A Swiss driving licence photo is the recent 35 × 45 mm passport photo attached to your application to the road traffic office of your canton of residence (Strassenverkehrsamt / Service des automobiles). You need a photo for your Swiss driving licence (Führerausweis / permis de conduire) for your first learner’s permit, to exchange a foreign driving licence and, depending on the canton, for a replacement licence, a new card after a name change or a new photo on the card.
Swiss Driving Licence Photo — 35 × 45 mm, Printed on Photo Paper
Upload a photo of yourself: IDPhotoBy crops it to 35 × 45 mm, sizes your head and checks the background, then gives you a digital file and a printable sheet to have printed at a photo shop or photo kiosk.
Photo size: 35×45 mm
Official source: fedlex.admin.ch, fedlex.admin.ch, zh.ch, zh.ch, zh.ch, zh.ch, zh.ch, zh.ch, svsa.sid.be.ch, svsa.sid.be.ch, svsa.sid.be.ch, vd.ch, vd.ch, ge.ch, ge.ch, ch.ch
Specifications verified: September 27, 2026
Our photos meet international government standards.
Swiss driving licence photo requirements
The size is set by federal law: the Verkehrszulassungsverordnung (VZV / OAC, Art. 11) asks for a current passport photo in 35 × 45 mm format, or a current digital photo where your canton offers that option. The other rules come from the criteria chart that the canton of Bern links for learner’s permit photos and from the Zurich, Vaud and Geneva road traffic offices.
| Rule | Swiss driving licence photo |
|---|---|
| Photo size | 35 × 45 mm (width × height), one recent passport photo |
| Face size | 29–34 mm from the chin to the top of the skull, and at least 29 mm even with voluminous hair (the hair may then exceptionally go beyond the edge). Children under 11: at least 23 mm. |
| Pose and expression | Sit straight and look directly into the camera; eyes open and clearly visible, neutral expression, mouth closed. |
| Background | Single-colour, uniform and neutral, without shadows or objects, and clearly separated from your head. A background that is too light, with poor contrast, is one of the listed rejection examples. |
| Lighting | Even, with natural skin tones and no shadows or reflections on your face. |
| Glasses | No tinted glasses or sunglasses and no reflections on the lenses; the frames must not cover your eyes. |
| Head covering and clothing | No head covering except for religious reasons (in Bern, also for medical reasons); no uniform. |
| Colour | Colour is recommended; Zurich and Bern also accept black-and-white photos. |
| Age of the photo | Recent; in Bern, not older than 1 year. |
| Paper | Real photo paper with a smooth glossy or semi-matt surface; no rounded corners, creases, stains or visible pixels. |
In the Bern criteria chart, the rejected “too light” example is on pure white and the accepted ones are on grey, so pick a neutral backdrop with clear contrast.
Printed on real photo paper, not at home
The photo must be a real print on photo paper. Zurich asks for a print on photo paper from a photo booth or a photo shop and rejects scanned or self-printed photos, the Bern criteria chart allows only paper made for photographs, Vaud asks for a photo that is “not scanned, not printed”, and Geneva asks for one that is “not digitised”.
So skip the home inkjet or laser printer: have the digital file or the printable sheet printed on glossy or semi-matt photo paper at a photo shop or photo kiosk. We read the short Vaud and Geneva wording as ruling out scans and ordinary printer output, not a photo-lab print; no canton has confirmed this reading, so ask your road traffic office if you are unsure.
Your canton’s road traffic office and how the photo is handed in
The road traffic office of your canton of residence issues the licence, and its website has the application form. The first time you apply, you must appear in person and show a valid identity document with a photo. How the photo is handed in differs by canton:
- Zurich: if you file the form at your municipality, glue the printed 35 × 45 mm photo onto it. At a Strassenverkehrsamt counter, you can instead take a colour photo with your phone and upload it via an SMS link that you receive at the counter. If you have or had a Swiss licence, you can also send a digital photo online.
- Bern: you apply for your first learner’s permit in person on the paper form, with a passport photo. Licence holders apply online and upload a photo with a smartphone.
- Vaud: the colour photo goes with the paper form, with your surname and first name written on the back. Vaud notes that the photo appears in black and white on the licence.
- Geneva: the printed photo goes with the paper form, and you file your first application in person at the Office cantonal des véhicules.
This page prepares the printed 35 × 45 mm photo, not a file for the cantons’ own upload channels: for an online upload in Zurich or Bern, follow that service’s own photo instructions.
Exchanging a foreign driving licence
To exchange, or convert, a foreign driving licence into a Swiss one, you apply to the road traffic office of your canton, and this application also needs a recent 35 × 45 mm passport photo. In Zurich, if you file the exchange application at your municipality, you glue the photo onto it. Bern asks for a current colour passport photo, Vaud’s exchange form 220 for a colour photo with your name on the back, and Geneva for one colour passport-format photo, taken from the front and bareheaded.
Replacement, name change or a new photo on your card
Depending on the canton, a replacement of a lost or stolen licence, a new card after a name change or a new photo on the card also needs a current photo. In Zurich, you can glue it onto the form or submit it digitally, but a defective card needs no new photo while the stored one is still current. Vaud recommends a new photo if the one in its system is more than 10 years old, and Geneva asks for a photo with a duplicate only if you do not yet hold a credit-card format licence.
How to make a Swiss driving licence photo online
- Have someone take a photo of you facing the camera, in even light, in front of a plain, neutral wall that is not too light.
- Upload the photo here — the Swiss driving licence is already selected.
- IDPhotoBy crops it to 35 × 45 mm, sizes your head to the 29–34 mm band and checks the background.
- Preview the result, then download the digital file and the printable sheet.
- Have it printed on photo paper at a photo shop or photo kiosk, and attach one print to your application form.
What IDPhotoBy prepares, and what your canton decides
IDPhotoBy formats the photo you upload: it crops it to the Swiss driving licence photo size, sizes your head and checks the background against the rules above. It prepares the photo for printing, not for the cantons’ upload services, and it makes no acceptance promise: the road traffic office of your canton decides.
The Swiss visa photo falls under a different authority and legal basis; for a visa, see our Switzerland visa photo page.
Check the official application portal before submitting.