You can’t make a Canada passport photo online — not with IDPhotoBy, and not with any self-service tool. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requires your passport photo to be taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio, and it must be an original photo that hasn’t been edited in any way. Because no application channel accepts a self-made, uploaded, or software-cropped photo, IDPhotoBy does not prepare photos for a Canada passport.
This page explains the official rule, what to do instead, and — if a Canada passport isn’t actually what you need — a Canadian document we can help with online.
The Government of Canada is specific about who takes the photo. IRCC’s official passport photo requirements tell applicants to:
“Go to a commercial photographer or photo studio to have your photo taken.”
The photo must “be taken in person by a commercial photographer or photo studio” — this is about the origin of the photo, not just its size. On top of that, the photo has to be unaltered. IRCC lists editing tools as grounds for rejection:
“This includes photo editing software, filters, and AI tools. We’ll reject your application if the photos have been altered in any way.”
IRCC even names the exact operations an online tool performs on an upload — “cropping around the head and shoulders” and “changing the background, including removing shadows” — as examples of an altered, rejected photo. That is precisely why a self-service online photo cannot work for this document.
What about renewing online? Renewing a Canada passport online does let you upload a digital photo — but only a photo that was itself taken by a commercial photographer and “saved directly from the original file captured by the camera.” When you upload it, you enter the studio or photographer’s name, address, and the date the photo was taken. A digital submission is not the same as a self-made online photo: there is no channel in which an uploaded, self-service, cropped or background-changed photo is accepted.
For reference, here are IRCC’s official photo requirements. A commercial photographer or studio produces a photo to this specification — Canada has two versions, depending on how you apply.
| Requirement | Printed photo (in person or by mail) | Digital photo (online renewal) |
|---|
| Number of photos | 2 identical photos | 1 digital file |
| Size / aspect ratio | 50 mm wide × 70 mm high (2 in × 2¾ in) | 3:2 aspect ratio, portrait orientation |
| Resolution & file | Professionally printed on plain photographic paper (home printing not accepted) | .jpeg or .jpg; 1,800–4,500 px high by 1,200–3,000 px wide; 200 KB–5 MB |
| Head size | Face 31–36 mm from chin to crown | Chin-to-crown 45–50% of the photo height |
| Background | Plain white or light-coloured | Plain white or light-coloured |
| Colour | Colour or black and white | Colour or black and white |
| Expression | Neutral, mouth closed, not smiling | Neutral, mouth closed, not smiling |
| Recency | Taken within the last 6 months | Taken within the last 6 months |
| Photographer details | Photographer stamps the back with the date and the studio’s name and complete address | Saved directly from the original camera file; you enter the studio/photographer’s name, address and date on upload |
All of the values above are IRCC requirements as published on canada.ca.
To get an accepted Canada passport photo:
- Go to a commercial photographer or photo studio and ask for a Canadian passport photo. Because IRCC publishes the specification, a commercial photographer can produce a compliant photo.
- For a paper application (in person or by mail), you receive 2 identical printed photos. Ask the photographer to stamp the back of one with the date the photo was taken and the studio’s name and complete address — IRCC requires this stamp.
- For an online renewal, the photographer provides a digital file saved directly from the original camera file, and you enter the studio or photographer’s name and address and the photo date when you upload it.
A couple of generic things help at any photographer: keep a neutral expression with your mouth closed, and expect a plain white or light-coloured background. The photographer handles the sizing, printing and stamp so the photo meets the specification.
IDPhotoBy prepares document photos online only where the issuing authority accepts an uploaded, self-prepared photo. A Canada passport isn’t one of those — but a Canada visa photo is. If you need a Canadian visa photo, you can prepare it online with IDPhotoBy — free, no payment required.
Prepare a Canada visa photo online →
Requirements can change — check IRCC’s official passport photo requirements on canada.ca before you apply, and treat the official application portal as the final authority.
