India Passport Photo

India passport photo requirements

Common size for the Indian passport (Passport Seva) application.

What's different about a India photo

There is an important thing to know before you spend time on an Indian passport photo: for most applicants, you do not supply one. When you attend your appointment at a Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) or Post Office Passport Seva Kendra, your photograph and fingerprints are captured on site by the officer at Counter A. Bringing photos is not part of the standard process.

Photos are still needed in specific cases — applications submitted on the manual form where an appointment is not involved, certain minor and tatkaal categories, and a range of adjacent documents (PAN, visa applications to other countries, university and government forms) that use the same 35 × 45 mm format on a white background. Those are the cases these guidelines cover.

India photo rules in detail

When photos are needed

Manual/paper applications and some minor categories require photos affixed to the form. Standard online applications processed at a PSK do not — the photo is taken there.

Background

Plain white, with the face fully visible and evenly lit. A light grey background is generally accepted for adjacent documents but white is the safe default.

Glasses

Permitted if your eyes are clearly visible with no glare and no tint. Removing them avoids the most common objection.

Expression

Neutral, facing the camera directly, with both eyes open and the mouth closed.

Minors

For a minor's application, the photo requirements are applied to the child, and one parent's details are recorded on the form. The 4.5 × 3.5 cm size is standard across minor categories.

Photos must have been taken within the last 6 months. The authority for these rules is the Passport Seva, Ministry of External Affairs — check there before you apply, since requirements do change.

Babies and children

There is one clear exception to the rule that you do not bring photos: children under four. Passport Seva asks for a recent 4.5 × 3.5 cm colour photograph on a white background to be carried to the appointment for them, because capturing a small child reliably at the counter is not practical. Older minors still attend in person and are photographed there. In either case nobody else may appear in the frame, and a parent's documents are verified separately from the photo itself.

How the India application works

The normal route is to register on the Passport Seva portal, fill the form online, pay, and book an appointment at your nearest PSK. Everything biometric — photograph, fingerprints, signature — happens at the centre.

Because of that, the most useful thing an online tool does for an Indian applicant is prepare 35 × 45 mm photos for the surrounding paperwork: visa applications to other countries, PAN and bank forms, university admissions and employment records, which do all need supplied prints.

Why India photos get rejected

• Bringing photos to a PSK appointment for an adult, where they are not used at all.
• A background that is off-white, cream or shows shadow gradients.
• Photos smaller than 35 × 45 mm, trimmed down from a larger print.
• Low-resolution prints where the face is soft or pixelated.
• Hair or a dupatta covering the hairline or the edges of the face.

How to make your India photo

1. 1. Upload a portrait

   A clear, front-facing photo with even lighting. The background is removed automatically.

2. 2. Fit the guides

   The 35×45 mm frame is pre-selected — line your head up with the crown and chin guides.

3. 3. Download or print

   Export the exact size at 300 DPI, or a 6×4 inch sheet of copies for any photo kiosk.

Preguntas frecuentes

Passport photo sizes for other countries