Free Germany Driving Licence Photo Online — Make a 35×45 mm Biometric Photo

Need a Germany driving licence photo? Upload a recent portrait and IDPhotoBy sizes and crops it to the official 35×45 mm biometric standard — your face filling 70–80% of the height, on a plain, light background — with the Germany Driving Licence document already selected. It is free — no payment required.

Important: unlike a German passport or ID card applied for inside Germany, a driving-licence photo is not captured digitally at an office. You print the finished photo and post it or bring it in person to your local Fahrerlaubnisbehörde with your application.

A German driving licence is issued by the local Fahrerlaubnisbehörde — the Landratsamt or Kreisverwaltung responsible for driving-licence matters where you live — not by a passport office or a mission abroad. That matters for the photo:

• Legal basis. Section 21(3) No. 2 of the Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung (FeV) ties the application photo to the Passverordnung — the same biometric standard used for the German passport — which is why the size and geometry below match the passport photo.
• The channel stays print-based. Since 1 May 2025, passport and ID-card photos applied for inside Germany must be captured digitally at the office. The Fahrerlaubnisbehörde is explicitly exempt: you still submit one printed 35×45 mm biometric photo with your application, by post or in person. A digital photo with a data-matrix code is not accepted here.
• Only one photo. The application needs a single 35×45 mm photo.
• No on-site capture. Fahrerlaubnisbehörden generally have no photo-capture equipment of their own, so bringing a compliant printed photo is the normal, expected step.

The Germany driving licence biometric photo follows the Federal Ministry of the Interior's Foto-Mustertafel, applied by your local Fahrerlaubnisbehörde. Check your photo against this list before you apply.

• Size 35×45 mm — 35 mm wide by 45 mm high (3.5×4.5 cm), portrait.
• Face 70–80% of the height — measured from the chin to the top of the head, about 31.5–36 mm on a 45 mm photo. The head is centred and straight.
• Plain, light background — a single, shadow-free colour that contrasts clearly with your face and hair. No specific colour is officially set for this document; IDPhotoBy checks your background against a light, uniform result.
• Neutral expression — mouth closed, looking straight into the camera. No smiling.
• Eyes clearly visible — not covered by hair, and not obscured by glasses frames.
• Colour photo — with realistic, accurately reproduced skin tones.
• Bareheaded — headwear is permitted only for religious reasons, and your face must still be visible from chin to forehead.

Retouched or filtered photos are rejected — the official Foto-Mustertafel lists a retouched, filtered photo as one of its rejected examples.

The Germany driving licence photo size is 35×45 mm — 3.5×4.5 cm, or about 1.38×1.77 inches — portrait, with your face filling 70–80% of the height.

You get a print-ready 35×45 mm photo — the exact size the Fahrerlaubnisbehörde requires — so you never have to measure or resize anything yourself.

• Upload a recent, well-lit portrait taken with a smartphone or digital camera, using the tool on this page — Germany Driving Licence is already selected.
• IDPhotoBy resizes and crops your photo to 35×45 mm with your face at 70–80% of the height, and checks that your background is plain and light.
• Preview the result — check the face size and position, the background, and that your eyes are clearly visible.
• Download the finished photo, free, and print one 35×45 mm copy to post or bring in person to your local Fahrerlaubnisbehörde.

There is no app to download — the free Germany driving licence photo maker runs online in your browser, and doubles as a size checker if you already have a photo you want to verify.

No — a Germany driving licence photo is not submitted online. The Fahrerlaubnisbehörde has no digital upload channel for this photo: you print it and send it by post or hand it in with your application in person. This page is grounded in the Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung and the driving-licence authorities' own published guidance, not a generic assumption.

IDPhotoBy sizes and crops the photo you upload to the 35×45 mm biometric standard and checks the background is plain and light. It does not retouch, beautify or otherwise edit your face — the Foto-Mustertafel lists retouched and filtered photos as rejected examples. We also make no acceptance promise: no online tool can guarantee a driving-licence photo will be accepted, and the Fahrerlaubnisbehörde makes the final decision. What you get is a correctly sized, correctly cropped biometric print, free, with nothing to buy.

• Assuming you can upload the photo instead of printing it. The Fahrerlaubnisbehörde takes a printed photo by post or in person, not a digital file.
• Sending a passport-style digital photo with a data-matrix code. That format is for passports and ID cards applied for inside Germany since May 2025 — it is not accepted for a driving licence.
• An edited or "beautified" photo. Retouching and filters are rejected; use a straight, unedited photo.
• A busy or dark background. The background must be plain and light with clear contrast to your face and hair — no patterns, gradients or objects.
• Smiling or an open mouth. Keep a neutral expression, mouth closed, looking straight at the camera.
• The wrong size. The photo must be 35×45 mm.

Requirements and channels can change — check with your local Fahrerlaubnisbehörde, or Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior Foto-Mustertafel, before you apply; they are the final authority.