UK passport photo rules
HM Passport Office publishes the rules on GOV.UK. A printed photo must be 45 mm high and 35 mm wide, in colour, and the image of your head from crown to chin must be between 29 mm and 34 mm. The photo must not be cut down from a larger picture by hand – it must be printed at that size – which is exactly what the print sheet here is for.
You need a plain cream or light grey background, with clear contrast between you and the background, and no shadows on your face or behind you. Face forwards, look straight at the camera, keep a plain expression with your mouth closed, and make sure your eyes are open and not covered by hair. Head coverings are only allowed for religious or medical reasons. Remove glasses if they cause glare or reflections; tinted glasses are not allowed.
The UK is unusually strict about how recent the photo is: it must have been taken in the last month.
Applying online or on paper
Most adults now renew online. The online service accepts a digital photo that is at least 600 × 750 pixels; you can upload the digital photo created here, and the service also checks it automatically and tells you if something looks wrong. Photo booths and shops can also give you a “photo code” instead of a file.
If you apply with a paper form, you need two identical printed photos. For some applications, such as a first adult passport, one of them must also be countersigned on the back; the form explains when. Order the 4 × 6 inch (10 × 15 cm) print sheet at a photo shop as a standard print without any scaling, and cut two photos out along the grey lines.
Getting the light right at home
A cream or light grey wall in daylight is ideal. If your walls are white, a grey sheet or poster board behind you works well. Stand a metre in front of the background so your shadow falls behind you rather than on the wall, face a window, and have someone else take the photo at eye level. Phone photos in HEIC format can be added to the tool directly.