 3 minutes.
One photo. The right size. A clean background.
Start with a clear portrait
Upload a recent, front-facing photo. Keep your full head and shoulders visible.
Automatic size, positioning & background
Choose your document. The system automatically adjusts photo dimensions, subject positioning and background to the selected format.
Check, then save or print
The system checks your photo against the selected application requirements. Once it passes, save or print it. Final acceptance rests with the issuing authority.
Built around what Passport Seva actually rejects on: background, head proportion and the pixel-exact upload, not just the size.
Passport Seva wants plain white and flags anything else. Upload a photo taken anywhere and the background is replaced with compliant white — the single most common reason photos come back.
The portal checks pixels and rejects an off-by-one file, so 629 or 631 wide fails outright. Every download lands on 630 × 810 px JPEG under 250 KB, ready for the upload step.
Chin to crown must measure 36–38 mm — 80–85 per cent of the frame, one of the tightest face ratios any country asks for. More of your face has to fill the frame than most photos do.
No studio visit and no new shoot. Take any recent picture with enough resolution and it is converted to the current India passport size rather than starting over.
Photo privacy & security ↗“Uploaded one photo and it told me my head was too small for the 80–85% rule. Fixed the crop and it passed the portal the same evening.”
“The studio gave me a blue background photo. Replaced the background here in a minute instead of paying for another set.”
“My 629-pixel file kept failing while 629 looks identical to 630. Getting exactly 630 × 810 out of this is what finally let me submit.”
“Did not know glasses were banned now. Found out here rather than at the PSK counter, which would have wasted a morning.”
“Asked for 3.5 × 4.5 cm at the print shop and got the old square. This one labels centimetres clearly, so there is nothing left to argue about.”
“Used an old photo from my phone, and the file landed under 250 KB without me resizing anything. Done before the appointment.”
Centimetres as well as millimetres, background replacement, whether it can be done free, and which of India's several photo sizes you actually need.
35 mm wide by 45 mm tall — 3.5 × 4.5 cm — on a 7 : 9 portrait rectangle. This replaced the old square 51 × 51 mm format when India moved to the ICAO standard in September 2025. Your head must measure 36–38 mm from chin to crown, filling 80–85 per cent of the frame.
3.5 cm wide by 4.5 cm tall. If your photo tool or print shop still quotes 5.1 × 5.1 cm, that is the retired square format — ask for 3.5 × 4.5 cm instead. India switched off the square for passport applications, though OCI cards and e-Visas still use it.
Exactly 630 × 810 pixels — not approximately, because the portal validates the pixel count and rejects off-by-one dimensions. It has to be JPEG rather than PNG or HEIC, in colour, and under 250 KB. Files straight from a phone are usually several megabytes, so compression is part of the job rather than an afterthought.
Yes, and for most people that is the whole task. The photo already on your phone is almost certainly not against plain white, and anything else — cream, light grey, blue studio backdrops, or shadows from indoor lighting — gets flagged. Uploading it here replaces the background with compliant white.
No. Since September 2025 glasses of every kind are barred: prescription, reading, frameless, anti-glare and sunglasses, with no medical exception. Older advice about avoiding glare applies to the legacy square format and no longer reflects what Passport Seva accepts.
Yes — that is exactly what this does. Provide a recent, reasonably sharp photo taken in even light, and it is cropped to 35 × 45 mm with the head proportion and white background corrected. You do not need to arrange a new shoot, and photos taken before September 2025 are worth replacing anyway.
Checking your photo against the specifications costs nothing — upload it and you see whether the size, head proportion, background and file spec pass before paying for anything. Being told your photo fails while it still costs nothing to fix is the useful part; the download itself is a separate step.
No. Passport Seva requires a photograph of you, and generated or heavily edited faces fail both the automated biometric check and the human one. Changing the background, cropping and correcting exposure are fine; synthesising the face is not.
No — this is the most common mix-up. Indian passport applications use the 35 × 45 mm rectangle at 630 × 810 px, while OCI cards and e-Visas still use the 51 × 51 mm square. Pick the document you are applying for in the selector so the right spec is applied.
Width × height. Resolution and background reflect what this tool outputs; the official link points at the issuing authority.
| Country | Size | Resolution | Background | Official guidance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Passport | 2 × 2 in (51 × 51 mm) | High resolution; no numeric DPI specified | White or off-white | Official |
| UK Passport | 35 × 45 mm (print) | At least 600 × 750 px (online) | Plain, light-coloured | Official |
| Canada Passport | 50 × 70 mm | Sharp print; no numeric DPI specified | White or light-coloured | Official |
| Australia Passport | 35–40 mm wide × 45–50 mm high | Quality print; no numeric DPI specified | White or light grey | Official |
| India Passport | Portrait, 7:9 ratio | 630 × 810 px | White | Official |
| China Passport | 33 × 48 mm (print) | JPEG; no pixel count or DPI stated in this guide | White | Official |
| France Passport | 35 × 45 mm | Sharp photo; no numeric DPI specified | Light blue or light grey; not white | Official |
| Japan Passport | 35 × 45 mm (print) | 600 × 730 px (MynaPortal) | Plain, without shadows | Official |
| Singapore Passport | Portrait, 400:514 ratio | 400 × 514 px recommended | White; light grey for white hair | Official |
| New Zealand Passport | Portrait, 3:4 ratio | 900–4500 × 1200–6000 px | Plain, light-coloured | Official |
“Taken within the last 6 months to reflect your current appearance.”
— U.S. Department of State — Passport photo requirements
Compiled 22 September 2026 by the RadiantSnaps team against official guidance. Entries without an official link have no confirmed government page yet; always follow your issuing authority.