What are the photo requirements for a NSW driver licence photo kit?

A NSW photo-kit photo must be a recent colour passport-size photo, 45 mm high and 35 mm wide, taken no more than six months before you lodge the kit, on a plain, light-coloured background. Keep a neutral expression with your mouth closed, remove glasses and hats, and print the photo on semi-gloss photographic paper.

What size and background colour does a NSW driver licence photo need?

For the photo-kit form, the photo is 45 mm high and 35 mm wide (35 × 45 mm), with a plain, light-coloured background that has no patterns or objects. The form asks for a light colour rather than a specific shade.

Do I need my own printed photo to renew my NSW driver licence?

You need your own printed photo when you renew or replace your NSW licence with a photo-kit form while temporarily overseas or interstate. In person, service centre staff take your photo; online, your new card is printed using the photo already stored by Transport for NSW.

Can I take a NSW driver licence photo at home with my phone?

Yes, for the photo kit you can take the photo at home with a phone, as long as the print meets the requirements. Use a plain, light-coloured wall and even light, then upload the photo to idphotoby.ai to size it to 35 × 45 mm and print it on semi-gloss photographic paper.

How do I turn a regular photo or selfie into a NSW photo-kit photo online?

Upload the photo or selfie to idphotoby.ai, which sizes it to 35 × 45 mm, frames your face and checks the background and your expression. You see a watermarked preview first, then download the finished photo and a print-ready sheet to print at actual size on semi-gloss photographic paper.

Where can I get a NSW driver licence photo near me?

If you renew at a NSW service centre, staff take your photo there. For a photo kit, make the photo online at idphotoby.ai and print the print-ready sheet at a photo lab or print shop near you on semi-gloss photographic paper.

Can I upload my photo online for a NSW photo-kit renewal?

No, you post the photo kit with your printed photo included, or a relative or friend hands it in at a NSW service centre for you. That is why IDPhotoBy prepares a print-ready photo for this document rather than a file for upload.

Why do NSW photo-kit photos get rejected?

A kit is returned when its photo doesn't meet the form's requirements, for example the wrong size, a photo older than six months, a background that isn't plain and light-coloured, a smile, glasses, a hat, hair over your eyes, shadows or red eye, or a print that isn't on semi-gloss photographic paper.

Can you smile in a NSW driver licence photo?

No, the photo-kit form says "No smiling." Look directly at the camera with a neutral expression and your mouth closed, and keep your head straight, not tilted.

Can I wear glasses in a NSW driver licence photo?

No, glasses must be removed, even if you need them to drive. Hats and caps must come off too; headwear worn for religious purposes is acceptable if all your facial features from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead and both edges of your face are visible.

What's the best colour to wear for a NSW driver licence photo?

As general advice, wear clothes that stand out against the plain, light-coloured background the form asks for, such as a darker top. The photo shows your head and the top of your shoulders, so the neckline of your clothes is visible.

Is the NSW licence photo free with IDPhotoBy?

The preview is free: you upload your photo and see the formatted result with a watermark before paying anything. Downloading the finished photo is paid, and you see the price before you pay.

Free NSW Driver Licence Photo Online — 35 × 45 mm Photo Kit

You need your own printed NSW driver licence photo when you renew or replace your NSW driver licence by post with a Transport for NSW photo-kit form while temporarily overseas (Form 1091) or temporarily interstate (Form 1097). The form asks for a recent colour passport-size photo, 45 mm high and 35 mm wide (35 × 45 mm), printed on semi-gloss photographic paper.

If you renew in person or online, you don't need to bring a photo. This page is for the NSW licence photo kit, and that document is already selected in the upload tool.

Do you need your own NSW driver licence photo?

Renewing in person at a service centre: staff take your photo there.
Renewing online: your new card is printed using the photo already stored by Transport for NSW.
Temporary medical exemption: you get a temporary paper licence receipt instead of a photo licence card, and you must return to have your photo taken before you get the card.
Renewing or replacing with a photo kit while temporarily overseas or interstate: you enclose your own printed photo. This is the case this page is for.

Who can renew a NSW licence from overseas or interstate with a photo kit

Transport for NSW describes the photo kit for licence holders who are outside NSW for less than 3 months. Your licence must be current or expired less than 5 years ago, not a temporary paper licence, and not suspended or cancelled.

If you hold a full licence, you must not have used the photo-kit form for your last renewal. For provisional licences the two government pages differ: Service NSW says provisional licence holders are limited to 2 photo-kit renewal forms, while the Transport for NSW page says a photo kit can be used once for renewal, so check your case with Service NSW.

NSW driver licence photo requirements on the photo-kit form

Transport for NSW sets out the photo requirements on the photo-kit forms, Form 1091 (temporarily overseas) and Form 1097 (temporarily interstate):

Rule	NSW photo-kit photo
Size	45 mm high and 35 mm wide (35 × 45 mm), passport size
Colour and age	A colour photo of good quality, taken no more than six months before you lodge the kit
Background	Plain and light-coloured, with no patterns or objects
Expression	Look directly at the camera with a neutral expression and your mouth closed; no smiling
Head and eyes	Head straight (not tilted) and upright; eyes open and clearly visible, with no hair over the eyes and both edges of your face visible
Framing	Your head and the top of your shoulders, face centred, clear and in sharp focus, with no shadows, reflections or red eye; you alone, with no other person or object
Glasses	Removed, even if you need them to drive
Headwear	Hats and caps removed; headwear worn for religious purposes is acceptable if all your facial features from the bottom of the chin to the top of the forehead and both edges of your face are visible
Paper	Printed on semi-gloss photographic paper

The form gives no head-size measurement. A kit with a photo that doesn't meet these requirements is returned.

How to lodge the NSW licence photo kit by post

Fill in Form 1091 if you are temporarily overseas, or Form 1097 if you are temporarily interstate.
Include your printed 35 × 45 mm colour photo with the photo kit.
Send the kit by post to the Photo Kit Unit, Service NSW, Parkes NSW. Lodgement is by post only, but a relative or friend can also hand the form in at a NSW service centre for you.
Allow 6 to 8 weeks for processing.

How to make a NSW licence photo-kit photo online with a free preview

Take a sharp, well-lit photo of your head and shoulders against a plain, light-coloured wall, without glasses or a hat, with a neutral expression and your mouth closed.
Upload it with the tool on this page; the NSW photo-kit document is already selected.
IDPhotoBy sizes the photo to 35 × 45 mm, frames your face, checks the background and checks that your expression is neutral.
Check the watermarked preview, then download the finished photo and the print-ready sheet.
Print the sheet at actual size on semi-gloss photographic paper and include one photo with your form.

What IDPhotoBy does, and what it doesn't

IDPhotoBy works only with the photo you upload and doesn't retouch your face. Because the form gives no head-size measurement, the framing follows IDPhotoBy's own standard for 35 × 45 mm photos, not a Transport for NSW figure. IDPhotoBy doesn't send anything to Service NSW and can't promise acceptance.

Need a photo for an Australian passport instead? That is a different document; see our Australian passport photo page.

Service NSW explains photo-kit renewals on service.nsw.gov.au, and requirements can change. Check the official application portal before submitting.

Free NSW Driver Licence Photo Online — 35 × 45 mm for the Photo Kit