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Upload your photo and get it to the size Italy requires: 35 × 45 mm on a plain white background.
Italy follows the ICAO biometric standard published by Polizia di Stato and MAECI — 35 × 45 mm, in colour, on a plain white background, with two things about Italian practice that catch people out: the 35 × 40 mm booth format, and the split between Questura and Comune.
Grandezza: 35×45 mm. Il viso deve coprire il 70-80% della foto dalla base del mento alla fronte. La foto deve avere uno sfondo bianco e con luce uniforme, deve essere recente (non più di 6 mesi), a colori, con espressione neutra e bocca chiusa.
— Linee guida foto ICAO — Ministero degli Affari Esteri / Polizia di Stato
Compiled 24 September 2026 from MAECI / Polizia di Stato ICAO photo guidance at esteri.it.
Italy applies the same ICAO standard as its neighbours but checks it at the counter, on the spot. These four cover most of what gets sent back.
The passport requires 35 mm by 45 mm. Because photo booths and many studio presets still cut the traditional Italian formato tessera at 35 × 40 mm, applicants hand over a print that is five millimetres short and get refused at the Questura.
The face must cover 70–80 % of the photo, so anything between the two passes but a face that measures under 70 % does not. This is the most common problem in photos taken at arm's length or cropped from a group shot.
The guidance asks for a white background with uniform light. Off-white walls, a soft gradient from indoor lighting, or a shadow thrown by your shoulders all fail the check, and so do any other objects or people in frame.
Neutral expression with the mouth closed, eyes clearly visible and looking at the camera, hair off the eyes and eyebrows, and no head covering unless it is worn daily for religious reasons — with chin and forehead still visible.
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The size is an ICAO standard shared with most of Europe, so the failures are not exotic — they are the five things the Questura checks first, and one of them is unique to Italy.
Italian cabine fototessere very often print the legacy formato tessera at 35 × 40 mm, five millimetres short of what the passport needs. It is close enough to look fine and wrong enough to be refused at the counter, and it is the single most under-reported rejection in Italy.
The face has to fill 70–80 % of the photo — roughly 32–36 mm from chin to crown. Photos people already carry were usually taken too far back, leaving the face a couple of millimetres under the range, which is where most refusals actually come from.
Uniform lighting and a plain background, with nothing else in frame. A faint shadow behind your shoulders — the usual result of shooting against a wall indoors — is read as an uneven background and rejected.
A passport filed at the Questura needs two identical photos you bring with you. A carta d'identità elettronica is handled by the Comune, which normally takes the photo at the desk. Knowing which office you are booked into decides whether you print anything.
Photo privacy & security ↗“The booth at the station gave me 35×40 like it always does. Nobody warns you that the passport needs 35×45 until the Questura sends you home.”
“My face measured 66% of the frame. Would never have known without measuring it — it looked perfectly framed to me.”
“Booked the Comune for my ID card and almost paid for prints they never asked for. Turns out they take it at the desk.”
“Took my glasses off after reading about the reflection rule. Ten seconds of discomfort, no argument at the counter.”
“Printed two copies at the tabaccheria for under a euro each. The whole thing cost less than the bus fare to the photo studio.”
“Indoor lighting left a soft shadow on the wall behind me. Fixed the setup and reshot before wasting an appointment.”
The exact size versus the booth format, whether the Questura or the Comune takes it, what glasses rule actually applies, and how to print.
35 millimetres wide by 45 millimetres tall, in colour, portrait orientation. Do not confuse it with the 35 × 40 mm card format that many Italian photo booths still cut — if you get four prints out of a cabina fototessera without specifying, check what came out before you take them to the Questura.
Yes for the format: 35 × 45 mm is the ICAO standard used across most of Europe, so it matches Germany, France, Spain's visas and the Schengen norm. What differs is Italian practice — the 35 × 40 mm booth default, and an ID-card process that usually captures the photo for you.
Because of an older Italian card format that predates the ICAO biometric standard, and because the machine default rarely gets changed. Those five missing millimetres are the reason plenty of people reach the Questura counter with photos that look fine and are refused. Asking for 35 × 45 mm for a passport is worth doing out loud.
It depends on the document. A passport is issued by the Questura and you bring two identical printed photos to the appointment. A carta d'identità elettronica is issued by your Comune, and staff there normally capture the photo digitally at the desk, so prints may not be needed at all — worth confirming when you book.
The official ICAO guidance allows clear prescription glasses provided your eyes are clearly visible, there is no flash reflection on the lenses and the frames cover no part of your eyes; sunglasses and heavy frames are not permitted. In practice, Questure and consulates apply this unevenly and a few commercial guides claim glasses are banned outright, so removing them for the shot removes the argument entirely.
Between 70 and 80 per cent, measured from the chin to the crown of your head — roughly 32 to 36 millimetres on a 45 mm tall photo. Under 70 per cent is the most common technical failure, and it usually comes from photos taken at too great a distance.
Plain white with uniform lighting is what the official guidance asks for, and it is the safe answer. Some municipal instructions for the electronic ID card allow a very light grey, and a few offices tolerate it, but cream, beige and anything with a gradient or shadow get flagged. Keep anything that is not you out of frame too.
Two identical prints for a passport appointment at the Questura, on high-quality high-definition photographic paper. Budget something in the region of €5–7 for four prints from a booth or €10–15 at a photo studio; printing a correct file yourself at a tabaccheria or photo lab is cheaper still.
Taken no more than six months before you apply, and it has to look like you now. Both are written into the guidance, and staff check the date against your application at the counter.
Same 35 × 45 mm size, with some latitude on the rest: a rigid neutral expression is not expected from a small child, eyes do not have to be fully open, and a slightly open mouth is tolerated. Newborns can lie on a plain white blanket and be photographed from directly above, as long as the face is level and nothing else appears in frame.
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.