Need a UK passport photo online (also searched as a British passport photo)? For the online passport application HM Passport Office asks for a digital passport photo — a 35×45 mm portrait on a plain light-coloured background, with your head 29–34 mm from crown to chin. Upload a recent photo and IDPhotoBy sizes and crops it to that standard and gives you a ready-to-upload 700×900 px JPEG. It is free — no payment required.
One honest note first: a UK passport photo is not a selfie. gov.uk says "You'll need someone to help you take a photo during your application" — someone else, or a photo booth or shop. IDPhotoBy does not take the photo; it formats the photo you already have to the UK spec. HM Passport Office even says a photo taken on your own device is more likely to be rejected than one from a booth or shop, so use a clear, well-lit photo taken by someone else for the best result.
IDPhotoBy is a free UK passport photo maker that turns a normal portrait into a compliant digital passport photo. Upload your photo with the tool on this page — the UK Passport (online) document is already selected — and it will:
- resize and crop it to 35×45 mm with your head 29–34 mm from crown to chin;
- make sure it sits on the plain light-coloured background the rules require, with your face in clear contrast to it;
- output a 700×900 px JPEG — above HMPO's 600×750 px minimum and comfortably inside the 50 KB to 10 MB file size — ready to apply online.
It doubles as a size checker for a photo you already have — no app to download, nothing to install.
The rules for a UK biometric passport photo are set by HM Passport Office (HMPO). Check your photo against this list 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 your head to your chin.
- Plain light-coloured background — HMPO asks for a plain light background (a plain cream or light grey for printed photos), with your face in clear contrast to it and no objects or other people.
- Neutral expression with your mouth closed — not smiling or frowning.
- Eyes fully visible, open and looking straight at the camera, with no hair across them.
- No glasses unless you have to wear them.
- No headwear — head coverings are allowed only for religious or medical reasons and must not cover your face.
- Even lighting, no shadows on your face or behind you.
- Taken in the last month — recent enough to still look like you.
A UK passport photo size is 35×45 mm — 45 mm tall by 35 mm wide, the same as a standard printed photo. For the online application you upload a digital passport photo instead of a printed one: gov.uk requires it to be at least 600×750 px and a JPEG between 50 KB and 10 MB. IDPhotoBy outputs a 700×900 px JPEG in the 35×45 proportions, which clears the minimum comfortably and stays well under the size limit — a digital file that meets the rules, ready to upload.
- Have someone take a recent, well-lit photo of you against a plain, light wall — or use a photo booth or shop. Remember, it is not a selfie: someone else takes it, standing a little back so your head and shoulders fit.
- Upload your photo with the free tool on this page — the UK Passport (online) document is already selected.
- IDPhotoBy resizes and crops it to 35×45 mm, makes sure it has the plain light-coloured background the rules require, and produces the 700×900 px JPEG.
- Preview the result — check the head size, that your eyes are fully visible, and the plain background — then download it free and upload it with your online application.
You can make a UK passport photo online free here as many times as you need; there is no charge to download, and you can take a UK passport photo online from any phone or computer.
There are three ways to give the passport service your photo, and IDPhotoBy fits the first:
- A digital photo you upload. The online application accepts a digital photo you upload — the 700×900 px JPEG IDPhotoBy makes. On the own-device route gov.uk crops the photo for you ("Do not crop your photo - it will be done for you"); a photo from a booth or shop is supplied already cropped to size, which is what this tool produces.
- A photo code. A photo booth or shop can give you a photo code to type into your application instead of a file. IDPhotoBy does not issue codes — it makes an uploadable photo.
- A printed photo. If you apply on paper you send two printed photos instead. IDPhotoBy is built for the digital upload route.
gov.uk requires your passport photo to be "unaltered by computer software". IDPhotoBy respects that: it sizes and crops the photo you upload to the UK spec and makes sure the background is the plain light shade the rules ask for. It does not retouch, beautify or otherwise edit your face — your features are left exactly as they are.
And it makes no acceptance promise. IDPhotoBy prepares the file to HMPO's published requirements and leaves the decision where it belongs — 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.
