Getting a baby passport photo the UK rules accept is the fiddly part of a child's first passport — a wriggly baby won't hold still or keep a straight face. The good news: HM Passport Office relaxes those rules for babies and young children. For the online application you need a digital photo — a 35×45 mm portrait on a plain light-coloured background, head 29–34 mm from crown to chin. Take a clear UK passport photo for your baby or child, upload it, and IDPhotoBy sizes and crops it and gives you a ready-to-upload 700×900 px JPEG. It is free — no payment required.
IDPhotoBy does not take the photo; it formats the photo you already have. Photograph your child at home where they are calm, or use a photo booth or shop, then upload it here.
IDPhotoBy is a free baby passport photo maker: it makes the baby passport photo UK online applications need from a normal photo of your child. Upload your photo with the tool on this page — the UK child passport (online) document is already selected — and it will:
- resize and crop it to 35×45 mm with the head 29–34 mm from crown to chin;
- make sure it has the plain light-coloured background the rules require, with the face in clear contrast to it and no toys, dummies or other people in shot;
- output a 700×900 px JPEG — above HMPO's 600×750 px minimum and inside the 50 KB to 10 MB file size — ready to apply online.
gov.uk says "Do not crop your photo - it will be done for you", so you only need a clear head, shoulders and upper body shot — the framing is done for you.
A child's photo follows the same HM Passport Office (HMPO) standard as an adult's, plus the baby/child relaxations below. Check these baby passport photo requirements before you apply online:
- Size 35×45 mm — 45 mm high by 35 mm wide; the digital file must be at least 600×750 px.
- Head 29–34 mm from the crown of the head to the chin.
- Plain light-coloured background, with the face in clear contrast to it and no objects or other people.
- In colour and taken in the last month.
- The child on their own — no toys or dummies.
- No glasses unless they have to be worn; even lighting, no shadows.
Only someone with parental responsibility for the child can apply for the passport.
A child's photo differs from an adult's here, and photographing a baby is easier than parents expect. gov.uk states:
- Children under 6 do not have to be looking directly at the camera or have a plain expression — a slight smile or a wandering gaze is fine.
- Children under one do not have to have their eyes open.
- You can support their head with your hand, but your hand must not be visible in the photo.
- The child must still be on their own with no toys or dummies.
Take the photo when the moment is right and upload it.
For a newborn or a baby who can't sit up, gov.uk gives a simple method: lay the child on a plain light-coloured sheet and take the photo from above, filling the frame with the head, shoulders and upper body. Keep the sheet smooth so it reads as a plain light-coloured background, and keep any steadying hand out of shot. Upload it and IDPhotoBy handles the 35×45 mm crop.
- Take a recent, well-lit photo of your child against a plain, light wall or sheet, or use a photo booth or shop.
- Upload your photo here — IDPhotoBy crops it to 35×45 mm, checks the plain light-coloured background, and produces the 700×900 px JPEG.
You can make a baby passport photo online free as many times as you need — no charge to download.
gov.uk requires the photo to be "unaltered by computer software". IDPhotoBy respects that: it sizes and crops the photo and checks the background against the plain light-coloured requirement. It does not retouch, smooth or otherwise edit your child's face. It makes no acceptance promise: it prepares the file to HMPO's published requirements and leaves the decision with HM Passport Office.
Requirements can change — check the official gov.uk passport photo rules before you apply; HM Passport Office is the final authority on whether a photo is accepted.
