UK Passport Photo 2026: The New 1-Month Rule (All HMPO Requirements)

The big change: your photo must be under 1 month old

On 8 December 2025, HM Passport Office released version 49.0 of its Photo Standards, the rules passport examiners use to judge submitted photos. The headline change is recency. Your UK passport photo must have been taken within the last one month. Examiners are now instructed to refer a case for review if it is clear the photo was taken earlier, and a photo that is otherwise perfect will still be rejected if too much time has passed between when it was taken and when the application is delivered.

In plain terms: do not reuse an old photo, and do not take one months in advance. Take a fresh photo right before you apply.

UK passport photo size

A printed UK passport photo is 35 by 45 millimetres, with no border. If you apply online and upload a digital photo, use a clear colour image where your head and shoulders fill the frame and your face, from the bottom of your chin to the crown of your head, takes up most of the height. The image must be sharp, in focus and in colour, with no marks or reflections.

Background: light grey, not pure white

This trips a lot of people up. The UK does not want a pure white background. It must be a plain, light grey or cream background, evenly lit, with no shadows behind your head and nothing else in the frame. Stand a little away from a plain, light coloured wall so you do not cast a shadow on it.

Your face: neutral, no glasses, no smiling

• Look straight at the camera with a neutral expression and your mouth closed. No smiling.
• Both eyes open and clearly visible, with no hair across your eyes.
• No glasses. If you must wear them for medical reasons, your eyes must still be clearly visible with no glare.
• No hat or head covering, unless it is worn for religious or medical reasons, and your face must be fully visible.

How to take a compliant UK photo at home for free

You do not need a photo booth. Stand facing a window in soft, even daylight, with a plain light grey or cream wall behind you, and have someone take the photo with the rear camera of a phone, or use a tripod. Then crop it to size and set the correct background with a free tool such as IDPhotoSnap. It crops to the UK 35 by 45 millimetre size, sets a clean light background, and exports a file ready for the printed or the digital online application, all in your browser, and it never edits your face, so it stays within the rules.

Frequently asked questions